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[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Law Talk: The locker room rumble at Camelback Ranch, revisited

Three years ago, a landlord/tenant dispute between the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago White Sox, and the City of Glendale, Arizona, made national headlines. To wit: MLB established guidelines requiring facilities to have both male and female locker rooms, and the White Sox and Dodgers, tenants of the Camelback Ranch spring training facility, got into a dispute with their landlord, the City of Glendale, over who would pay for it. Sabers were rattled as the landlord/tenant dispute became quite public.

Initially, former writer Jake Dicker broke the story here at True Blue LA, and I wrote an investigative analysis essay that argued strongly that the City of Glendale was over a barrel of its own making on this singular issue.

The most relevant passages from that essay lay out what a slam dunk this case would have been had it escalated further:

There is an old saying in law: if you don’t have the facts [on your side], argue the law; if you don’t have the law [on your side], argue the facts; if you don’t have either, just pound the table and yell really loudly. This adage applies to the City’s position.

When this story broke, I thought that it was quite telling that the City Manager of Glendale was not arguing the terms of the contract. Moreover, the City Manager was attempting to make a moral argument in order to get the City out of its obligations as to the facility….

…But Michael, you say, the White Sox and Dodgers are only paying a dollar a year to lease this facility from the City of Glendale — how on earth is this contract fair? Shouldn’t the White Sox and Dodgers have to pay for these locker rooms out of moral fairness?

That statement is not how contracts work.…

While the White Sox and Dodgers may be the bad guys in the court of public opinion, the City of Glendale dug its own hole for this mess. Digging up is not a solution, either.

Time marched on, and like with most things from the 2023 season, the vast majority of people moved on. I did not receive a follow-up comment after several attempts with the Dodgers and Camelback Ranch, which went unanswered in 2023 and 2024. These setbacks are now moot as I can finally report on what happened next.

The City of Glendale built a locker room​

On June 13, 2023, the Glendale City Council voted to hire RSP Architects to build a women’s locker room at Camelback Ranch at the cost of $106,217. The contract itself is unremarkable; the proposed locker room was approximately 3,500 square feet, and the plan was estimated to take 28 to 34 weeks to complete.

The locker room was completed in time for the start of Spring Training 2024.

At the same meeting, the City of Glendale approved a $75,000 contract with Beacon Sports Capital Partners to serve as a consultant for 12 months to provide advice and support in the operation of Camelback Ranch.

Specifically, Beacon Sports was to review the financial statements of Camelback Ranch (the facility), determine the level of annual usage of the facility, identify any aspects of the facility not up to MLB standards, how much it will take to bring the facility into compliance, prepare an estimate to the life cycle of the facility and related equipment with the intent to project any future obligations of the City of Glendale, prepare an assessment of current and planned real estate development of the facility, and prepare a valuation methodology of the facility.

Subsequently, upon review of the minutes and agendas of the Glendale City Council from 2024 to 2026, nothing unusual stood out in the facility’s operation, aside from the April 16, 2024, discussion of difficulties with the construction of a parking garage that the city expected to generate revenue from upon completion.

As parking is currently free at Camelback Ranch, this plan clearly fell through.

In the interim, the Dodgers, through the Canopy Team firm, completed construction of the Dodgers Performance Lab in 2024, consisting of 12,000 square feet of large-market, baseball precision flex, which certainly did not hurt during the title campaigns:

Completed in 2024, the Dodgers Performance Lab added 12,000 square foot indoor lab and outdoor agility space, comprised of two instrumented batting/pitching lanes as well as complimentary office/conference/work spaces, storage areas, and technology infrastructure. Initial siting and design was a careful balance struck with players, staff, and executive leadership while construction was planned/sequenced in order to only take nine months to complete and minimize disruption to the team’s occupancy.

The design and programming of the lab is intentionally flexible as the primary occupant besides players is the Dodgers Performance Science department, who are responsible for remaining on the cutting edge in both equipment and training methods. The enabling work in the building’s design is complicated on the design side in order to remain simple and flexible into the future in operation.

Have chair will travel​

In early April 2025, lifelong Dodgers fan Yolanda Garcia filed suit in federal court for alleged injuries sustained during a March 2024 Spring Training game at Camelback Ranch.

While walking to the Dodgers’ gift shop, some stacked folding chairs on a dolly allegedly fell on Garcia, causing a laceration and eventual knee replacement surgery months later. Garcia alleged that the Director of Facility Operations publicly reprimanded the staff about the incident immediately afterwards.

