Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
The Los Angeles Dodgers finally finished their spring training schedule, and it was successful. No Dodger has had a significant injury. Gavin Lux has battled through difficulties to become a satisfactory second baseman who just homered as he returns from a major knee injury.
This spring has focused on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinbu Yamamoto. As expected, Ohtani performed well offensively and began a throwing program on Monday as he recovers from Tommy John revision surgery. He felt better after throwing on Monday than any time during the 2023 season.
Yamamoto has been a mystery. After the Dodgers gave him a record-setting contract, Yamamoto has major league caliber pitches, but it hasn’t translated to success in the major leagues. While in Japan, Yamamoto was known for extraordinary command. He has been wild in the United States. After a disastrous major league debut in Seoul, South Korea, the Dodgers and every Dodger fan want to see how Yamamoto handles the disappointment and how he will adjust to the major leagues and a different culture.
When spring training began, Mookie Betts was going to be the regular second baseman after winning six Gold Gloves in right field. He was excited about playing a new position with a potential opportunity to win a Gold Glove there. With Lux’s problems at shortstop, the Dodgers swapped Betts and Lux. Betts is having a challenge to be an average shortstop, but he welcomes the challenge. While in Seoul, he played good defense and had a huge game offensively.
The Dodgers are poised to have a big season. There are questions about their starting rotation. Those questions will be answered on the field. The Dodgers will have to live up to their expectations, or they will have many people view their season as a failure.
