The Dodgers have been the best team in baseball, even without getting much from marquee offseason additions

Perhaps most notable about this 15-4 start is the Dodgers have done it without getting much from Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker, their two big offseason additions. Díaz is 4 for 5 in save chances, though he hasn't pitched since blowing a three-run lead last Friday, April 10. The team insists he's healthy even though his velocity has been down.

"It's not an IL thing we're talking about," Roberts told MLB.com last week. "It's more day to day."

Díaz did warm up for a save situation in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the New York Mets, his former team, but he sat down once the offense broke things open in the bottom of the eighth. Alex Vesia has recorded two saves since Díaz last pitched and Tanner Scott got the final three outs in another game the Dodgers won by four.

As for Tucker, he's plugging along with a .236/.341/.347 slash line that is far below his usual output. He did drive in the game-winning run with a soft single against the Mets on Tuesday, but otherwise has only two multi-hit games this season, and his 22.4% strikeout rate is well above his elite 15.0% strikeout rate from 2021-25.

The Dodgers have thrived without Tucker making an impact because the rest of the lineup is just so good. Six of their regulars -- Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, and the red-hot Andy Pages -- all have at least a 126 OPS+, as does Hyeseong Kim, who's filling in for the injured Mookie Betts at shortstop.

Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan both have an ERA north of 6, but the Dodgers' other four starters (Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Justin Wrobleski, Yoshinobu Yamamoto) have a combined 1.88 ERA in 13 starts. The bullpen is sixth in ERA and fourth in WAR. They lead all teams in defensive runs saved and outs above average. You name it, and the Dodgers excel at it.

If you've watched this sport for more than about five minutes, you know winning a third straight World Series is not a given no matter how great the Dodgers look. Remember, they were two outs away from losing the World Series last year. There's just so much that can wrong in the six months between now and the Fall Classic.

To start the season though, yeah, the Dodgers again look dominant, even without Díaz and Tucker fully pulling their weight yet. For most teams, a slow start by their big new free agents would lead to an early-season funk. The Dodgers are built to withstand a slump by almost anyone. They're every bit as good as they were expected to be this year.