Initially, Garcia filed suit in Arizona federal court against the Dodgers, the White Sox, the City of Glendale, the City of Phoenix, Maricopa County, Camelback Spring Training LLC, and other unknown entities, as is common practice. The case is ongoing, and the only defendant remaining is Camelback Spring Training LLC.

Premise liability cases are often fairly straightforward, and the facts that the case is in federal court under diversity jurisdiction (citizens of two different states with a dispute valued at more than $75,000 — a knee replacement would certainly do it) and that the case is still ongoing are unsurprising. True Blue LA will continue to monitor this lawsuit and provide updates as they become available.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-ange...cker-room-rumble-at-camelback-ranch-revisited

 

[Zedster]

The Snell news is concerning but not entirely surprising given what he put his arm through in October. After that IL stint last year and then the postseason workload, being cautious now makes sense. Better to have him at full strength by May than rush him back and risk another extended absence.

That said, the rotation depth is going to be tested early. Between Yamamoto heading to the WBC and now Snell potentially starting the season on a limited program, Roberts might be leaning on some of the younger arms more than expected in April. Hopefully Glasnow comes through the offseason in better shape.

The Friedman barstool story is pretty great though. Game 3 was absolutely brutal to watch - I can only imagine what it was like being in the front office for those 18 innings. That Varsho catch after thinking Will Smith had gone deep... yeah, I might have broken something too.

The Camelback Ranch legal stuff is interesting from a procedural standpoint. Nice to see the locker room situation finally got resolved, even if it took the city eating the cost like most of us expected. The premise liability case is pretty standard stuff - those kinds of lawsuits usually settle quietly once the insurance companies get involved.

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

A history of Dodgers brothers playing together

VERO BEACH, FL - CIRCA 1992: Pitcher Pedro Martinez #45 and brother Ramon Martinez #48 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pose together for this photo during spring training circa 1992 at Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Florida. Pedro played for the Dodgers from 1992-93 and Ramon played for the Dodger from 1988-98. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Dodgers have River Ryan returning from 2024 Tommy John surgery, and is expected to be part of the team’s starting rotation puzzle in the 2026 season. There’s also at least a chance that he might be teammates with his brother Ryder Ryan, who was signed by the Dodgers to a minor league deal that includes a non-roster invitation to spring training.

If River and Ryder play together with the Dodgers, they’d join a select group of brothers in franchise history.

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Ramón Martínez pitched the first 11 seasons of his 14-year career with the Dodgers (1988-1998), finished second in Cy Young Award voting one year and fifth in another. He pitched a no-hitter in 1995, and struck out 18 in a game in 1990 to match the franchise record.

We obviously know what Pedro Martínez went on to do in his Hall of Fame career, winning three Cy Young Awards after getting discarded by the Dodgers at age 22, but his one full season in Los Angeles was quite effective. The younger Martínez posted a 2.61 ERA in 65 games, and his 113 strikeouts out of the bullpen was at the time second-most in a season by a Dodgers reliever, trailing only Mike Marshall in his 108-appearance, 206-inning Cy Young campaign in 1974.

Pedro made his major league debut in September 1992, but by then Ramón’s season had already ended with a sore elbow.

Ramón Martínez in 1993 put up a 3.44 ERA in 32 starts and 211 2/3 innings, the third of his four seasons with at least 200 innings. Ramón and Pedro pitched in the same game 12 times that season, with the best one likely on July 31 at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. Ramon allowed two runs in eight innings in his start, and the game needed 13 innings to decide. Pedro retired all six batters he faced in the final two innings, and earned the win after the Dodgers exploded for five runs in the top of the 13th.

“I didn’t take the win away from my brother–he was already out,” Pedro Martínez said, per Maryann Hudson at the Los Angeles Times. “I took it away from Chicago, not from him.”

There was also a third brother, Jesus Martínez, who also pitched in the Dodgers minor leagues from 1992-97. He reached Triple-A, but never made the majors.

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Larry Sherry was the World Series MVP in 1959, pitching in all four Dodgers wins in the series in their second year in Los Angeles. He won two games and closed out the other two (10 years before saves became an official statistic). His older brother Norm, who like Larry was signed out of Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, did not play in that World Series.

Norm Sherry’s biggest contribution might have been the advice he gave a young, wild Sandy Koufax during spring training in 1961, telling him, “Why don’t you take something off the ball and just put it in there? Don’t try to throw it so hard. Just put it in there and let them hit it.”

The Sherry brothers overlapped for four seasons with the Dodgers (1959-62). They didn’t match up as a battery in 1959, but Norm caught Larry in 30 games from 1960-62, with Larry posting a 2.73 ERA in 52 2/3 innings with his brother behind the plate.

