Dodgers Adapt Strategy After Playoff Bye Week Woes

After consecutive early playoff exits following bye weeks, the Los Angeles Dodgers have reshaped their approach to postseason preparation. In 2022 and 2023, the team earned a bye for the first round of MLB's expanded playoff format but struggled to regain momentum, leading to four-game elimination losses to the Padres and a sweep by the Diamondbacks, respectively. These results were described by Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, as “organizational failures.”

In response to these setbacks, veteran players, including Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas, and Will Smith, proposed a new strategy to team officials ahead of another bye week in 2024. The core of the plan was to manufacture playoff urgency themselves during the break, addressing concerns that the team lost timing at the plate and succumbed to complacency.

"I think the hardest thing to replicate [during a bye] is the emotion of [the playoffs]," said third baseman Max Muncy. "The emotion, the stress, the ups and downs throughout the course of a game — you just can’t get that any other way than playing."

The revised approach involves higher-intensity simulated games during workouts at Dodger Stadium. Players are encouraged to stay at the ballpark after workouts to watch other playoff series together and limit time spent at home, aiming to prevent their competitive edge from dulling during the extended wait before the National League Division Series.

"You’ve earned the bye and you should take that time to rest and recover, but you don’t want to give guys too much time to be at home and get that taste of what it might be like," Muncy added. "You get guys here to the field. You’re not forcing anyone to do anything, but you’re making all the guys hang out together for extended periods of time when they could be at home enjoying family time –– which is great for everybody but not when you know what’s coming for us ahead."

This strategy, implemented in 2024, is credited with helping the Dodgers develop a "foxhole mentality" that contributed to overcoming a series deficit against the Padres in that year's NLDS. Further adjustments included the team busing to San Diego together instead of traveling individually and utilizing a players-only plane for away games, a practice that has since become a regular part of their travel.

General Manager Brandon Gomes acknowledged the player-driven nature of these changes. "Talking to Munce and the other guys, [it was] really important to keep the guys together and make sure the team is continuing to spend time together and make sure that camaraderie remains that you have in the season," Gomes recalled. "It was largely player-driven … A lot of those adjustments came from the group of players wanting to switch things up and create an atmosphere where they’re just spending more time together and really putting an emphasis on that, which is great."

While the Dodgers' roster talent, depth, and league-leading payroll—reportedly a record $432.8 million for luxury-tax purposes this year—are significant factors in their success, the team views reengineering togetherness as equally crucial. The club is currently navigating another first-round bye as they aim for a potential third consecutive World Series title, continuing the strategic adjustments that proved effective in previous seasons.