Which of these 10 former Dodgers has the best chance of winning the World Series?

Trea Turner was a star for the Dodgers for a year and a half. Trey Sweeney was a Dodgers farmhand for little more than a blink of an eye.

Both shortstops are vital cogs for teams seeking a World Series title and perhaps crushing the Dodgers' dreams in the process.

Last season, JD Martinez and David Peralta were veteran bats and clubhouse managers in Los Angeles. They're wearing different uniforms now and hoping to advance deep into the postseason, something they failed to do with the Dodgers.

Dodgers fans treat Manny Machado like a long-lost villain, showering him with boos every time he returns to Chavez Ravine. Alex Verdugo was popular in LA and his trade landed the Dodgers Mookie Betts. But both represent obstacles in the Dodgers' path to winning their first full-season championship since 1988. The Dodgers won the World Series in 2020 during the COVID-shortened season.

These and other former Dodgers are scattered throughout the rosters of teams still in the playoffs. Let's take a look at each one:

Trey Sweeney, SS, Tigers: Sweeney, the 20th overall pick in the Yankees' 2021 draft out of Eastern Illinois, was stuck behind rising star Anthony Volpe and was traded to the Dodgers last offseason for reliever Victor González and minor league infielder Jorbit Vivas.

Despite their clear absence at shortstop last spring – Gavin Lux failed at the position, Betts took a crash course in playing there and Miguel Rojas was considered a part-time starter – the Dodgers never seriously considered Sweeney as an option. He was considered average in every phase of the game and exceptional in no phase.

However, the Detroit Tigers valued him more highly and traded frontman Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers in July for Sweeney and minor league catcher Thayron Liranzo. Sweeney was promoted from Triple-A on August 16 to replace the extremely disappointing and overpaid Javier Báez, who is out for the season with a hip injury.

Sweeney has provided above-average defense and enough offense to justify his starting role. Meanwhile, Flaherty will be the Dodgers' starter for Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

Zach McKinstry, IF/OF, Tigers: Another Dodgers offshoot finding a home in Detroit is McKinstry, who has played shortstop, third base, second base and two outfield positions this season. He started third and scored a brace in the Tigers' crucial wild-card win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

McKinstry, a 33rd-round pick out of Central Michigan in 2016, made a splash with the Dodgers in early 2021, filling in for the injured Cody Bellinger and Betts and impressing manager Dave Roberts, who said, “He's kind of different than Chris .”Taylor Cloth, where it doesn't matter where he plays, he just wants to play, and he'll figure it out and make the plays.”

After batting .303 with four home runs and 14 runs scored in his first 16 games this year, McKinstry bounced back and forth between the Dodgers and Triple-A until the July 30, 2022, deadline for reliever Chris Martin to the Chicago Cubs, who flourished during his two months in LA

The Tigers acquired McKinstry ahead of the 2023 season and he has proven to be a valuable utility man who plays every position except catcher – yes, he even swiped on the mound four times.

Kenta Maeda, RHP, Tiger: Maeda was a reliable starter for the Dodgers from 2016 to 2019 after arriving from Japan on an eight-year, $25 million contract. He finished second in Cy Young voting with the Minnesota Twins in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the Tigers despite undergoing Tommy John surgery.

After a terrible first half of this season as a starter, Maeda moved to the bullpen and was somewhat effective. However, he was left off the wild card roster and it remains to be seen whether he will be activated for the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians. Maeda has a $10 million contract in 2025.

Alex Verdugo, OF, Yankees: Verdugo was selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Sahuaro High School in Tucson and established himself as a competent major league hitter as a rookie in 2019. He hit .294 with 12 home runs in 343 at-bats.

The lively and exuberant Verdugo was a fan favorite but was traded to the Boston Red Sox as part of the deal that brought Betts to LA. He was solid if not spectacular in his four years in Boston, batting .281 with a .762 OPS in about 2,000 plate appearances before being traded to the Yankees last offseason.

After a strong start in the Bronx, Verdugo cooled off, hitting .227 since May 1 and losing his starting spot in left field to leading prospect Jasson Domínguez in September. However, Domínguez has had defensive lapses, batting just .179 in 18 games, and Verdugo could be in the lineup when the Yankees open the AL Division Series against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.

Tommy Kahnle, RHP, Yankees: Kahnle spent much more time in the training room and sitting at his locker playing video games than he did on the mound during his two seasons with the Dodgers. They signed him to a two-year, $4.75 million contract before the 2021 season, knowing he would miss the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

However, injuries persisted and in 2022 he only pitched 12 2/3 innings, albeit effectively. That short window led the Yankees to sign him to a two-year, $11.5 million contract, and he responded with a 2.40 earned-run average over 92 appearances in 2023 and 2024.

Manny Machado, 3B, Padres: Machado was undeniably a superstar when the Dodgers acquired him from the Orioles at the 2018 trade deadline, just 25 years old and in the midst of his fourth straight season with 30-plus home runs. However, he underperformed, especially in the postseason when the Dodgers lost to the Red Sox in the World Series.

Worse, he didn't have the ball on the ground, played with a grin, and declared himself like this: “I'm not a player that's going to be 'Johnny Hustle.'” … That's just not my personality. That's not my thing. That’s not me.”

Here he is, six years later, performing in San Diego at a level that could eventually bring him to Cooperstown. Still only 31 years old, Machado has 1,900 hits, 342 home runs and 1,042 RBIs. What he doesn't have is a World Series championship ring, and he and his Padres teammates have to go through LA in the NLDS to take the next step.

David Peralta, OF, Padres: The 37-year-old Peralta has long been admired as a professional hitter, a dangerous left-handed hitter in the lineup or off the bench. With the Dodgers in 2023, he batted .259 with a career-low .294 on-base percentage and .675 OPS. With the Padres in 2024, he rebounded, batting .267 with an OBP of .335 and an OPS of .715.

He hit .288 with an .804 OPS against right-handed starters this season, and all of the Dodgers' starters are right-handed, so he could see some action.

Yu Darvish, SP, Padres: The enduring memory of Darvish as a Dodger is that he was bombed for four runs in the second inning of a Game 3 World Series loss to the Astros in 2017. It was later revealed that the Astros cheated and used technology at Minute Maid Park to steal the Dodgers' signs.

Seven years later, Darvish, 38, is still effective, winning his only three decisions in September after missing three months with a groin injury and a family emergency. The right-hander had a 7-3 record with a 3.31 ERA in 16 starts this season.

Trea Turner, SS, Phillies: Another brilliant acquisition at the trade deadline landed Turner in a Dodgers uniform for the second half of the 2021 season and all of 2022. Fans appreciated his unusual mix of speed and power and his supernatural slides, where he landed on red soil as if it were a billowing cloud.

The Dodgers declined to offer Turner a monster free agent contract, and he got one with the Phillies for 11 years and $300 million. His first two years have largely gone as expected, and Turner is one of several exceptional players on the Phillies' roster who are expected to make a serious push for a World Series title.

JD Martinez, DH, Mets: Martinez was a productive designated hitter and stabilizing clubhouse force for the Dodgers in 2023 and was no longer needed the moment Shohei Ohtani decided to wear blue for the next 10 years. Martinez remained on the market until the Mets signed him to a one-year, $12 million contract less than a week before the start of the season.

His production declined sharply due to the 33 home runs and 106 RBIs he hit with the Dodgers, and just a few days ago he was in an 0-for-36 slump. But Martinez scored key hits in the final days of the regular season and his RBI single helped the Mets win Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the host Milwaukee Brewers.