Norm Sherry hit 16 home runs with the Dodgers, one of them a walk-off winner on May 7, 1960 to beat Rubén Gomez and the Philadelphia Phillies. The winning pitcher was Larry Sherry, who pitched the final four innings.

From Richard Cuicchi at SABR:

After the game, Norm said, “It has to be my biggest thrill. Winning one in the majors for my brother was really something.” He added, “I knew it was hit well enough, but I was afraid it might curve foul. It was a slider inside. I wasn’t looking for anything especially. I was just trying to get a hit.”

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Paul and Lloyd Waner are probably the most accomplished brothers to ever play for the Dodgers, though the overwhelming bulk of their careers came with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both outfielders are in the Hall of Fame, with Paul having by far the better career. At the very least, they have two of the best tandem nicknames in baseball history — Big Poison (Paul) and Little Poison (Lloyd).

Both came to the Dodgers later in their careers, 1941, 1943-44 for Paul, and 1944 for Lloyd. They played in 14 games together for Brooklyn, never both starting in the same game. Lloyd Waner drove in one run in his brief time with the Dodgers, and it came after Paul was intentionally walked to load the bases. In the ninth inning at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn on May 3, 1944 against the Boston Braves, Lloyd pinch-hit for shortstop Bill Hart with one out, and laid down a bunt single for the walk-off win.

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Steve Sax and Dave Sax were the first set of Dodgers brothers I remember from growing up, but they very rarely played together. Steve was the team’s regular second baseman for seven years, while Dave was a catcher in the organization for seven years (1978-84) who only played in the majors for Los Angeles briefly in 1982-83.

Dave Sax played in nine games for the Dodgers, all of which were also played by his brother Steve. The one time they both started the same game was June 3, 1983 at Dodger Stadium against the New York Mets. Steve led off and Dave batted eighth, but both were 0-for-4 at the plate in a 5-2 loss.

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Zack Wheat was one of the Dodgers’ great early stars in Brooklyn, and the outfielder was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1959. Wheat roamed the outfield for Brooklyn in 18 of his 19 seasons, and remains the all-time franchise leader in hits, total bases, doubles, triples, games played, and plate appearances. His brother Mack was a catcher, and played parts of five seasons (1915-19) with the Dodgers, overlapping with Zack.

The Wheat brothers played in a total of 113 games together with the Dodgers, including 69 games with both starting, the bulk of those coming in 1918-19.

Mack Wheat hit one home run in his 137 total games with the Dodgers, hit at Ebbets Field on August 7, 1918 against the Cubs. It was a three-run shot in the fourth inning off Cubs right-hander Phil Douglas that scored Zack Wheat, who reached base on an error earlier in the frame. Those three runs were all the Dodgers scored in the game, and was enough to secure a 3-2 win.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-angeles-dodgers-history-records/109354/dodgers-brothers-history

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dodgers notes: Jackson Ferris, Ching-Hsien Ko, Austin Barnes

SPRINGFIELD, MO - JUNE 10: Jackson Ferris #10 of the Tulsa Drillers pitches during the game between the Tulsa Drillers and the Springfield Cardinals at Hammons Field on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 in Springfield, Missouri. (Photo by Shanna Stafford/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)

We’ve had a pair of top-100 prospect lists drop in each of the last two weeks, with between four and seven Dodgers included on those lists. But with those list also comes further analysis of the minor leagues, both with individual players and farm systems as a whole.

Taiwanese outfielder Ching-Hsien Ko was one of 11 prospects who just missed making the top 100 at The Athletic, with Keith Law very high on the 19-year-old who ended last season with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga: “Ko is going to end up hitting for power, though, as he’s 6-foot-3 and already north of his listed 215, with quick hands and good rhythm to the swing.”

Jackson Ferris was ranked the No. 126 prospect in baseball by Kiley McDaniel at ESPN, who praised the left-hander as one of a handful of pitchers who could someday carry a heavy major league workload. “He’ll probably need to take one more step forward in stuff or command to actually hit 200 innings in the big leagues, but the ceiling is there,” McDaniel wrote.

The Athletic and ESPN also this week ranked farm systems, with the Dodgers ranked No. 2 in the former (in the top tier along with the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners) and rated fourth in the latter.

“They aren’t the No. 1 farm system in the sport anymore, but they are tied for first with the Rays in ‘quality depth,’ which is just the total number of prospects they have graded above 40 FV [Future Value],” McDaniel wrote at ESPN.

We’ll have more prospect talk soon as Baseball Prospectus is expected to unveil their top-101 list next week.

