News Dodgers Team Notes

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Kyle Tucker signing ignites salary cap discussions

The Dodgers’ signing of Kyle Tucker gave opposing fans all the more reason to hate the Dodgers, and it gave fellow team owners all the more reason to loathe the Dodgers front office.

To win two consecutive championships and continue to add star talent while sporting one of the highest payrolls in baseball is the envy and ire of small market organizations. With the current collective bargaining agreement expiring after the 2026 season, an impending lockout is all but certain. Rather than discuss a salary floor to ensure that owners allocate a fair percentage of revenue towards their roster, the main issue that will be brought up this offseason will be a salary cap, notes Evan Drellich of The Athletic.

Major League Baseball owners are “raging” in the wake of Kyle Tucker’s free agency agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers and it is now “a 100 percent certainty” that the owners will push for a salary cap, one person briefed on ownership conversations who was not authorized to speak publicly told The Athletic. “These guys are going to go for a cap no matter what it takes,” the source said.

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With a four-headed monster that includes Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers starting rotation on paper looks to be one of, if not the best, in baseball entering the 2026 season. What has been a dire issue over the last two seasons has been the health of the rotation, as each of the aforementioned names have missed significant time due to injury since the beginning of the 2024 season.

As a means to potentially shore up the back end of the rotation and add a relatively younger arm, the Dodgers are maintaining their interest in Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, notes Katie Woo of The Athletic.

The Dodgers remain interested in Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta, a two-time All-Star approaching his final season before free agency. Peralta is one of the top starters on the trade market after logging a career-best 2.70 ERA over 33 starts for the National League Central champions. Given the injuries that plagued the rotation last year, trading for Peralta is worth exploring.

Andruw Jones had two more years of Hall of Fame eligibility entering this year, and he made history on Tuesday by becoming the first player from Curacao to be elected into Cooperstown. On making the Hall of Fame in his ninth year of eligibility, here is what Jones had to say on getting the call, per Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.

“You don’t play this game to be a Hall of Famer. You play to help your team win a championship. And when you go out there and be consistent and put up numbers and then your name starts popping up [as a candidate], it’s a big honor for me, and it’s a big honor for my family.”

Former Dodger Rich Hill isn’t planning on pitching in 2026 despite spending limited time with the Kansas City Royals this past season. He also has his disagreements with Joe Kelly’s definition of retirement, as he explained on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.

The main rhetorical question of the offseason: Are the Dodgers truly ruining baseball? That is what Huston Mitchell of the Los Angeles Times answers in the latest edition of Dodgers Dugout.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-...y-peralta-andruw-jones-hall-of-fame-rich-hill

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Kyle Tucker Dodgers contract details, opt-out clauses & more

The Dodgers finalized their deal with Kyle Tucker on Wednesday, signing the outfielder to a four-year contract worth $240 million.

Tucker gets a $64 million signing bonus as part of the contract, $54 million of which will be paid this February 15 and the other $10 million on February 1, 2027, per Beth Harris and Ronald Blum of Associated Press, with the following annual salaries.

2026: $1 million
2027: $55 million
2028: $60 million player option
2029: $60 million player option

A total of $30 million of the salaries are deferred — $10 million each year from 2027-29 — which is not uncommon among Dodgers contracts of late. Each year’s $10 million deferred salary will be paid out at $1 million per year every December 1 from 2036-45, again per AP.

Tucker is one of 10 Dodgers with deferred money in their contract, with a total of $1.0945 billion scheduled to be paid out between 2028-47. Shohei Ohtani’s $680 million deferred — 97 percent of his 10-year contract — is the outlier, with deferred money in the other nine contracts ranging between 12.5 percent (Tucker) and 36.3 percent (Blake Snell) of the total contract guarantee.

The deferrals in Tucker’s contract reduce the average annual value from $60 million to $57,195,945 per year.

Tucker has two opportunities to opt out of the contract — after either the 2027 or 2028 seasons. The Dodgers typically don’t include opt-outs, but given that Tucker was also being heavily pursued by the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets, including the ability for Tucker to leave potentially after two seasons was a way for the Dodgers to sweeten the deal.

“In two years, we’ll know a lot more about a lot of things than we do know, and just because he opts out doesn’t mean that we won’t be there to try to sign up,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “In any deal you’d prefer to to have an opt-out. Generally speaking, I think they’re very poorly priced in the market, which is why we have avoided them by and large. In this case, it just made sense for a confluence of reasons.”

Because Tucker declined a qualifying offer from the Chicago Cubs in November, the Dodgers will forfeit a pair of picks in the 2026 MLB Draft. Having already ceded their second and fifth-round selections for signing fellow qualifying-offer free agent Edwin Díaz in December, the Dodgers for signing Tucker will forfeit their third and sixth-round picks this July. That will likely leave the Dodgers with a draft pool of something like $4 million or just under, which would be their lowest in the 15 years of the draft slotting system.

“The depth of our system put us in a position where, while the cost is still meaningful, it wasn’t as significant. We have a very strong system up top,” Friedman said. “But even more than that, I think the depth of our system allows us this one year to have our food budget for the draft meetings exceed our signing bonuses. It’s not great by any means, but just trying to balance that with doing everything we could to put ourselves in the best position to win a championship in 2026.”

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-payroll/109102/kyle-tucker-contract-dodgers

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dave Roberts is keeping number 30, so Kyle Tucker will wear 23 with Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — To say that Dave Roberts and Maury Wills were close is an understatement. Wills, the Dodgers’ all-time stolen base leader and six-time National League steals leader, took the base-stealing Roberts under his wing when Roberts was playing, and became a confidant for two decades, until Wills died in 2022.

“He was a friend, a father, a mentor, all of the above for me. This one is a tough one,” Roberts said after Wills’ death three and a half years ago. “He showed me to appreciate my craft, and what it is to be a big leaguer. He just loved to teach. A lot of where I get my excitement, my passion, my love for players is from him.”

Twenty-three different Dodgers players have worn number 30 since Wills last donned the uniform in 1972, including Roberts from 2002-04 when he was playing for the Dodgers. Roberts resumed wearing number 30 when he took over as manager in Los Angeles for the 2016 season.

So it was going to be a tall order for Kyle Tucker, who wore number 30 in his last five seasons with the Houston Astros, and also in 2025 with the Chicago Cubs, to keep wearing that same number with the Dodgers. But he had to at least try.

