David Lennon’s 2018 National League power rankings

1. LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Manager: Dave Roberts (third season, 195-129, .602; overall three seasons, 195-130, .600)

GM: Farhan Zaidi (fourth year)

2017: 104-58, .642, first in NL West; NLDS def. Diamondbacks, 4-0; NLCS def. Cubs, 4-1; World Series lost to Astros, 4-3.

Eventually, the Dodgers are going to win the World Series. Sooner rather than later. They’ve checked just about every box. Spent nearly every dime. Drafted, bought and traded for enough talent to overwhelm most teams in the majors. And yet, after five straight NL West titles, the Dodgers still haven’t earned a ring since 1988, when Kirk Gibson was fist-pumping his way around the basepaths at Chavez Ravine.

So what gives? On paper, there’s really no excuse. The Dodgers won 104 games last season, then went 7-1 in dispatching the Diamondbacks and Cubs. Still, they got to a Game 7, in L.A., before finally going belly-up to the Astros.

And now the Dodgers are bringing the same team back. Same solid rotation headed by the planet’s best pitcher in Clayton Kershaw. Same lethal lineup that tends to restock itself, year after year, with the game’s best young talent, from Corey Seager to Cody Bellinger to Chris Taylor.

Did we mention a bullpen that features the sport’s top closer in Kenley Jansen? It’s difficult to find flaws in the Dodgers — even their farm system is bursting with talent — so there’s no other place to put them at the top of these NL power rankings. If this team stays healthy, and the rotation pitches to within its expected range, LA is another 100-win team that should be pencilled in to the World Series right now. And if the Dodgers suffer a few injuries, they have plenty of trade chips to fortify themselves by the trade deadline.

See you in October.

2. CHICAGO CUBS

Manager: Joe Maddon (fourth season, 292-193, .602; overall, 15 seasons, 1,073-922, .538)

GM: Jed Hoyer (seventh season)

2017: 92-70, .568, first in NL Central; NLDS def. Nationals, 3-2; NLCS lost to Dodgers, 4-1

Interesting strategy by the Cubs. In their 2018 bid to take down the Dodgers, the defending NL Central champs (two years running) signed two players at least partly responsible for LA’s demise in the World Series: Yu Darvish and Brandon Morrow. Darvish takes Jake Arrieta’s spot in the rotation and Morrow replaces Wade Davis as closer. While those shouldn’t necessarily be considered upgrades, the Cubs still have plenty of talent for a deep October run -- and a likely rematch with the Dodgers at some point. The Bryant-Rizzo-Contreras is as dangerous a trio in the game, with Ian Happ and Albert Almora battling for leadoff duties. The Cubs could use a bounceback year from Addison Russell, who had a slash line of .239/.304/.418 and was limited to 110 games due to foot and shoulder injuries.

3. WASHINGTON NATIONALS

Manager: Dave Martinez (first season)

GM: Mike Rizzo (ninth year)

2017: 97-65, .599, first in NL East; NLDS lost to Cubs, 3-2

The Nationals cruised to the NL East title last season, and should win it again this year, even if the Mets are able to stay relatively healthy. So instead of running away by 20 games, figure it be more like seven, and that should set up the Nats for one last hurrah before Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy reach free agency. Harper has only known D.C. — he was the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft — and it would seem to make sense, for both sides, if the Nationals could come up with an extension plan to keep him. But Harper is a Scott Boras client, and the super-agent is allergic to doing deals before hitting the open market. Still, with this winter scare, the climate feels right for the Nats to retain their franchise player, even if it doesn’t happen until after November. Murphy is a compelling case as well, but we don’t see a Citi homecoming in his future.

4. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Manager: Torey Lovullo (second season, 93-69, .574)

GM: Mike Hazen (second year)

2017: 93-69, .574, second in NL West; NLDS lost to Dodgers, 3-0

If there is one way to put a chill into the D-Backs’ title hopes this season, it’s a problem with Zack Greinke, and Arizona got a mid-March fright when the $206-million man began experiencing groin tightness that put Opening Day in jeopardy. While the season opener is no big deal in the larger scheme of things, Greinke’s sudden decrease in velocity could be a different story and a number to watch going forward. The D-Backs also are left with the void created by J.D. Martinez’s departure (via free agency) to the Red Sox, a move they tried to counter by signing Jarrod Dyson (2 yrs, $7.5 million) and trading for Steven Souza Jr. in the three-team deal that shipped Brandon Drury to the Bronx. As long as perennial MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt anchors the lineup, Arizona mostly has to fill in the slots around him.

5. NEW YORK METS

Manager: Mickey Callaway (first season)

GM: Sandy Alderson (eighth year)

2017: 70-92, .432, fourth in NL East

Here’s one thing to remember about the Mets. They didn’t start out as a 70-win team last season. Just the opposite. Many picked them to win the World Series coming off two straight playoff trips, including the Fall Classic in 2015. Stuff just happens to them, and that’s the caveat heading into this season — this ranking comes with the assumption that most of the roster stays intact. If this rotation stays healthy, it has two Cy Young candidates in Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, along with a ton of potential. Matt Harvey could really use a springboard into free agency, while Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler would like to get their promising careers back on track. Offensively, it’s a veteran group that could do damage — provided that Yoenis Cespedes stays in one piece. Cespedes is into yoga and claims to have given up golf, but he still was bothered by shoulder and wrist injuries during spring training. With the Mets, there’s always something to worry about.

