Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025
A week from now, the world-champion Los Angeles Dodgers will report to Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. After a great offseason, many baseball-knowledgeable people think the Dodgers will repeat the World Series champions.
However, world championships aren’t won on paper. Rarely did the largest payroll baseball team win the World Series.
Many baseball fans think the Dodgers are ruining baseball. This is nonsense! The Dodgers aren’t overpaying for their newest stars. Every other team can do everything that the Dodgers have done this offseason, but they haven’t created a winning culture and a family atmosphere. Most players want to become Dodgers.
Signing Blake Snell didn’t need a rocket scientist. Even during the World Series, the Dodgers had a decimated starting rotation. Snell was the best starting pitcher available on the free agent market. At 32, Snell never had an injured-plagued season even though he didn’t go past the sixth inning. With the Dodgers’ super bullpen, Snell won’t need to pitch into the sixth.
The Dodgers hope Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto remain healthy throughout the 2025 season. If they do, the Dodgers will win the National League Western Division easily. The Dodgers still have Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May who should be in the Dodger starting rotation.
Roki Sasaki is the wild card in the Dodger starting rotation. At 23, Sasaki has a 100+ miles-per-hour fastball, a nasty splitter, and a good slider. His goal is to be the best pitcher who ever has lived. If he is ready to pitch in the major leagues, the Dodgers will have a stacked starting rotation. If Sasaki needs time in the minor leagues, the Dodgers will have insurance when a starter injures himself.
The Dodgers have extended Blake Treinen and signed Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates. Joe Kelly and Ryan Brasier won’t be back. Brusdar Graterol, who had off-season right shoulder surgery, probably will be back after the All-Star break and has a possibility of missing the entire 2025 season. Evan Phillips missed the World Series with an undisclosed arm injury, so the Dodgers don’t know if Phillips will be able to start the season.
Offensively, the Dodgers look strong on paper. However, they have a question at second base. Michael Conforto is trying to rebound from a sub-par season with the San Francisco Giants, but he should hit better at Dodger Stadium than at Oracle Park. Freddie Freeman is coming off an ankle surgery, so he may be delayed starting the season. Ohtani had shoulder surgery in November and will be pitching this season so might not produce as well as he did in the 2024 season.
Defensively, the Dodgers have questions. Mookie Betts is going to be the shortstop and needs to throw better than he did last season before breaking his wrist. Who is the second baseman? Tommy Edman isn’t a natural center fielder but is slated to be the Dodger center fielder. Max Muncy is an ordinary third baseman, but he must stay on the field for 140 games.
Before the Dodgers start spring training, they need to extend Dave Roberts and sign Kiké Hernández and Clayton Kershaw. Yes, the Dodgers have had a fabulous off-season, but in baseball, what have you done lately?