“I kind of knew the reasoning behind having the number 30, but I was like, I’m just gonna take a shot in the dark here and see what happens,” Tucker said during his introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. “I wasn’t necessarily expecting it.”

“It was a fun conversation Tuck and I had, and it was more — you know, Maury and I just had a great relationship,” Roberts said Wednesday. “One of the things that he was like, ‘Gosh, when I die I hope no one else wears that number.’ It’s really near and dear to me, so we talked about it.”

The Dodgers typically only retire uniform numbers of Hall of Famers who go into Cooperstown representing the team, with only two exceptions to date — Jim Gilliam and Fernando Valenzuela. Roberts is well on his way down the Hall of Fame path, having won three championships and five pennants in his 10 years on the job.

Roberts is one of only 11 managers to win the World Series at least three times. Nine of the other 10 are in the Hall of Fame, and Bruce Bochy will likely join them as early as 2027, depending on whether he decides to keep managing. Same for the 16 National League/American League managers with at least five pennants under their belt — 14 already in Cooperstown, plus Bochy and Roberts.

In other words, Roberts will likely have a plaque of his own in the Hall of Fame one day, and the number 30 will be retired at Dodger Stadium. He’ll be the last one to wear it.

Another connection to Wills is that in 2003, the middle year of Roberts’ three seasons playing in Los Angeles, he was teammates with utility man Jason Romano, who is now Tucker’s agent at Excel Sports.

With 30 unavailable, Tucker chose to wear number 23 with the Dodgers. That was the number worn by Michael Conforto, who’s one year with the Dodgers last season did not work out as either side planned. Though Tucker is going to play right field — with Teoscar Hernández shifting to left field, which both Roberts and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed on Wednesday — he’s essentially directly replacing Conforto, who played left field last season. So perhaps it’s fitting that he’s wearing the same number.

But Tucker had a different reason for choosing it. That was the number worn by Michael Brantley, the longtime Guardians outfielder who played the final five seasons of his career (2019-23) in Houston, alongside Tucker’s rise to a full-time player and eventual four-time All-Star.

“With me going to 23 — I mean, [Roberts] looking up to Maury Wills and kind of being his mentor and everything coming up, and him wanting to wear that for him — kind of the same thing with me, with 23 and Michael Brantley,” Tucker explained. “He’s the guy I hung out with a lot coming up in Houston, and he was a phenomenal ballplayer and one of my close friends. That played a big part into my choice going with that.”

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-ange...ave-roberts-number-30-kyle-tucker-maury-wills

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

How Kyle Tucker fits in the Dodgers lineup

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers outfield production in 2025 was lacking, making it a clear need this offseason. They compensated for that by adding Kyle Tucker, who was the consensus top free agent available, rated the No. 1 free agent at the beginning of the offseason by ESPN, FanGraphs, The Athletic, MLB Trade Rumors, Baseball Prospectus, Yahoo Sports, MLB.com, and CBS Sports.

The cost was heavy, guaranteeing $240 million on a four-year contract, and even adding two chances for Tucker to opt out of the deal, such was the demand for his services on the market. But the Dodgers have the money, and they’ve been more than willing to spend it, with record-setting competitive balance tax payments the last two seasons. They also have the prospect depth to absorb the loss of draft picks for signing Tucker (and for signing Edwin Díaz, too).

They thought Tucker was worth that kind of investment.

“Anytime you can add a guy to your lineup that is arguably better against same-side pitching — there’s really no holes in what he does offensively. Really balanced splits, versus right, versus left, incredible decision making, really good bat-to-ball skills,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Wednesday. “Just the way that will kind of complement and help further round out our offense, something we thought that would be significant in terms of the odds increasing on our championship quest.”

Dodgers outfielders as a group in 2025 hit .240/.299/.415, with a 98 wRC+ that ranked 17th among 30 MLB teams. Tucker is a career .273/.358/.507 hitter with a 138 wRC+, and has posted a 130 wRC+ or better in each of the last five seasons. Dodgers outfielders last year totaled 4.3 fWAR as a group (Andy Pages accounted for 4.1 fWAR himself), while Tucker has tallied 4.2 fWAR or higher five years in a row, averaging 4.7.

Since the start of 2021, Tucker is one of only four major league hitters with an isolated power — slugging percentage minus batting average — .200 or above combined with a strikeout rate of 16 percent or lower, along with fellow star players Mookie Betts, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and José Ramírez.

The Dodgers in 2025 had a 21.9-percent strikeout rate as a team, 12th-lowest in the majors. Adding Tucker should help that.

But where does he fit in the Dodgers lineup? Last week, I asked this question on The Feed here at True Blue LA, and got various responses, ranging between Tucker batting as high as second or as low as fifth. But either way, he’ll be in a prime spot in a suddenly more-loaded lineup with him on board.

“I was talking with Gomer [general manager Brandon Gomes] and Andrew [Friedman] recently, and it’s just fun to think about where Kyle is going to hit in the lineup,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “He’ll be in the top third. I don’t want you guys to hold me to it right now, but [hitting] second or third seems to make sense.”

It’s still only January 22, still a month from spring training games starting and nine weeks from opening day. A lot can happen between now and then. But let’s unpack what Roberts said on Wednesday.

For the last two seasons, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman have been the Dodgers’ big three atop the lineup. If Tucker hits second or third, one of those other three is moving. It won’t be Ohtani, who seems entrenched in the leadoff spot. Betts is coming off his worst offensive season, but the Dodgers have been loath to move him down in the lineup. It took until Game 5 of the World Series for Betts to shift down in the lineup to third, his first start outside of the top two since 2021. Betts hit third in Games 5 and 6, and hit fourth in Game 7.

Freeman in four years with the Dodgers has hit mostly second or third. He batted cleanup four times in September 2024, but those were only against left-handed pitchers to help split up the left-handed hitters in the lineup. That continued into 2025, but Freeman also hit cleanup sometimes against right-handed pitchers, and hit fourth a total of 47 times in the regular season, and batted cleanup eight times in 17 postseason games.

I think Freeman is the most likely of the Big Three to move down in the lineup. Putting Tucker second or third would mean at least two of the Dodgers’ first three hitters batting lefty, but they happen to be two of the best lefty-on-lefty hitters in the game.

Over the last five seasons Tucker hit .270/.340/.511 against southpaws, with his 136 wRC+ against same-handed pitchers third-best in the majors among batters with at least 300 such plate appearances, trailing only Yordan Alvarez (166 wRC+) and Ohtani (140).

