The National League West, fronted by the reigning-champion Los Angeles Dodgers, profiles as one of the strongest divisions in MLB, and it’s not out of the question that this particular circuit could yield three playoff teams in 2025. Last season, the NL West churned out a pair of postseason qualifiers, and the Arizona Diamondbacks narrowly missed making it. With that highly competitive stage set, let’s jump into our NL West season preview with everything you need to know about the five teams.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Projected starting lineup
- DH Shohei Ohtani
- SS Mookie Betts
- 1B Freddie Freeman
- RF Teoscar Hernández
- 3B Max Muncy
- C Will Smith
- LF Michael Conforto
- 2B Tommy Edman
- CF James Outman/Enrique Hernández (platoon)
Projected rotation
- RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- RHP Roki Sasaki
- LHP Blake Snell
- RHP Tyler Glasnow
- RHP Dustin May
(Note: Ohtani will not be in the rotation at the start of the season as he continues his recovery from elbow surgery.)
Notable relievers
Biggest question: Can they repeat?
No team has won back-to-back World Series since the 1999-2000 New York Yankees, but the Dodgers will enter the 2025 season as heavy favorites to do just that. To be sure, in a sport like baseball you should always take the field over any one team when it comes to winning it all, but the Dodgers are indeed well positioned to pull it off. To a largely intact roster that won 98 games a season ago, lead operator Andrew Friedman has added Snell and Sasaki, two of the best starting pitchers on the market. The Dodgers now boast absurd levels of rotation depth, and that will be especially the case once Ohtani returns to pitching duty. The Dodgers this season also added a pair of lockdown relievers in Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott.
If there’s a soft underbelly in L.A., it’s probably the aging nature of the lineup. No doubt, having Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, and Hernández in the same lineup is hardly a cause for worry. This, however, is a broader matter. Last season, the Dodgers had the oldest crop of hitters in all of MLB with an average age of 30.3. Generally speaking, that offense, which didn’t experience much year-to-year turnover (27-year-old Gavin Lux was traded to the Reds, most notably), is even older now. That means decline potential at various spots, and it’s something to monitor. Another thing to monitor is how Betts fares defensively at shortstop and whether the Dodgers are pressed to find a cleaner fit at the most vital position (non-catcher division) on the field.
Still, this projects as a team that will threaten to win 100 games for the fifth time in the last six full seasons and win yet another division title. The real story, though, is whether they can hoist the trophy again.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Projected starting lineup
- RF Corbin Carroll
- 2B Ketel Marte
- 1B Josh Naylor
- LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
- CF Jake McCarthy
- 3B Eugenio Suárez
- DH Pavin Smith
- C Gabriel Moreno
- SS Geraldo Perdomo
Projected rotation
- RHP Corbin Burnes
- RHP Zac Gallen
- RHP Merrill Kelly
- LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
- RHP Brandon Pfaadt
Notable relievers
Biggest question: Will they make the playoffs?
The 2023 Diamondbacks reminded us that if you make the postseason and let the randomness native to baseball do its work, then any team in the field is capable of a deep run. That particular D-backs model won the pennant. Last year’s squad was a better team than the 2023 pennant winners, but they wound up missing the playoffs by the narrowest of margins thanks to a highly competitive fray in the NL. The goal is clear this season – get back to late October/early November baseball.
To that end, the D-backs most notably pulled off the coup of the winter when they inked ace Corbin Burnes to a six-year, $210 million free-agent pact. Burnes reportedly had higher offers on the table, but the fact that he makes his offseason home in the Phoenix area played a major role in his decision to sign with the Diamondbacks. He’ll now front a rotation that also includes Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Brandon Pfadt and has Jordan Montgomery as depth (he’s presently lined up for a long-relief role). Last season, that rotation ranked 27th in MLB with an ERA of 4.79.
Obviously, improvement is needed. Burnes promises a great deal of said improvement, and Gallen, while effective in 2024, was a bit unlucky. That figures to change. As well, Eduardo Rodriguez should get back to something close to career norms now that he’s further removed from his major shoulder problems of 2024. The Snakes also gave 34 starts to Montgomery and Slade Cecconi last season, and the pair combined for a 6.16 ERA over those starts. That’s disastrous, and it’s a leading reason Arizona missed the playoffs. If you like, think of those as being almost entirely replaced by Burnes. That improved rotation outlook means the D-backs should be favorites to claim one of the three wild-card spots up for grabs in the NL, even if it once again figures to be a highly competitive battle for those spots.
Projected starting lineup
- 1B Luis Arraez
- RF Fernando Tatis Jr.
- CF Jackson Merrill
- 3B Manny Machado
- 2B Jake Cronenworth
- SS Xander Bogaerts
- LF Jason Heyward/Connor Joe (platoon)
- DH Jose Iglesias/Joe/Arraez
- C Elias Díaz
Projected rotation
- RHP Dylan Cease
- RHP Michael King
- RHP Nick Pivetta
- RHP Yu Darvish
- RHP Stephen Kolek/RHP Matt Waldron
Notable relievers
Biggest question: Will ownership do its part?
The Padres have been shedding payroll since the death of Peter Seidler, who was truly among the very best owners in the sport. That trend has been furthered by a power struggle and dueling lawsuits between Seidler’s family and heirs. As a consequence, it’s a real question as to whether ownership will keep this team together, let alone add needed pieces at the deadline.
