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5. Los Angeles Dodgers
With Joc Pederson ready to come and join the big league club, the Dodgers opted to trade Kemp when his value was highest after enjoying a bounce-back 2014. There were questions about letting Hanley Ramirez walk, but the Dodgers replaced him with Jimmy Rollins (via trade) as they wait for Corey Seager (.349/.402/.602 +20 HR between A+ and AA) to be ready for a call up. However, the trade that sent speedster Dee Gordon to Miami was questioned even more than letting Hanley walk. To answer, the Dodgers acquired Howie Kendrick from the Angels. With Clayton Kershaw still excellent, Zach Greinke still tearing it up, and Hyun-Jin Ryu still very good, the Dodgers already had a great rotation. They elected to strengthen themselves further, adding Brandon McCarthy as their number four starter, and Joel Peralta to lock down the eighth inning. The Dodgers weren’t about to just hand the Padres the division now were they?
How do you not mention Justin Morneau in the Rockies section when you talk about how much talent they have? He just won the batting title…