Freeman hitting cleanup would mean three lefties in the first four hitters, which is generally fine, but can cause problems later in the game, either with an opposing manager bringing in a left-handed pitcher to handle a run of lefty batters or if trying to extend a southpaw starting pitcher a little bit deeper into the game. Last year the Dodgers occasionally countered the latter by inserting a right-handed batter before Freeman, usually Teoscar Hernández or Will Smith.

Roberts before last year’s opener mentioned making a lefty pitcher pay the “Teoscar tax” to get through that portion of the lineup, which worked out swimmingly when Hernández hit a game-winning three-run home run off Tigers ace Tarik Skubal to turn the game around.

But whether Freeman bats fourth or fifth still highlights the depth of the Dodgers lineup now with Tucker on board. After Freeman, there will be one or both of Smith or Hernández, and that’s before considering Max Muncy, Tommy Edman, and Andy Pages.

No matter how you slice it, that’s a formidable lineup top to bottom.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-angeles-dodgers-news-notes/109174/kyle-tucker-dodgers-lineup

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Shohei Ohtani named MLB’s best player entering 2026

For the second consecutive year and for the fourth time since 2022, Shohei Ohtani was named as the best player in baseball by MLB Network entering the 2026 season. Ohtani beat out Aaron Judge for a second consecutive year, with Bobby Witt Jr. once again placing third behind the pair of two-time reigning MVPs.

Ohtani has had arguably the best start to his Dodgers tenure over his first two seasons, as he won the NL MVP in both 2024 and 2025 while helping the Dodgers become the first repeat champions in 25 years. He became the first Dodger to hit 50 home runs in a season in 2024 (finishing with 54) and outdid himself this past season with a new franchise single-season home run record of 55. Not to mention the fact that he became the founding member of the 50-50 club, a feat that no other player has come close to achieving thus far.

Ohtani was named the best player in baseball following the 2021 and 2022 season, but finished as runner-up to Ronald Acuña Jr. following the 2023 season after the latter posted the first 40-70 season in baseball history. Three other Dodgers finished in the top-20 of MLB Network’s list, with Will Smith ranked at no. 20, Mookie Betts at no. 18 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto at no. 13. Both Freddie Freeman and Kyle Tucker placed just outside the top-20, coming in at no. 22 and 21 respectively.

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Dylan Hernandez and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (soon to be with the California Post) appeared on The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman to discuss the Dodgers offseason. During the episode, the four discussed the enigmatic Ohtani and how it’s been a challenge to understand what he is like as a person and off the field.

Per Hernandez: “In all this time that I’ve known [Ohtani], I’ve never had a human-to-human conversation with him— it’s always been athlete-to-reporter. That’s very rare… He’s a complete mystery. I’ve never seen anybody quite like this.”

Jayson Stark of The Athletic provides a sneak peak into the 2027 Hall of Fame class, with notable names such as Buster Posey and Jon Lester entering their first year of eligibility. Chase Utley, who finished with 59.1 percent of votes on the 2026 ballot, still has a long ways to go, but Stark argues that Utley’s career hit total could give him a compelling case considering Posey, a three-time champion and the 2012 NL MVP, retired with 1500 hits to his name.

It’s a big leap from 59.1 percent to 75 percent, so 2027 might be a longshot for election. But if Posey is about to get elected with only 1,500 hits, Utley’s 1,855 won’t feel like much of an obstacle anymore.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-...ni-named-best-player-chase-utley-hall-of-fame

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Yankees claim Michael Siani off waivers from Dodgers

The New York Yankees claimed Michael Siani off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, continuing a busy offseason transactionally for the center fielder in his fourth organization in the last four months.

Siani’s time on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster lasted 40 days, until he was designated for assignment on Wednesday as outfielder Kyle Tucker’s four-year, $240 million contract was finalized by Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old has played parts of the last four seasons in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. A .221/.271/.270 career hitter, Siani is much more known for his outfield defense, with 17 career Outs Above Average in only 1,014 innings, a little over two-thirds of a season.

Siani ended last season with the Cardinals, for whom the bulk of his major league playing time has come. He was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves on November 6, then claimed off waivers by the Dodgers on December 12, before getting claimed on Friday by the Yankees.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-roster/109257/michael-siani-yankees-dodgers-waivers

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dodgers notes: Bob Costas, Kyle Tucker, pitcher numbers

Major League Baseball announced game times for the full 2026 schedule this week, which includes a 5:30 p.m. PT start for the Dodgers on opening day against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. That game will be televised exclusively by NBC and streamed on Peacock.

NBC’s coverage on March 26 begins at 5 p.m. PT, and on Thursday the network announced that Bob Costas will return to NBC Sports to host that pregame show, as well as the pregame show for the network’s Sunday Night Baseball telecasts during the season.

“As appreciative as I am of other aspects of my career, especially HBO and the MLB Network, for 40 years, my true broadcasting home was NBC,” Costas said in a press release.

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Joshua Rodrigues at Baseball Prospectus looked at bat speed aging curves in relation to some of the bigger free agent contracts this offseason. Kyle Tucker, having just turned 29 and signed a contract that will last a maximum of four years, is less likely to decline precipitously during this deal with the Dodgers, Rodrigues argues.

“He’s still operating within a window where modest growth is reasonable before settling into a long-term plateau,” Rodrigues wrote. “From a bat speed perspective, he profiles as a player who should age into a stable, roughly league-average range rather than fall off a cliff.”

Rob Mains at Baseball Prospectus analyzed Tucker’s $240 million Dodgers contract, noting that Tucker will actually earn more than had he simply been paid $60 million per year in salary. That’s largely because Tucker got a $64 million signing bonus and $30 million in deferred salaries, which are both taxed in a player’s state of residence, and there’s no state income tax in Florida.

Blake Snell wears number seven with the Dodgers, and new closer Edwin Díaz will wear number three in Los Angeles. Michael Baumann at FanGraphs wrote about the recent upswing of single-digit numbers worn by pitchers, and he hates it aesthetically.

“The pitcher is the only player in baseball — maybe the only athlete in all of team sports — who spends most of the game with his back to the TV camera,” Baumann wrote. “And pitchers are big dudes, by and large; even a skinny two-digit number, like 11, feels inadequate for a pitcher’s broad thorax.”

