STARTING ROTATION
The Dodgers’ $700 million investment in Shohei Ohtani got the most attention. But the approximately $500 million they spent to rebuild the starting rotation might have been the more important expenditures of the offseason. Dodgers starters had the lowest ERA in the majors four times in the six seasons before last year but the rotation collapsed on them last season (particularly in the postseason). So they acquired Tyler Glasnow to front the new group and made Yoshinobu Yamamoto the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history before he even threw a pitch in MLB. That first pitch was ripped for a single by Xander Bogaerts in Seoul last week. In a troubling debut, Yamamoto lasted just one inning and looked nothing like the elite pitcher he was billed as. “That’s just not who he is,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said afterward. It better not be. Behind Glasnow and Yamamoto are Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone (looking vastly more mature than he did as a raw rookie last season) and veteran James Paxton. It’s an upgrade over last year and help is potentially on the way. Walker Buehler will join the rotation in May, Clayton Kershaw in “July-ish, August-ish” and Dustin May possibly in August or September.
BULLPEN
Last year was quite a journey for the Dodgers’ bullpen. It started the season as one of the worst in baseball and stayed that way deep into June. From there, though, it was one of the best in baseball with Ryan Brasier and Joe Kelly arriving to strengthen it and Evan Phillips settling into a largely-the-closer role. It is basically the same group this year with Kelly and Brasier re-signed and Phillips at the back end (though still not in a strictly-the-closer role). Brusdar Graterol emerged as one of the best relievers in the National League last year but will open this season on the injured list with a sore shoulder (the result of a hip flexor issue in spring training, the Dodgers believe). Daniel Hudson has returned from two seasons ended by knee injuries and Blake Treinen is expected back in April after missing last season recovering from shoulder surgery and suffering a bruised lung when he was hit by a line drive in Cactus League play. One potential problem is the lack of a reliable left-hander in the group of options. Alex Vesia has not been particularly effective this spring and Ryan Yarbrough is more suited to a swingman role.
INFIELD
Money can’t solve all of your problems. The Dodgers’ infield defense could be proof of that. After expressing confidence all through the winter that Gavin Lux would be their shortstop in 2024, the Dodgers bailed on that plan quickly when Lux’s throwing problems surfaced once again this spring. Instead, they are moving him back to second base and asking Mookie Betts to make the leap from Gold Glove right fielder and occasional second baseman to every-day shortstop. It’s a big ask even of someone with the immense athletic aptitude of Betts. Next to him at third base, Max Muncy did not inspire confidence with his performance during the Seoul Series. Look for Miguel Rojas to act as a ‘defensive closer,’ entering games late when the Dodgers are protecting a lead. One thing seems certain – the group (including first baseman Freddie Freeman) will produce offensively. They just can’t undermine that too badly on defense.
OUTFIELD
With their best outfielder playing shortstop, the Dodgers will look to get the most out of some moving pieces in the outfield instead. James Outman figures to be the most permanent fixture in center field. His defense improved markedly over the course of last season. Now he needs to make similar progress in smoothing out his offense. The National League Rookie of the Month in April and August, he slipped into deep slumps in other months. A two-time Silver Slugger award winner in Toronto, Teoscar Hernandez is being counted on to lengthen the lineup and provide production particularly against left-handed pitching. Jason Heyward returns to a platoon role in right field. Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernandez will slip in and out, mainly against left-handed pitching.
CATCHER
The catching chores are in good hands once again with Will Smith coming off his first All-Star season. A second-half slump dropped Smith’s overall numbers last year. He still finished with 76 RBIs and a .797 OPS (his first sub-.800 OPS), making him a rarity in baseball these days – a catcher who provides middle-of-the-order offensive production while also handling the defensive demands. Smith needs to recapture his first-half numbers (when his OPS was .880). They are counting heavily on him to contribute, sitting in the lineup behind Betts, Freeman and Shohei Ohtani. Austin Barnes provides a familiar target for the Dodgers’ pitchers in his backup role, but his offensive contributions have all but disappeared the past two seasons.
BENCH
The Dodgers’ preference for multi-position versatility on their bench is well-established. Taylor and Hernandez are back to fill those roles once again. Rojas could become the most important role player with his steady defense a valuable commodity ss Betts adapts to his new position.
MANAGER
A popular preseason narrative has Dave Roberts managing for his job this year. If the Dodgers’ big-money investments this past winter don’t result in a championship, many think it’s Roberts who will take the fall. Don’t read too much into that. He survived the mismanagement of the pitching staff in 2019’s first-round playoff loss and largely escaped blame in 2022 and 2023 when flaws in team-building were more at fault than any in-game decisions. Though Roberts still remains unpopular in many quarters (despite having the highest winning percentage of any manager with more than 1,000 games in MLB history), there has been an evolution over the years. There is more of an awareness now than ever that the Dodgers’ front office has its hands in every aspect of roster planning and game management – and hence more of the blame for failures like the first-round playoff failures each of the past two years. Roberts manages the team largely in line with the front office’s wishes. It wasn’t Roberts who decided to spend $1 billion on players last winter and if that doesn’t pay off immediately in a championship, he won’t necessarily take the blame – even if it might be time for a new voice.