Battery of moves​

The Mets on Thursday signed longtime Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to spring training, and also signed one-time Dodgers reliever Craig Kimbrel to a minors deal as well. Should Barnes reach the majors with New York, he’ll join a surprisingly large list of catchers to play for both the Dodgers and Mets.

That group includes Mike Piazza, Gary Carter, Todd Hundley, Paul Lo Duca, Sandy Alomar Jr., Rod Barajas, Gary Bennett, Henry Blanco, Chris Cannizzaro, Travis d’Arnaud, Jerry Grote, Brent Mayne, Jason Phillips, Joe Pignatano, Norm Sherry, Rick Wilkins, and Tom Wilson.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/los-ange...dgers-prospects-jackson-ferris-ching-hsien-ko

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Dodgers will play baseball this month

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 16: Teoscar Hernandez #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers participates in a fielding drill during spring training workouts at Camelback Ranch on February 16, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images

It’s February now, which means the Dodgers will play baseball games this very month. Sure, those games won’t count, but they will be televised nonetheless, and we will get to watch as the team gradually builds up toward the season.

This will be more of a normal spring training for the Dodgers, at least in the sense that they won’t have to depart camp in Arizona with two weeks to go, in order to travel to play games in Asia like they did the last two springs. There is still the World Baseball Classic this March, but for the bulk of Dodgers roster, their time at Camelback Ranch will be more like usual years in terms of getting ready for the season.

And it sounds like the Dodgers will need a full spring training camp to give them time to build up toward March 26.

“Having the experience of being in the World Series multiple years now, understanding how important rest is — Most of the guys I’ve talked to have kind of been on the same program I’ve been on, that we haven’t started any baseball activity until the middle of January almost,” third baseman Max Muncy said on Foul Territory on Wednesday. “Some guys are still just now starting, just trying to give your body as much rest as possible, knowing that if we want to make another run to November, you’ve got to be as rested as you can to get through the summertime.”

Blake Snell expressed a similar sentiment this week, noting that he’s behind in his usual offseason throwing program after the stress of last fall’s championship run. Whether that opens up an early-season rotation chance for other pitchers remains to be seen.

Dodgers spring training camp at in Arizona technically starts on February 13 with the first official workout for pitchers and catchers, and concludes on March 21 with their final Cactus League game at Camelback Ranch against the A’s.

We’re bringing back daily questions to the site, and today’s is a broad one. What are you looking forward to the most during this Dodgers spring training camp?

Let us know in the comments below.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/daily-question/109380/dodgers-spring-training-february

 

[Los Angeles Dodgers]

Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch in World Baseball Classic

TORONTO, ONTARIO - NOVEMBER 01: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning in game seven of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 01, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The last time Shohei Ohtani was in the World Baseball Classic, he struck out his then-Angels teammate Mike Trout to give Team Japan their third title in tournament history. Three years later, fans from around the world will only get to see half of the Ohtani experience.

After a 22 month absence from pitching on a big league mound, Ohtani tossed 47 innings in the 2025 regular season to the tune of a 2.87 ERA before tallying an additional 20 1/3 innings in the Dodgers title run. With a full offseason to prepare himself on both sides of the field, the goal for Ohtani in 2026 is to have his first full season of two-way activities in a Dodger uniform, notes Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“I wasn’t surprised. I can’t even say I was relieved,” Roberts said. “Understanding what he did last year, what he had to go through to then how best to prepare himself for ’26 to do both — it just seemed like the right decision.”

Links​

After undergoing ankle surgery in November, the expectation for utility man Tommy Edman was that he’d be ready around the start of spring training. With just three weeks remaining until the Dodgers play their first cactus league game against the Angels, Edman provided an update to David Vassegh of AM 570 at DodgerFest on Saturday, stating that he is back to regular baseball activities and ready for the spring.

“I’m feeling good. I just started baseball activities again, so I’m feeling like I’m in a good spot going into the spring… I just very lightly started swinging and started throwing again this past week, and that’ll be ramping up as we get closer to spring. I’m really looking forward to being a baseball player again.”

The addition of outfielder Kyle Tucker gives the Dodgers one of the most complete and dangerous lineups in all of baseball, and Dave Roberts is starting to get a feel as to how the top half of the order will shape up for the 2026 season, per Jack Harris of the California Post.

Dave Roberts hasn’t decided exactly how the Dodgers’ batting order will look in the wake of Kyle Tucker’s signing, but he did drop some hints, saying Ohtani will still lead off, Betts will likely hit third, and Will Smith will hit fifth. That presumably leaves Kyle Tucker and Freeman for the Nos. 2 and 4 spots, in some order.

Source: https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-...-tommy-edman-injury-update-kyle-tucker-lineup