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-links/109248/dodgers-bob-costas-nbc-kyle-tucker-pitcher-numbers

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Five Dodgers ranked in MLB Pipeline 2026 top 100 prospects

MLB Pipeline on Friday evening revealed its top 100 prospects heading into the 2026 season, including five Dodgers. Outfielders are the strength of the top of the Dodgers system, including their top four prospects at MLB Pipeline plus shortstop Emil Morales.

Josue De Paula is the top-ranked Dodgers prospect at MLB Pipeline, rated 15th overall, and either the third or fourth-ranked outfield prospect in baseball on the list. Konnor Griffin of the Pirates is the No. 1 prospect overall and has played both shortstop and center field, with more time at the former. Other outfield prospects ranked ahead of De Paula are Max Clark of the Tigers at 10th overall and Walter Jenkins of the Twins at No. 14.

De Paula last season hit .250/.391/.400 with a 132 wRC+, 12 home runs, and 32 stolen bases in 102 games, 98 of them with High-A Great Lakes before getting promoted to Double-A Tulsa in the final week of the season. He also won Futures Game MVP in July in Atlanta.

De Paula was ranked the 40th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline at the beginning of last season, and shot up to 12th overall in their August update.

Zyhir Hope was also promoted to Double-A in the final week of 2025, and like his fellow outfield teammate is heading into his age-21 season. Hope was ranked the No. 27 prospect by MLB Pipeline, up from 75th at the beginning of last season.

Eduardo Quintero is a year younger than De Paula and Hope, and was the top-ranked Dodgers prospect this week at Baseball America. Quintero checks in at 30th overall at MLB Pipeline after winning California League MVP last season before spending the last month and a half in High-A Great Lakes.

MLB Pipeline ranked outfielder Mike Sirota the 60th-best prospect in baseball, up from 66th last August.

Emil Morales is the only non-outfielder Dodgers prospect on this list, ranked 92nd overall by MLB Pipeline after hitting .314/.396/.515 with 14 home runs, 24 doubles, and a 141 wRC+ between rookie-level Arizona and Class-A Rancho Cucamonga before turning 19 in late September.

From MLB Pipeline’s scouting report this year of the Dodgers’ top international signing from 2024:

Morales moves well for his size — 6-foot-3 and at least 15 pounds stronger than his listed 191 — and is an aggressive runner with average speed. He’s not the rangiest shortstop but moves well and puts himself in position to make plays. His instincts, hands and arm help his chances of sticking at short, though he’ll wind up at third base if he loses any quickness as he continues to mature physically.

Player	Pos	preseason 2026	preseason 2025	Aug 2025
Josue De Paula	OF	15	40	12
Zyhir Hope	OF	27	75	19
Eduardo Quintero	OF	30	NR	55
Mike Sirota	OF	60	NR	66
Emil Morales	SS	92	NR	NR

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-ange...5/dodgers-top-100-prospects-mlb-pipeline-2026

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dodgers notes: Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Craig Kimbrel

During last year’s New York Baseball Writers’ Awards Gala, Shohei Ohtani was unable to attend the event despite being awarded his 2024 NL MVP plaque. This time around, in receiving his second consecutive NL MVP and third consecutive MVP, Ohtani was in person to present his acceptance speech. Just as he did when he accepted his second MVP award with Angels, Ohtani decided to present his speech in English with a bit of a comedic twist wrapped within.

“To all the writers who voted for me, thank you,” Ohtani said. “This MVP award is very meaningful, and winning it again means so much to me… To the ‘86 Mets team, I now know the feeling of what it’s like to become a world champion— and it’s great— so congratulations on your 40-year anniversary. Thank you to the Dodgers organization for believing in me and embracing my vision.”

Shohei Ohtani accepts the 2025 National League MVP Award! pic.twitter.com/w9KhoUSViZ

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 25, 2026

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Former Dodger and current San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish is at a crossroads in his playing career. Darvish only made 15 starts with San Diego this past season as he dealt with right elbow inflammation to begin the year. He will miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season after undergoing UCL repair surgery.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune reported that Darvish intended to retire and that he would forfeit the remaining three years and $43 million still left on his extension that he signed back in Feb. 2023. Darvish later refuted Acee’s claim by taking to his Twitter (X) account to announce that his retirement was a premature report. Should Darvish fail to complete his rehab, he will announce his retirement.

“You may have seen an article, and although I am leaning towards voiding the contract, there’s still a lot that has to be talked over with the Padres so the finer details are yet to be decided. Also I will not be announcing my retirement yet. Right now I am fully focused on my rehab for my elbow, and if I get to a point where I can throw again, I will start from scratch again to compete. If once I get to that point I feel I can’t do that, I will announce my retirement.”

Old friend Craig Kimbrel will try to play in his 17th big league season, as the reliever signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report the signing.

Kimbrel most recently had a short-lived reunion with the Atlanta Braves that last all of an inning before spending the rest of the season with the Houston Astros. Between Atlanta and Houston, he posted a 2.25 ERA across 12 innings of work.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-links/109278/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-yu-darvish-craig-kimbrel

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

The continuing education of Buster Posey

We have reached the portion of the offseason where most of the major pieces have come off the board (and shocker — for the third offseason in a row, the Dodgers are drinking everybody’s milkshake, allegedly bullying everyone, much to everyone’s agita).

Never mind that the Dodgers have created an environment that both keeps and attracts the league’s best talent. No one can accuse the Dodgers of sitting on their laurels.

“We’ve agents reach out and say, ‘Hey, I know you haven’t called, but our player would really like to play there.’”

Andrew Friedman on the Kyle Tucker signing & the Dodgers culture.

( : @THEREAL_DV) pic.twitter.com/3qk9BshK4y

— AM 570 LA Sports (@AM570LASports) January 22, 2026

At this point, as fans, we await the upcoming World Baseball Classic and the potential returns of Kiké Hernández (think when the 60-day injured list goes live) and Evan Phillips (think All-Star Break).

Rather than devote column inches today on the Gondola, or the absurd narratives that the Dodgers are responsible for the impending lockout in December of this year, which is just so dumb, but when does a lion worry about the shrill bleating of sheep, it’s really the same story but from different angles.

Let us instead look northward and at our northern cousins to see what, if anything, they have gotten up to.

With the hoopla of signing Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz, one could be forgiven for not paying close attention to what the NL West was getting up to. For instance, the San Diego Padres’ arguably biggest news this winter was a report on Saturday that old friend Yu Darvish was going to retire before additional reporting that Darvish “was thinking” about retirement with three years to go on his deal.

