Friday, March 14, 2025
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025
The Los Angeles Dodgers have completed their domestic portion of spring training. They will start the regular season on Tuesday in Tokyo.
The brief spring training went smoothly without many injuries. Tony Gonsolin injured himself in the weight room. Edgardo Henriquez hurt himself away from the field. Michael Kopech and Evan Phillips will begin the season on the IL.
After missing almost two seasons with Tommy John revision surgery and a torn esophagus, Dustin May earned the fifth spot in the Dodger starting rotation. He had a remarkable spring training. He will succeed in the major leagues if he remains healthy.
Mookie Betts is fantastic at shortstop. He looks much more comfortable at shortstop than he was in the first half of the 2024 season. He has accomplished a lot during his major league career beginning in 2014, but he wants a challenge at this point of his career.
Who will play second base?
Entering spring training, the Dodgers thought they would have Hyeseong Kim play second base. However, Kim didn’t adjust to major league velocity as quickly as the Dodgers hoped. Undoubtedly, Kim can play second base and win Gold Glove. While the Dodgers may want to put Kim at second base, he can play center field, another problem for the Dodgers.
When the Dodgers were at the Winter Meetings, they thought Edman would play center field. At the time, the Dodgers had Gavin Lux playing second base. In January, Andrew Friedman traded Lux to the Cincinnati Reds. Now, it is logical to have Edman play second base. Having Edman at second base will help Betts adjust to shortstop. The Dodgers will have a strong middle infield that will help with run prevention.
Who will play center field?
This is the biggest dilemma for Dave Roberts. Either Kiké Hernández or Chris Taylor is an everyday player anymore, so the Dodgers don’t want them on the field for every game. James Outman is a good defensive player but struggles to make contact. Andy Pages, though he didn’t have a good spring training, he can hit satisfactorily, but he is a defensive liability in center field. Teoscar Hernández isn’t a center fielder, and Michael Conforto isn’t known as a good defensive outfielder. By October, the Dodgers will figure out who will play center field.
Let’s go!