The Padres let Jurickson Profar walk and they replaced him with a dubious, low-cost left-field platoon of Heyward and Joe. As well, they lost Ha-Seong Kim to the market. This could really be a brutal bottom of the lineup given the situations in left, at catcher, and at DH. The San Diego offense badly needs Xander Bogaerts to enjoy a rebound season at the plate (while also moving back to the premium position of shortstop at age 32). Elsewhere, the Padres need Manny Machado to hit like he did down the stretch last season, and Fernando Tatis Jr. must stay generally healthy.
Yes, they signed Pivetta on the free-agent market to fortify the middle of the rotation, but the fear among Padres fans is that the persistent rumors will be realized and either Cease or King will be traded going into or during their walk years. Dealing away either would be a huge blow to the Pads’ hopes in what, to repeat, should be a brutal NL wild-card chase. GM A.J. Preller, manager Mike Shildt, and the players in the clubhouse need ownership to do their part. That means keeping their tandem aces in place and being willing to take on modest payroll additions at the deadline. Contention in the NL in 2025 demands nothing less.
Projected starting lineup
- 1B Lamonte Wade Jr.
- SS Willy Adames
- CF Jung Hoo Lee
- 3B Matt Chapman
- LF Heliot Ramos
- C Patrick Bailey
- DH Wilmer Flores
- RF Mike Yastrzemski
- 2B Tyler Fitzgerald
Projected rotation
- RHP Logan Webb
- RHP Justin Verlander
- LHP Robbie Ray
- RHP Jordan Hicks
- LHP Kyle Harrison
Notable relievers
Biggest question: Will this be a contending rotation?
Franchise legend Buster Posey in his first offseason at the helm of baseball ops most notably added Willy Adames to be the No. 2 hitter in the lineup. Posey and the Giants also inked future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander to a one-year pact that will cover his age-42 campaign in 2025. That leads us into a discussion of the Giants rotation.
Last season, the Giants ranked 18th in MLB in rotation ERA, 23rd in K/BB ratio, and 23rd in rotation fWAR. It’s worth noting, of course, that Oracle Park in San Francisco very much helps the pitching cause. The outlook really isn’t much better for 2025, and that may not be enough starting pitching value in light of a Giants offense that profiles as average-ish without much youthful upside and a division that profiles as one of the toughest.
Logan Webb is a genuine ace, but are there reasons to be concerned? Last season, he shed some velocity from his secondary pitches, and he trended in the wrong direction in terms of strikeouts, walks, and ground-ball percentage (the latter a key plank in his value). He’s still just 28 years of age, but he’s been worked hard in recent years – 98 starts and more than 600 innings combined over the last three seasons. It’s too soon to fret about premature decline for Webb, but it’s a possibility.
As for Verlander, he was limited to just 17 starts last season because of shoulder and then neck problems. When healthy enough to pitch, he was ineffective: 5.48 ERA, 4.78 FIP, 18.7 K%, 40th percentile in fastball velocity. Decline is rarely a straight-line thing, especially for all-time greats like Verlander, but there’s cause for real concern that his days of usefulness are behind him. Elsewhere, maybe Robbie Ray enjoys a boost in his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April of 2023, but that’s a big assumption given the signs of decline that were already in place. Last year’s hot start notwithstanding, Jordan Hicks still doesn’t look like a big-league starter on a sustainable basis. There’s some depth behind these names, but there’s not projectable quality. The Giants need a pleasant surprise on this front in order to compete with the teams above them.
Projected starting lineup
- CF Brenton Doyle
- 3B Ryan McMahon
- SS Ezequiel Tovar
- DH Kris Bryant
- 2B Thairo Estrada
- 1B Michael Toglia
- LF Nolan Jones
- RF Jordan Beck
- C Jacob Stallings
Projected rotation
- RHP Germán Márquez
- LHP Kyle Freeland
- RHP Antonio Senzatela
- RHP Ryan Feltner
- RHP Bradley Blalock
Notable relievers
Biggest question: Will they avoid a third-straight 100-loss season?
The Rockies lost 103 games in 2023 and 101 games last season. The club that had never endured a 100-loss season in franchise history coming out of 2022 is now at risk of putting up three in a row. In related matters, they’re as sure of a lock for last place as there is in MLB this season.
In the rotation, Antonio Senzatela and Germán Márquez have hopes for full healthy seasons after coming off, respectively, ACL repair and Tommy John surgery. Pair them with Kyle Freeland, Ryan Feltner, and Bradley Blalock, and then throw in Austin Gomber (once healthy) for depth, and you’ve got a credible unit. That’s especially the case after you adjust for what Coors Field does to pitching numbers. No, the rotation isn’t going to strike out many by contemporary standards, but a very strong Rockies team defense should help the pitch-to-contact approach work well enough.
The problem – and what’s going to send the Rockies to a sixth-straight losing season and fourth-straight last-place finish – is an offense that can’t score runs. Despite playing half their games at a mile above sea level last season, Colorado hitters ranked 20th in MLB in runs scored. In terms of OPS+, which is adjusted to reflect ballpark conditions, the Rockies ranked 26th last season. Suffice it to say, the signing of Thairo Estrada will not measurably help matters.
In the end, this will be a bad team and a last-place team, but thanks to solid-enough run prevention, the Rox should avoid racking up 100 losses for a third-consecutive year.
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