As for the Arizona Diamondbacks, I have nothing to say as they are the last team to vanquish the Dodgers in October. Game recognizes game, even if you only thumped a now-retired-as-a-three-time-champion Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, and Lance Lynn. I have been respectfully silent for three offseasons, which will be long enough once play resumes in March.

As for the Colorado Rockies, well, my mother picked Denver for the August trip.

But the Giants? I always pay attention because of the fact I live less than an hour from Oracle Park. Even if I wanted to ignore them, the citizenry will not oblige. And the Giants’ offseason can be summarized as follows:

Firm, Masterly Inactivity​

To quote one of my favorite British comedies, Yes, Prime Minister, which debuted in 1986, featuring Paul Eddington playing Jim Hacker, a well-meaning doofus who ascended to Prime Minister at the conclusion of Yes, Minister (the previous series), squaring off against Sir Nigel Hawthorne playing Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Cabinet Minister: the Giants have mastered “firm, masterly inactivity” during this offseason.

I have been on record lamenting the obstinate, persistent mediocrity of our northern cousins during these past five years. Apart from a sugar high fluke of 2021, you can basically write the Giants being non-contenders in pen, while glancing and wondering whether a chisel and stone tablets might be more appropriate.

When I last left off, I had the following to say about our northern cousins:

Much like a kid who peaked in high school, instead of engaging in self-reflection and therapy when life did not go according to plan, the Giants assumed everyone else was the problem, 2021 was the norm, and they continued to double down.

And double down and double down. The fun part, especially as a Dodgers writer who lives in the Bay Area, the locals are starting to notice and grouse about this fact.

The Giants signed pitchers Tyler Mahle, Sam Hentges, and Adrian Houser…in a market that had Tatsuya Imai, Bo Bichette, Kyle Tucker, Edwin Diaz, etc. The Dodgers paid almost as much in luxury tax as the Giants paid in total to their roster last year. Talk about not leaving home.

When a head-scratching manager hire is the most notable thing about your offseason, even the locals are starting to wonder if Buster Posey has lost the plot. Sure, he will likely get elected into the Hall of Fame next year, but at this rate, he is mimicking the arc of other star athletes who went into the front office: woefully inadequate.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke to Foul Territory on January 20, and she did not hold back.

"They missed the playoffs by two games last year."@SplashHitPod contributor @SusanSlusser is a little baffled by the Giants underwhelming offseason up to this point. pic.twitter.com/7crGWgnVgb

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 20, 2026

To gently disagree with Ms. Slusser on one point, yes, the Giants finished two games out of a playoff spot.

However, portraying the Giants as having any serious postseason aspirations in 2025 is generous to the point of absurdity, without discussing the LOLMets trainwreck. The Mets started 45-24 with the best record in MLB on June 12 before melting down over the next 93 games, going 38-55, worse than everyone except the Rockies, the Washington Nationals, the Minnesota Twins, and the Chicago White Sox.

Yes, the Dodgers were maddeningly inconsistent this summer and even putrid in stretches, but they managed to right the ship, which clearly the Mets did not.

And even if the Giants had somehow bumbled their way into the postseason a la the Cincinnati Reds, their prize would have been facing…the Dodgers, who could be forgiven for what that thumping noise was while easily dispatching the Queen City boys.

Ms. Slusser summarized how team president Buster Posey has said he will make moves, yet ownership has largely been absent in this postseason regarding Bo Bichette (Mets), Tatsuya Imai (Astros), Cody Bellinger (Yankees), and Munetaka Murakami (White Sox). All were available at non-exorbitant contracts.

"He seems convinced that when he wants to spend big, they will let him, but we just aren't seeing it."

There's sort of a disconnect between what Buster Posey and Giants ownership are saying, says @SplashHitPod contributor @SusanSlusser. pic.twitter.com/YOEuvhpGZG

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 20, 2026

Attendance was up marginally in 2025, finishing 7th in baseball while averaging 36,121 per game, compared to 10th in 2024, when the average was 33,096 per game. At this rate, one wonders why.

Farhan 2.0?​

Dave Tobener of SFGate was even less complimentary of the Giants’ offseason on January 22 in a delightful essay titled “I thought Buster Posey had changed the SF Giants’ ways. Looks like I was wrong.” Some highlights to bask in include:

It’s been an underwhelming offseason for Farhan Zaidi and the Giants. Coming off a year when they missed the playoffs by a handful of games, it seemed like the organization was just a few key moves away from making a real push this season. But instead of addressing their most pressing needs in free agency or through a trade, the Giants instead settled for a series of moves that Zaidi is known for: signing pitchers coming off major injuries, loading up on backup catchers, and crossing their fingers that platoons can give them enough offensive production to get by. Very, very underwhelming.

Whoops, hang on – sorry, this is a lede I wrote a few years ago. I opened the wrong Word doc. Let me see here… well, actually, it still works. I just have to change Zaidi’s name to Buster Posey, and it’s good to go…

…As it stands now, the Giants are going to roll out a team that’s remarkably like the one that just went 81-81, only this time with a weaker bullpen, clear lineup holes and a shaky rotation beyond their ace. They seem to be counting on a new manager to generate excitement and right the ship, but has anyone ever bought a ticket to see the manager? Tony Vitello has been making the rounds lately to talk about how he wants the Giants to be the villains of baseball this season (which is laughable considering the team they share a division with), but what reason would anyone have to hate this Giants team? What have they done to make anyone fear them, let alone hate them?

The only vitriol may be coming from their own fan base. There’s a clear path to the playoffs in the National League that they seem to have no interest in taking. It’s maddening. Posey may not be turning into Zaidi, but the differences are getting harder to spot.

When it rains, it pours, because just before this essay was to be submitted, a news alert gave us one last gift.

A thimble for the ocean​

To conclude, the media asked Giants’ pitcher Logan Webb after the Giants’ FanFest in San Ramon about his participation in the upcoming WBC. During the scrum, someone asked Webb his thoughts about the Giants’ offseason.

To his credit, Webb was diplomatic, while looking like someone being asked to empty an ocean with a thimble.

View Link

“It’s not my job to add guys or do anything,” Webb told reporters Saturday at Giants FanFest in San Ramon. “It’s our job to just go out there and try to compete. Obviously, yeah, it’s not fun for me to watch the team that won it and the team that kicked our ass a lot last year go out and get some really good players just to make it more difficult.

