Which MLB Teams Are Best and Worst Built for the Dog Days of August?

The 2022 Major League Baseball season is well past its halfway point and the end of the regular season is off in the distance, but the finish line isn’t visible yet. Add stifling heat to the cumulative wear and tear from the long season and teams can either wilt or fight through it and come out stronger on the other side. 

Dimers.com contributor Paul Lebowitz takes a look at the teams that are best and worst equipped to deal with the “dog days” of August and why.

The Best Equipped

Los Angeles Dodgers

Not only do the Dodgers have depth and versatility, but they make sure to give their players adequate rest. They can do so because multiple players can play multiple positions well. They maximize what their players can do rather than force them to try and do things they can’t. More importantly, they manage their pitchers’ innings. That is true for starters and relievers. 

Their financial might lets them keep Clayton Kershaw on the roster as their “ace emeritus” and pay him for what amounts to maybe 20 starts (at most) per season. 

The best there ever was. When you think of the history of the Dodgers, you think of Vin. An incredible man with an incredible legacy and I’m so thankful to have known him as well as I did. pic.twitter.com/EYGiHreRUV

— Clayton Kershaw (@ClaytonKersh22) August 3, 2022

The Dodgers lost Walker Bueller and did not miss a beat because of that depth. Kershaw is on and off the injured list seemingly from start-to-start, but they can withstand it because they have enough starting pitching to hold the fort. That support has come from unusual sources.

Tyler Anderson was mediocre at best for the Rockies, Giants and Pirates before arriving in Los Angeles, but is now a contender for the Cy Young Award. They have a strong bullpen comprised largely of castoffs. They received a surprising, and brief, contribution from Andrew Heaney, who was all but run out of New York after a disastrous turn with the Yankees. They use the entire roster and that is key to being at reasonably full strength for the playoffs.   

New York Mets

The Mets are an older team, but manager Buck Showalter has done a masterful job of deploying his entire roster in creative ways to keep everyone involved. While he’ll be a footnote to the story of the season, Travis Jankowski exemplifies how Showalter handles his roster. Before Jankowski was designated for assignment, he contributed in understated ways with speed and defense and Showalter found him unexpected playing time.

Still buzzing after this weekend’s series win over the rival Atlanta Braves?

Here’s some literature to tide you over until the #Mets play at 7:10 tonight against the Cincinnati Reds.

Quotes from Brandon Nimmo and Buck Showalter inside.https://t.co/gpsPVX4cWw

— Rob Piersall (@RTPiersall) August 8, 2022

In a pinch, he needed Adonis Medina to close a game in Los Angeles against the Dodgers and Medina came through. Trevor Williams has been more than his “expected” role of long reliever and pitched in key spots from innings one to nine and beyond. 

It’s not complicated to hand the ball to Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and Edwin Diaz; to tell Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor to drive in runs. But the Mets have struggled with injuries and were short offensively until they acquired Tyler Naquin, Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf. The replenished roster and that the players were used judiciously through July will help them in August and for the remainder of the season. 

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are like the bargain bin version of the Dodgers. Since Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman spent the first decade of his career in baseball with the Rays, this should come as no surprise. The Rays do essentially the same thing as the Dodgers do except it’s with players they developed themselves, or found cheaply.

Thirteen players have more than 190 plate appearances. No starting pitcher will reach 200 innings pitched. Four of their key relievers have fewer innings pitched than appearances. Nine pitchers have accrued at least one save indicating their roles are “when we need you.” The pitchers understand and accept that.

This has allowed them to hang around in the playoff race. If they make it, they’re dangerous because they won’t be as drained.

Baltimore Orioles

Youth, exuberance and a sense of “what are we doing here?” can help a team get beyond the tired legs of August. The Orioles were certainly not expecting to make such a leap from 52-110 to being above .500 and having a decent chance of making the playoffs in mid-August.

This team is something special, Brooks says so 🧡 pic.twitter.com/M0BGjttCJH

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 6, 2022

Largely a cast of no-names and castoffs, they are playing as if they have nothing to lose. Adley Rutschman looks like the real deal as a former first overall pick. Their starting pitching has been serviceable enough and manager Brandon Hyde has deftly handled the bullpen. Energy can be derived from playing with house money and the Orioles can get through August based on that, and their overall youth.

The Worst Equipped

New York Yankees

The Yankees are older and key veterans Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks have been outright bad. The starting pitching was bolstered at the trade deadline with Frankie Montas, but they do have questions after Montas and Gerrit Cole. Nestor Cortes has never pitched more than 115 innings in a season as a professional. They gave questionable cover story excuses as to why they traded Jordan Montgomery for an injured Harrison Bader. They’re not expecting Luis Severino back until September. 

Every year, it’s the same thing; the Yankees relentlessly promote the “next stars” that are on the way in their minor-league system, then they tacitly refuse to let them play for an extended period in the majors, nor are they willing to trade them for the big-ticket items that could be the difference between losing in the playoffs and winning a championship. 

Their searing hot start has guaranteed them a spot in the playoffs and it is inconceivable that the Blue Jays will catch them for the division title, but these issues will be exacerbated in August and impact them for the rest of the season and playoffs.

San Diego Padres

The Padres are again a patched-together quilt of huge names with lingering holes that went unaddressed. Certainly, the return of Fernando Tatis, Jr. will help and his legs will be fresh from not having played for the entire season, but that does not cover for their lack of depth, surprisingly shaky starting rotation beyond Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove and their bullpen before getting to newly acquired Josh Hader. 

The Padres: pic.twitter.com/3SLsiuEpgN

— Dimers.com (@DimersCom) August 8, 2022

It’s certainly nice to add Juan Soto, Josh Bell and Hader at the deadline, but again this is an example of the Padres under A.J. Preller dominating the web and social media with flashy moves when they do not matter. In past years, the team has checked out and players looked to be playing for themselves once they hit adversity and unless they right the ship fast, the draining heat of August and the club’s lackluster play could give them another excuse to do just that.

Milwaukee Brewers

Perhaps the Brewers’ trading away Hader was a calculation that they were not going to be able to pay him long-term. They weren’t getting a better offer than the one they got from the Padres at the deadline, and they are unlikely to get past the Mets, Dodgers or Padres in the postseason if they make it that far.

Still, judging by the speechless reaction from Devin Williams, the clubhouse was rocked by the trade. Their play on the field has shown just how displeased they were as they were swept by the Pirates, fell from first place and then lost two of three to the Reds. Now, they embark on a brutal stretch where they will play series against the Rays, Dodgers and Cardinals. 

Their starting pitching was top-heavy before and their bullpen overworked. Without Hader and the negativity surrounding how he was dealt away, the dog days could lead to them collapsing right out of playoff contention entirely.