6. COLORADO ROCKIES

Manager: Bud Black (second season, 87-75, .537; overall, 10 seasons, 736-788, .483)

GM: Jeff Bridich (fourth year)

2017: 87-75, .537, third in NL West, Wild Card lost to Diamondbacks

Coors Field. Thin air. No humidity. Murder on a pitching staff. So GM Jeff Bridich did the logical thing — spent $106 million on the bullpen, and more specifically, just three relievers: Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee. Any one of those three would have represented an entire offseason investment in a relief core, but the Rockies’ plan to build a pen with such redundancy was a smart decision, given where the game is headed as well as their anti-pitching mountain environment. Of course, essential to that strategy working is keeping a game close, and the Rockies definitely have a deep enough lineup to do just that, spearheaded by Nolan Arenado, who over the past three seasons has hit .297 with a .930 OPS while averaging 40 homers and 131 RBIs. Altitude or not, those are scary numbers, and can help cover up a multitude of mistakes by the Rockies’ rotation.

7. MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Manager: Craig Counsell (fourth season, 220-241, .477)

GM: David Stearns (third year)

2017: 86-76, .531, second in NL Central

Leave it to presumably “small-market” Milwaukee to take advantage of two other franchises cutting expenses. The Brewers jumped on the fish fry in Miami to acquire one of the top prizes, Christian Yelich, a Gold-Glove caliber outfielder with a career .290 batting average and .800 OPS. They also struck early to sign Lorenzo Cain — dismissed in free agency by the Royals — to a five-year, $80-million contract. So what the Fonzie is going on in Milwaukee? GM David Stearns is quietly building a solid contender (86 wins last season) that hasn’t reached the Cubs’ level quite yet, but is becoming a feisty second-tier threat. To be much more than that, however, adding a few arms should be the next order of business. Targeting Wade Miley as rotation help isn’t going to win anyone a division title, never mind a championship, and the Brewers passed on Lance Lynn and Jake Arrieta, so the cash spigots eventually shut off at Miller Park.

8. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Manager: Mike Matheny (seventh season, 544-428, .560)

GM: Mike Girsch (first year)

2017: 83-79, .512, third in NL Central

The Cardinals haven’t missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons in nearly two decades (1997-99). But that’s the bad piece of history the good people of St. Louis are facing this year, which could also be the last for manager Mike Matheny if he doesn’t get to October. The big winter move was swiping Marcell Ozuna in the Marlins’ fire sale, adding his 37-homer bat to a lineup that no longer has Steve Piscotty (dealt to the A’s). For whatever reason, the Cardinals didn’t take advantage of the bargain free-agent market to upgrade the rotation (Lance Lynn anybody?) or bullpen (Luke Gregorson at closer over Greg Holland?). For a traditional power with so much at stake, St. Louis could have made a bigger splash than merely adding Ozuna this winter. Or maybe they’re just waiting for a clearer picture of their needs come the trade deadline.

9. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Manager: Bruce Bochy (12th season, 902-880, .506; overall, 23 seasons, 1,853-1,855, .499)

GM: Bobby Evans (fourth year)

2017: 64-98, .395, fifth in NL West

After losing 98 games last season, the Giants led the majors this winter in the number of franchise players acquired. Or at least players that used to be the face of their franchise. GM Bobby Evans stunned the entire Tampa Bay region by trading for Evan Longoria, taking advantage of the Rays’ desire to get out from under the roughly $86 million left on his contract. Evans followed that up by dealing for Andrew McCutchen, who only has one year at $14.7 million remaining. While those two former All-Stars certainly have appeal to the marketing department, what the Giants really need is offense after finishing at the very bottom of the National League in both home runs (128) and OPS (.689) last season. Longoria is averaging 26 homers with a .782 OPS over the past five seasons and McCutchen has hit 24 with an .873 OPS over the same span. That winter boost, however, was minimized by two late spring-training pitching injuries and they are biggies. Ace Madison Bumgarner will miss the first two months of the regular season after breaking a bone in his pitching hand and Jeff Samardzija is out for a month because of a pectoral strain.

10. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Manager: Gabe Kapler (first season)

GM: Matt Klentak (third year)

2017: 66-96, .407, fifth in NL East

The concept of sending messages mostly feels overrated. But in the case of the Phillies signing Jake Arrieta nearly a month into spring training, we’ll make an exception. GM Matt Klentak figured to be knee-deep in a rebuilding process for another year or so, but this winter suggests that the timetable has been accelerated. The Phillies surprised everyone by inking Carlos Santana to a three-year, $60-million deal back in December, and after the bottom fell out of the free-agent market, they scooped up the ’15 Cy Young winner on a three-contract worth a guaranteed $75 million. That’s called being resourceful. The Phillies are putting together a new young core, with Rhys Hoskins, Odubel Herrera and Cesar Hernandez, so supplementing that with some outside talent is a smart play. Arrieta joins incumbent No. 1 Aaron Nola in the rotation, with more developing arms on the way.