The Dodgers prevailed in nine of 13 contests in 2025. For the record, if not for Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott, that count would have been eleven out of 13 contests. And the Dodgers just added to their bullpen and upgraded their corner outfielder play, while likely saying goodbye to Giantkiller Michael Conforto.

Do I have much pity for an organization that helped nudge the Oakland Athletics into their exile in West Sacramento? Sometimes you reap what you sow.

The Giants did make an acquisition back in December that I almost forgot about: the Curran Theater, which is about a mile and a half from the ballpark and the Mission Rock development. I do not recall the McCourts ever buying a theater, but considering that 15 years ago, the Dodgers were the punchline, the recommendation for the Dodgers faithful is to enjoy every drop of this golden era.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/general/109279/giants-still-boring-dodgers-peanut-gallery-costas-eisen

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dodgers have 6 Saturday games exclusively on Fox in 2026

Fox Sports unveiled the bulk of their 2026 schedule on Friday, which includes six planned exclusive Saturday games on Fox and two more games on FS1.

Saturday games on Fox are exclusive broadcasts, which means no local telecast for those games, no SportsNet LA broadcast for the Dodgers games. The Dodgers’ six games exclusively on Fox include facing each of their last two National League Championship Series opponents as well as a 2024 World Series rematch against the Yankees in The Bronx. All of these Saturday games starting at 4:15 p.m. PT, except for July 18 against the Yankees:

• April 25 vs. Chicago Cubs
• May 2 at St. Louis Cardinals
• May 23 at Milwaukee Brewers
• July 18 at New York Yankees (5:08 p.m. PT)
• July 25 at New York Mets
• August 15 vs. Brewers

The Dodgers also had exactly six games exclusively on Fox each season dating back to 2022, the first four years of the network’s seven-year contract with Major League Baseball that runs through 2028.

Two other Dodgers games in 2026 will be on FS1, which are non-exclusive broadcasts and available locally, offering the rare dual-broadcast option for folks in the home markets for these games. Both of the FS1 Dodgers telecasts are road games — Monday, April 6 at the Toronto Blue Jays, and Thursday, August 27 at the Atlanta Braves.

To date, the other Dodgers games known to be exclusive to national television are opening day March 26 against the Diamondbacks on NBC and Peacock, and on Jackie Robinson Day Wednesday, April 15 against the Mets on ESPN. There are also two Tuesday games in the first half of the season on TBS, with those telecasts not exclusive.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-ange...a/108521/dodgers-schedule-fox-television-2026

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dodgers have 7 prospects in The Athletic top 100

It’s prospect-ranking season, with both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline unveiling top-100 lists last week. On Monday, Keith Law at The Athletic revealed his annual preseason ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball. Seven Dodgers made this list, their most prolific showing yet among these groups.

Just like at BA and MLB, four outfielders comprised the top four slots on Law’s list at The Athletic. The youngest of the group, Eduardo Quintero, earned the top spot among Dodgers here, ranked No. 9 by Law. Josue De Paula checked in at No. 20, Zyhir Hope was 36th, and Mike Sirota was 51st.

We’ve covered the outfielders of late here, so let’s focus here on the other three prospect ranked in the top 100 at The Athletic.

Shortstop Emil Morales ranked 65th at The Athletic, after showing up at No. 92 by MLB Pipeline last week.

River Ryan is ranked the 55th-best prospect by Law, who has always been the highest on the pitcher, ranking the right-hander 33rd overall in 2024 and 52nd in 2025. Ryan debuted with the Dodgers in 2024 but succumbed after only four starts, needing Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2025 season as well.

From Law at The Athletic:

Ryan should be ready to pitch in some role this spring after hitting 100 mph during his rehab. If he were completely healthy, he might be the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball. He has above-average to plus stuff across the board, with ride on the upper-90s four-seamer, a slider, a cutter that was new in 2024, a two-plane curveball and a changeup, with the cutter probably the worst pitch at the moment because his other stuff is so good.

The other Dodgers prospect ranked in the top 100 at The Athletic is shortstop Alex Freeland, the switch-hitter who made his major league debut in 2025 and played all over the infield in his five weeks with Los Angeles. Freeland is ranked the 87th-best prospect in baseball by Law, who said of the infielder, “He’s played shortstop, and could probably be a fringe-average big leaguer there, but he’s best suited to second or third.”

Player	Pos	2026 preseason	2025 preseason
Eduardo Quintero	OF	9	NR
Josue De Paula	OF	20	26
Zyhir Hope	OF	36	58
Mike Sirota	OF	51	NR
River Ryan	SP	55	52
Emil Morales	SS	65	NR
Alex Freeland	IF	87	68

Source: The Athletic

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-angeles-dodgers-prospects/109298/dodgers-prospects-top-100-river-ryan

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Josue De Paula leads 5 Dodgers in ESPN top 100 prospects

Kiley McDaniel unveiled his preseason rankings of top 100 prospects in baseball on Tuesday at ESPN. Like the previously released lists — Baseball America (120 names), MLB Pipeline (110 names), and The Athletic (100 names so far) — McDaniel will likely reveal more names beyond the top 100. Last year his list went to 200, for instance. But for now we have his top 100.

A total of five Dodgers are in the top 100 at ESPN, led by outfielder Josue De Paula at No. 21 overall. De Paula in the four national prospect lists that have been revealed in the last week has settled into a fairly narrow range, ranked 15th by MLB Pipeline, 20th at The Athletic, 21st at ESPN, and 24th at Baseball America.

McDaniel had high praise for De Paula, comparing him to Yordan Alvarez “if it clicks.”

Eduardo Quintero continued to rocket up these lists, ranked 37th by McDaniel after his preseason ranking of 106th overall prior to the 2025 season. Quintero, who is a year younger than De Paula and Zyhir Hope, won California League MVP last year and finished the season with extended time at High-A Great Lakes.

“His raw power, bat-to-ball ability, and raw foot speed are all around average, but Quintero makes the most of them, putting up big numbers while being young for his level,” McDaniel wrote. “As is, his hit/power/speed/defense in center field tools are all average to a tick above to go with his plus arm.”

Last preseason, seven Dodgers were ranked in the top 100 prospects by ESPN, led by pitcher Roki Sasaki at No. 1 overall and catcher Dalton Rushing 16th. Both played in the majors last season.

This year, shortstop Emil Morales is the youngest Dodger in the ESPN top-100 list, with the 19-year-old checking in at No. 65 overall. From McDaniel:

Morales has all of the traits to project big homer totals down the road (loft to his path, pull/lift, hard-hit rate, etc.), but that means that giving up some contact is part of that trade. His pitch selection is also below average, so in combination, that gives evaluators pause on his offensive projection.

