Dodgers Trade for Aroldis Chapman, Shohei Ohtani Wins Cy Young and More Bold Predictions for Rest of Season

The Los Angeles Dodgers are again one of the best teams in baseball early in the 2026 season.

The lineup is starting to play up to its potential, the starting rotation — despite the injuries — has been dominant and the bullpen has been historically great.

With Memorial Day here, and June just around the corner, it's a perfect time for predictions (some bolder than others) on how the rest of the Dodgers' regular season will shake out.

1. Andy Pages Earns First Career All-Star and Gold Glove Honors

The first part of this isn't so bold, as Pages should not only be an All-Star, but the starting center fielder for the National League on July 14.

Pages is hitting .282 with 11 home runs, 45 runs batted in and an OPS of .832 this year. He's also transformed into one of the game's best defenders, which takes us to the second part of the prediction.

Pages currently ranks in the 97th percentile in Outs Above Average (6) and the 98th percentile in Fielding Run Value (7). He also has one of the strongest arms in MLB and an unbelievable 12 Defensive Runs Saved.

What a catch by Andy Pages, as he continues his All-Star campaign on both sides of the ball for the Dodgers.

He had 9 Defensive Runs Saved coming into the game. He saved a run here on a ball that had an expected batting average of .710.

What a play.pic.twitter.com/wKpSq3W5nA
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) May 17, 2026

Last year, Pages was a liability in the field and sometimes in the lineup. This year, he's been arguably the Dodgers' best player outside of Shohei Ohtani.

He's going to win the Gold Glove in center field, cementing himself as one of the game's best young stars.

2. Dodgers Trade for Aroldis Chapman in Blockbuster Swing

The Dodgers were pretty quiet at last year's trade deadline, adding outfielder Alex Call and reliever Brock Stewart, as well as catcher Ben Rortvedt, who played a key role down the stretch.

This year, they'll take a big swing.

The Dodgers farm system is overflowing with outfield talent, and the Dodgers will move at least one of them to the Boston Red Sox to acquire All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman.

Chapman has allowed just one run over 17.2 innings for a 0.51 ERA this season. His fastball velocity, whiff rate and strikeout rate are in the 90th percentile or better in MLB.

Do the Dodgers need Chapman? Not at all.

Would he make them better? Absolutely.

So, why not?

3. Dodgers Run Away With NL West, Win it by 10+ Games

The San Diego Padres have defied logic this year, somehow battling with the Dodgers for first place in the NL West despite a run differential that has been hovering around 0 all year (and sits at plus-6 heading into Memorial Day).

At some point, they'll come back down to earth, while the Dodgers will continue to dominate.

The Padres could very well be a playoff team. They aren't going to be able to stay with the Dodgers all year, though.

Thus, LA run away with the NL West and win it by at least 10 games, earning their largest division win since 2023.

4. Shohei Ohtani Wins the Cy Young

This could be explained in one simple sentence: Shohei Ohtani wants to win the Cy Young, and you should never bet against Shohei Ohtani.

To expand a little, Ohtani currently looks like the best pitcher in baseball, allowing just four earned runs over 49 innings for a 0.73 ERA.

Shohei Ohtani in 2026:

5 IP, 0 ER, 4 K vs SD
7 IP, 0 ER, 8 K vs SF (didn't hit)
7 IP, 2 ER, 8 K vs HOU (didn’t hit)
6 IP, 1 ER, 9 K vs MIA (didn't hit)
6 IP, 0 ER, 7 K vs SF
6 IP, 1 ER, 10 K vs NYM (didn't hit)
6 IP, 0 ER, 2 K vs TOR
6 IP, 0 ER, 6 K vs CLE

He has a 0.73 ERA. pic.twitter.com/5eGC3q0cwp
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) May 21, 2026

Yes, Ohtani isn't going to throw the same amount of innings as the pitchers he'll be competing with. And yes, the National League is filled with incredible candidates including Paul Skenes, Cristopher Sánchez, Jacob Misiorowski, Chris Sale, Mason Miller and more.

But in the end, Ohtani will be so dominant on the mound that the voters will have no choice but to give him the only regular season award that has evaded him in his already storied career.

After that, he'll just need one more piece of hardware for his collection: a World Series MVP.

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