The 1972 Los Angeles Dodgers finished the season 85–70, good for a tie for second place with the Astros in the National League West. This was the first season where the players' last names appeared on the back of the uniforms.

• October 21: Tommy Hutton was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Larry Hisle.^[1]
• October 22, 1971: Bobby Darwin was traded by the Dodgers to the Minnesota Twins for Paul Powell.^[2]
• October 24, 1971: Maury Wills was released by the Dodgers.^[3]
• December 2, 1971: Doyle Alexander, Bob O'Brien, Sergio Robles and Royle Stillman were traded by the Dodgers to the Baltimore Orioles for Frank Robinson and Pete Richert.^[4]
• December 2, 1971: Dick Allen was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox for Tommy John and Steve Huntz.^[5]
• December 2, 1971: Tom Haller was traded by the Dodgers to the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later and cash. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Bernie Beckman (minors) to the Dodgers on March 31, 1972.^[6]
• December 17, 1971: Chris Cannizzaro was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers from the Chicago Cubs.^[7]
• March 27, 1972: Bill Sudakis was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers by the New York Mets.^[8]

• NL Player of the Month
  • Don Sutton (April 1972)

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

This was the eighth year of a Major League Baseball Draft. The Dodgers drafted 42 players in the June draft and eight in the January draft.

This was a weak draft class whose most notable player was Dennis Lewallyn, a pitcher who played for the Dodgers and two other teams from 1975 to 1981 with a 4–4 record and 4.48 ERA. The top draft pick was shortstop John Harbin from Newberry College who played in only 83 games in the Dodgers farm system in 1972 and was quickly out of baseball.