In-game power usually comes later in the development process, but the Dodgers are the right development group to shepherd him through this process, and the pieces are here for a top-10 prospect in the sport if everything clicks.

Player	Pos	2026 age	2026 preseason	2025 preseason
Josue De Paula	OF	21	21	20
Eduardo Quintero	OF	20	37	106
Zyhir Hope	OF	21	40	70
Mike Sirota	OF	23	55	NR
Emil Morales	SS	19	65	80

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-ange.../109307/josue-de-paula-top-100-prospects-espn

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dave Roberts wants to manage in 2028 Olympics, per report

The Summer Olympics are coming to Los Angeles in 2028, and baseball will be played at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wants to be involved, telling Dylan Hernández of the California Post that he wants to manage Team USA.

From Hernández:

“I went to school here,” the UCLA graduate said. “I manage the Dodgers.

“It’s a no-brainer.”

There’s a seemingly long time between now and the 2028 Olympics, but also a lot of logistical items to be resolved. But aside from that, there’s also the question of whether major league players would be allowed to play in the Olympics, which would require a disruption to the MLB schedule that season.

During the World Series last October, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed optimism that a deal could be struck between the league’s owners and the player’s union for MLB players to be used in the Olympics, per Bill Shaikin at the Los Angeles Times:

“I am positive about it. … I think the owners have crossed the line in terms of, we’d like to do it if we can possibly make it work, but there are logistical issues that still need to be worked through.”

The schedule for the 2028 Olympics runs from July 14-30. When baseball will be played hasn’t been finalized, but Dodger Stadium will host the games, as it did in 1984 when the Summer Olympics were last in Los Angeles. Back then, baseball was only a demonstration sport in the Olympics. Baseball was an official medal sport from 1992 to 2008, and again in the 2020 Olympics, which were played in 2021.

Team USA did not qualify for the Olympics in 2024, and were led by college coaches in the 1992 and 1996 games. Since then, the team has been managed in Olympic play by former Dodgers.

In 2000, Tommy Lasorda managed Team USA to a gold medal in Sydney. Davey Johnson, who managed the Dodgers from ., helmed Team USA to a bronze medal in 2008 in Beijing., Longtime Dodgers catcher and Angels manager Mike Scioscia led the team to silver in 2021 in Tokyo, with a team that included former Dodgers Edwin Jackson and Tim Federowicz.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-links/109304/dave-roberts-olympics-2028-dodger-stadium

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dodgers notes: Mookie Betts, catching depth, Dino Ebel

From Corey Seager, to Trea Turner, to Mookie Betts, the Dodgers had a carousel of options at shortstop from 2021 to the beginning of last season. It was Betts who stepped up in 2025 and ensured that the team had to look no further than inward as to which player would be their primary shortstop.

After putting in a full offseason of work to prepare for the position, Betts, in his first full season at the position, was one of the best defensive shortstops in all of baseball, with his 17 defensive runs saved leading all qualified shortstops last year. While he proved to be the team’s firm option for the foreseeable future, his offense on the other hand steeply declined.

2025 was undoubtedly the worst season at the plate for Betts, as he posted career-lows in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, finishing the year four percent better than the league average hitter in terms of wRC+. Entering his second season as the Dodgers’ starting shortstop, the goal for Betts is to equate the amount of offseason work he puts in defensively and offensively rather than lean heavily into one facet, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

As general manager Brandon Gomes said at the Winter Meetings, he has “a little more bandwidth” to strike a more regular balance between his offensive and defensive work. The Dodgers have already seen how an offseason’s work can transform Betts in one aspect of his game. They’re counting on his hard work paying off this year as well.

Before Betts heads off to Camelback Ranch, he will be a coach at the NBA All-Star Celebrity game on Feb. 13 at Intuit Dome.

Links​

Heading into spring training, the Dodgers have two catchers on their active roster, with Will Smith continuing to assume starting duties and Dalton Rushing serving as the replacement. Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register previews the Dodgers’ catching depth as pitchers and catchers report in two weeks.

Third base coach Dino Ebel spoke with David Vassegh of AM 570 about getting a front row experience for Miguel Rojas’ dramatic game-tying home run with one out in the top of the ninth of Game 7 of the World Series.

“I’ve been in some big moments and big games, where last year, Freddie Freeman in Game 1 hits the grand slam which we’ll never forget,” said Ebel. “When [Rojas] hit it, my hand went straight up. I knew it was gone.. When that ball went over the fence, it was just pure chills in my body… Him coming around third base was probably the best feeling I had just because he tied the game, giving us a chance to go into extra innings.”

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-...l-smith-dalton-rushing-dino-ebel-miguel-rojas

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

What roster moves are left for the Dodgers?

The Dodgers’ two biggest needs this offseason were bullpen help and outfield production, and they went and signed the two best free agents at those positions in Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker, each contract setting records for average annual value.

With Tucker the lineup looks much deeper, and can be considered stacked even for a Dodgers team that has finished first or second in the National League in both runs scored and wRC+ in each of the last eight seasons.

But after signing Tucker, what moves remain for the Dodgers, with pitchers and catchers having their first workout at Camelback Ranch on February 13?

“There’s some things, but I think in terms of more seismic changes, It feels pretty well set,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at Tucker’s introductory press conference last week. “There are still a few things we’re kicking around, and conversations that have been going for a bit that we’re going to continue to look at, try to enhance and build up depth.”

Let’s take a look at the current roster to see where some of those depth needs might arise.

Position players​

Lineup locks (9): Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Tommy Edman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker

Bench locks (3): Miguel Rojas, Andy Ibáñez, Dalton Rushing

Depth with options (4): LF/RF Alex Call, 2B/SS/CF Hyeseong Kim, SS/3B/2B Alex Freeland, LF/RF/1B Ryan Ward

The caveat here is we aren’t yet sure of Tommy Edman’s readiness at the start of the season after his November right ankle surgery. There’s room for one more position player on the active roster, and someone who can play the outfield will almost certainly fill that spot. Alex Call is probably the in-house favorite at the moment, but there’s always room for yet another reunion with Kiké Hernández, who is coming off left elbow surgery of his own.