11. SAN DIEGO PADRES

Manager: Andy Green (third season, 139-185, .429)

GM: A.J. Preller (fourth year)

2017: 71-91, .438, fourth in NL West

A.J. Preller has been on quite the roller-coaster ride since taking over as GM, first going on a spending spree for a spectacular flameout in 2015 and now patiently waiting to build up from those ashes. Considering what Preller did back then, this winter was an exercise in moderation, signing Eric Hosmer to an eight-year, $144-million contract as part of the foundation — as long as he doesn’t take his numerous chances to opt out of the deal along the way. The Padres also will have a distinctly Bronx flavor after trading for Chase Headley and Bryan Mitchell in what amounted to a Yankees’ salary dump designed to clear space for Giancarlo Stanton’s monster financial commitment. The Padres should rise up at some point in the NL West, with young talents like Manuel Margot (picked up in the Craig Kimbrel swap) and shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. at the core. It’s not happening this year though.

12. ATLANTA BRAVES

Manager: Brian Snitker (third season, 131-155, .458)

GM: Alex Anthopoulos (first year)

2017: 72-90, .444, third in NL East

Sort of an eventful offseason in Atlanta, no? Commissioner Rob Manfred basically used the nuclear option to penalize the Braves, first by banishing the now former GM John Coppolella for life for international signing violations, and also cutting loose 12 prospects from the organization. Into that void steps new GM Alex Anthopoulos to clean up the mess, with anchors Freddie Freeman, shortstop Dansby Swanson and the promising Ozzie Albies as his double-play partner. As far as the rotation goes, Julio Teheran is the No. 1 with a shaky supporting cast that includes two Dodgers castoffs in Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir — two pieces from the Matt Kemp mega-deal. The Braves basically remain in a holding pattern until more of their pitching prospects are ready for a promotion, which is a weird place to be in their second season of a new stadium, Sun Trust Park.

13. CINCINNATI REDS

Manager: Bryan Price (fifth season, 276-372, .426)

GM: Dick Williams (third year)

2017: 68-94, .420, fifth in NL Central

So you’re the Reds. Not Marlins bad, not Cubs good. A franchise and city with a great baseball history, yet toiling in this limbo, stuck in the sport’s spacious middle. No postseason in four consecutive years, with the last playoff victory coming in 2012. The Reds haven’t won as many as 70 games since 2014 (76 to be exact). So you crank up the MVP-caliber Joey Votto for another season — he turns 35 this year — trumpet the speedster Billy Hamilton and see what can be cobbled together for a pitching staff. At this point, any true fan of Votto would like to see him traded to a contender to get another shot at the playoffs, because he continues to put up ridiculous numbers, perhaps helped a smidge by the hitter-friendly confines of Great American Ball Park. Here’s the Reds in a nutshell. They won 68 games last year and Votto finished runner-up in the MVP (.320 BA, .454 OBP, 36 HRs, 100 RBIs). What a waste.

14. PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Manager: Clint Hurdle (eighth season, 584-549, .515; overall, 15 seasons, 1,118-1,174, .488)

GM: Neal Huntington (11th year)

2017: 75-87, .463, fourth in NL Central

Over a 10-month span, beginning last April, the Pirates had Starling Marte suspended 80 games for PEDs (happy 2017 Bucs fans!), the team limped to a 75-win finish, then traded two of its most popular players, Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole, during the winter. Has it already been two years since this team won 98 games and Pittsburgh was rallying fervently around the Jolly Roger? As for what’s left, the Pirates have to be disappointed they couldn’t find an offseason taker for Josh Harrison. But given the cheap free-agent market, neither the Mets nor Yankees were biting. The Pirates have benefitted from a nice Ivan Nova rebound — he’s posted a 3.86 ERA with a 4.69 K/BB ratio in 42 starts since the ’16 swap with the Yankees — so maybe he becomes a decent chip as the trade deadline looms. Could a Bronx reunion be possible?

15. MIAMI MARLINS

Manager: Don Mattingly (third season, 156-167, .483; overall seven seasons, 602-530, .532)

President of Baseball Operations: Michael Hill (11th year)

2017: 77-85, .475, second in NL East

Ah yes, the Marlins. Exhibit A for Tony Clark & Co. in the union’s “tanking” argument against MLB for the lack of spending this winter. Guilty as charged, of course. But in any other year, it probably wouldn’t matter much. Franchises do the tear-down thing all the time. Look at the Astros. But in purchasing the Marlins, new CEO Derek Jeter has quickly learned that he’s not in the Bronx anymore, where the cash flows freely and he remains a legendary captain of the Yankees. The Marlins are going to play a 162-game schedule, just like everyone else, but the season, for all practical purposes, ended this winter, when Jeter supervised a dismantling of the roster that shipped Giancarlo Stanton (to the Yankees for Starlin Castro), Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich and Dee Gordon elsewhere. So that begs the question: how does Jeter sell tickets for a team that just dumped the only players the fans wanted to watch? They’re already counting the days until football season.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.