How much better was the Dodgers lineup compared to the Twins in 2024?

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in five games to win the eighth World Series championship in franchise history. They did it by throwing hard and hitting at the right time, highlighted by former MVP Freddie Freeman’s four home runs en route to being named the fall classic’s most valuable player.

But Freeman isn’t the only former MVP on the Dodgers’ roster. The first three hitters – Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman – won MVP awards in their careers. From top to bottom, the Dodgers lineup was terrifying.

That’s what a competitive payroll balance of $320 million ($277 million official payroll on Opening Day) does in the current MLB market. The Twins, earning around $130 million, built a lineup that was at one point one of the best in baseball before a six-week season-ending slump led to a playoff berth.

How much better, position by position, were the Dodgers than the Twins in 2024? Let’s look…

Jeffers was great early in the season, but he declined over the last three to four months and finished with a .226/.300/.432 line, 21 runs scored, and 64 RBIs. Smith slashed .248/.327/.433 with 20 homers and 70 RBI.

Advantage: Dodgers

Santana was a great free agent addition for the Twins and ultimately hit .238/.328/.420 with 23 homers and 71 RBI while also playing great defense. Freeman hit .282/.378/.476 with 22 homers, 35 doubles and 89 RBI. If Freeman had those numbers for the Twins, he would be second in batting average and runs scored, and first in doubles and RBI.

Advantage: Dodgers

Second base is a dynamic position for the Twins with the additions of Farmer, Lee and Julien. Apparently none of them did very well. Lux, meanwhile, hit .251 with 10 homers, 24 doubles and 50 RBI in 139 games.

Advantage: Dodgers

Correa was a stud until plantar fasciitis limited him to just a few weeks of playing time after the All-Star break. Ultimately, he played in 86 games, hitting .310/.388/.517, 14 homers, 20 doubles and 54 RBI. Edman was a star for the Dodgers in the postseason, but he played in just 37 games during the regular season. Rojas played in 103 games and hit .283 without throwing many hits.

Advantage: Twins

Lewis’ hot start to the season – after returning from a two-month injury layoff – disappeared almost immediately after he said he “doesn’t do crises like that”. He hit .233/.295/.452 with 16 runs scored and 47 RBI in 82 games. Miranda famously struck out in 12 consecutive at-bats and went on the injured list with a slash line of .284/.322/.441 with nine runs scored and 41 RBIs. Muncy was limited to 73 games but produced an .852 OPS with 15 homers and 48 RBI. Hernandez hit .229 with a .654 OPS, providing very little offensively while starting at third base.

Advantage: Twins

Both were selected to All-Star, but Hernandez had 33 homers, 32 doubles and 99 RBI while Castro had 12 homers, 31 doubles and 60 RBI. Hernandez also scored 25 points higher than Castro (.272 to .247).

Advantage: Dodgers

Buxton eventually crossed the 100-game mark and played 102 games. He had an .859 OPS with 18 homers and 27 doubles. Pages played a big role in the regular season, but the Dodgers recovered, relegating him to a bench role in the postseason.

Advantage: Twins

Margot set an MLB record for consecutive no-hitter pinch-hit opportunities. He finished with a .238 batting average and a negative 0.6 WAR. Wallner had an .894 OPS with 13 homers and 37 RBI in 220 at-bats. Betts slashed .289/.372/.491 with 19 runs scored and 75 RBIs in 116 games. His 4.8 WAR would lead the Twins by a mile (the Twins WAR leader was Correa with 3.7).

Advantage: Dodgers

Whether it’s Larnach or any other player who joined the DH for the Twins this season, it doesn’t even matter because Ohtani was similar to Babe Ruth. The superstar hit .310/.390/.646 with 54 homers, 38 doubles and 130 RBI. He became the first player in MLB history to go 50-50, adding 59 stolen bases. He also had seven three-pointers.

Advantage: Dodgers