Pitchers​

Rotation locks (5+1): Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan, Roki Sasaki

Bullpen locks & can’t be sent down (6): Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda, Brusdar Graterol

Injured list (1): Brock Stewart

Starting depth (5): Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, Landon Knack

Right-handed reliever depth (5): Will Klein, Edgardo Henriquez, Kyle Hurt, Bobby Miller, Paul Gervase

Left-handed reliever depth (2): Jack Dreyer, Ronan Kopp

Graterol had shoulder surgery after the 2024 season and did not pitch in 2025, so his readiness for the start of 2026 is at least somewhat in question, though he’s expected to be ready to go at the start of spring training. The Dodgers will have at least two and maybe three active roster spots to fill on the pitching side.

Gavin Stone and River Ryan are intriguing rotation options after coming off major surgeries and not pitching at all last year.

Ben Casparius and Justin Wrobleski have gotten extended roster runs in hybrid roles. Jack Dreyer was active for all of last season. With Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, and Anthony Banda, the Dodgers already have three left-handers in the bullpen. Do they add another for a half-southpaw pen?

The point here is, at the moment, the Dodgers have functional depth, with so many pitchers who could be optioned if needed, and two potential roster spots that can used for swapping as needed. Adding another reliever wouldn’t be much of a surprise, even if it limits that depth somewhat.

In somewhat the same mold as a Kiké Hernández return, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Dodgers find a way to bring back Evan Phillips, who will miss the first half or so of this season after Tommy John surgery last June. But that would be more for later in the season, and wouldn’t necessarily preclude adding another reliever as well.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-angeles-dodgers-news-notes/109189/dodgers-roster-moves

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dodgers news – how long will the Dodgers window last?

All of Major League Baseball has been debating for a while if A), what the Dodgers are doing with their payroll is the ‘correct’ way of doing things; B), how long it would be sustainable; and C) will it finally trigger a salary cap.

For the Dodgers front office, doing it ‘correctly’ is just semantics. Whatever one thinks of how Andrew Friedman and Co have gone about things, there’s no denying that winning three World Series in six seasons is something to be envied. They employ the best player on the planet in Shohei Ohtani, who has brought them untold amounts of revenue in advertising and other areas. The winning ways, combined with their clubhouse culture, has made it a top destination for the top free agents.

On Wednesday, Jack Harris posited that the Dodgers Front Office will not be able to do what they have been for very much longer.

While the Dodgers will still have their winning culture and ability to assess talent and be an enviable destination, when the salary cap or something similar in implemented, the “Golden Age” of this iteration of Dodgers Baseball will be over. As Harris puts it, the Dodgers will go from being a team that ‘should’ win it every season to a team that ‘could’ win it all.

Harris also wonders just how long the Dodgers will have their dominance with their aging core. Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages are the only two everyday players that are under the age of 30, with Tucker not being far off, at the age of 29. Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez have contracts expiring at the end of the next two seasons. The Dodgers do have one of the top farm systems in all of the majors but had to give away their second and fourth round drafts to sign both Tucker and Edwin Diaz this offseason. But, as this organization has shown time and again, they will find a way to field the best team possible.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The Dodgers have been doing a Dodgers Love LA Community Tour. On Tuesday, Dodgers alumni Dennis Powell and Matt Luke visited Hollydale Elementary School, hosting a Playworks Recess Takeover. They also handed out groceries and essentials to food insecure families.

To close out today's #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour, Matt Luke and Dennis Powell visited Hollydale Elementary School in South Gate. They hosted a Playworks Recess Takeover with eighth grade students and participated in movement-based programming. pic.twitter.com/8kJvWQYBa9

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 28, 2026

Back on the #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour, Dodger Alumni stopped by Christy’s Foundation in Northridge to hand out groceries and essentials to families experiencing food insecurity. pic.twitter.com/veH3PrpJ9j

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 28, 2026

On Wednesday, Steve Yeager and Billy Ashley met with emergency personnel to thank them for their services.

Steve Yeager continued the #DodgersLoveLA Community Tour presented by Bank of America by stopping at a special appreciation lunch with the World Series trophy for the San Bernardino Police Department. pic.twitter.com/8HFUEielax

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 29, 2026

On the next stop of the tour, Dodger Alumni Billy Ashley met with employees at the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department to recognize their dedication and service to our communities. #DodgersLoveLA pic.twitter.com/UsrpNFaqCj

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 29, 2026

The tour will continue before its culmination at Dodger Fan Fest this Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-ange...s/109321/dodgers-news-how-long-dodgers-window

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch for Japan in World Baseball Classic

Japan unveiled its 2026 World Baseball Classic roster on Monday, which included Los Angeles Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as expected.

Ohtani was announced in November to play for Japan, though its not yet known whether he will pitch. Yamamoto’s inclusion was expected as well, though whether he pitched was at least somewhat in question after pitching 211 innings between the regular season and postseason combined, culminating in a heavy World Series workload that included starting and winning Game 6, and getting the final eight outs in Game 7 on zero days rest.

Yamamoto on Monday put those questions to rest. From Taro Abe at Chunichi Sports:

The Dodgers were initially reluctant about Yamamoto’s participation after his full workload last season, but his strong desire prevailed. He returned to Japan immediately after the World Series last year and carefully adjusted his training with his personal trainer, Osamu Yada, building his body to be able to compete in the WBC despite a shorter-than-usual offseason. He commented, “I’ve been training diligently this offseason to build the condition to compete in the WBC.”

Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic with strong performances from Yamamoto (two runs allowed in 7 1/3 innings, struck out 12 of his 27 batters faced), who was then pitching for the Orix Buffaloes, and Ohtani (.435/.606/.739 in 33 plate appearances; 9 2/3 innings, two runs, 11 strikeouts, got final three outs in title game).

At the winter meetings in December, Dodgers manager talked about the push and pull of players committing to play in the World Baseball Classic, which takes players out of spring training for potentially a few weeks, and can be especially disruptive for starting pitchers building up toward the major league regular season.

“I don’t want to be dismissive of what it means to them representing their country,” Roberts said in December. “I know the organization doesn’t but I do think that the conversations need to be had, will be had, as far as what each individual is taking on and whatever role that they might be taking on and what potential costs there might be. … But you can’t debate the emotion, what a player might feel of this potential opportunity.”

Japan manager Hirozaku Ibata said at a press conference Monday that the MLB players on Japan are expected to join the team for exhibition games against the Chunichi Dragons on February 27-28. Japan begins its World Baseball Classic schedule in Pool C in Tokyo, with its first game on March 6.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/world-ba...shinobu-yamamoto-world-baseball-classic-japan