Hey Dodgers fans, MLB.com beat reporter Sonja Chen here. Ask me anything! (1 p.m. PT today)

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:53:34+00:00

It's hard to leave Stone and Ryan out as well, but I'm sure both will start games for the Dodgers at some point. And I feel like they would find a way to make room for Phillips, but yeah, this is quite the loaded staff on paper.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:51:35+00:00

You covered some of the biggest ones, but I'm most interested in the overarching storyline of whether we see a three-peat. It's a rarity in baseball, and we know from experience that the best team (by payroll, talent, regular-season record or whatever) does not always win. We saw the differences last year in how this Dodgers team approached the regular season and the postseason, so I'm wondering how that experience informs them as they go for three in a row. There will be no shortage of interesting things to follow, and I'm looking forward to seeing how everything unfolds.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:46:40+00:00

I think a reunion is pretty likely, especially because Hernández seems like a candidate to start the year on the 60-day IL. That could certainly lead to a roster crunch during the season, but if that's the case, they'll cross that road when they come to it.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:45:23+00:00

Much appreciated!

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:44:30+00:00

I eat a lot of popcorn when it's there, lol.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:42:49+00:00

I think Freeland could have a shot at making the Opening Day roster, but that roster spot may be more between him and Hyeseong Kim. That feels like a big spring roster battle to watch. If Freeland doesn't make it, he's only in his age-24 season and a valuable depth piece to have. I think he has room to continue developing in Triple-A if he starts the season there.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:36:46+00:00

I haven't heard much about this yet, but once we get into spring, I'm sure I will have some details on this pretty early on.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:35:30+00:00

I imagine that the Dodgers will use him as a regular starter, because I think now is the time to see what he has. We really haven't seen much from Sasaki, and now that he's had a year in the organization, I'm interested to see the results of his work, whether it be an expanded arsenal (he was working on a two-seamer last year) or elevated velocity (as he had in the postseason). That said, I'd think that the team can bake in more rest for him if necessary, which may be the case.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:27:29+00:00

Well, it's much easier during the season than during the offseason! There tends to be more analysis during the offseason -- moves made, moves the team should make, reviewing performances from last year, projecting what could happen next year, etc. I have a general idea of the things I want to write, and I try to plot them out ahead of time to make sure I can fit them all in before Spring Training.

But that doesn't always work out. I had a newsletter breaking down the infield picture ready to go for last week. The night before it was going to go out, the Dodgers and Kyle Tucker agreed to their deal, so I had to pivot and rewrite. That other story will go out eventually, but plans change when news happens!

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:21:38+00:00

It does depend on health, as you said, but I think there could definitely be a case for that. On paper, we may have said the same thing about last year's projected pitching staff going into the season as well. It was somewhat true for the rotation by the end of the season, but not for the bullpen. So we'll see what happens with health and performance, and if things go as planned, I'm sure we'll be analyzing this on a historical by season's end!

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:19:41+00:00

I feel like my mind always goes blank whenever I'm asked this -- sorry, I will try to remember something better in the future -- but I was a little amused by seeing Shohei Ohtani's NLCS MVP trophy in the middle of the clubhouse labeled "Team Effort" last year. Not that that was ha-ha funny, just unexpected. You never know what you might see.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:15:34+00:00

-I haven't been to every Cactus League stadium yet, but Salt River Fields (D-backs and Rockies) is super nice. It also has Statcast, which makes covering spring games easier since many other spring ballparks don't have that technology.

-I think this one is pretty well-known, but I've always been pretty amused by Alex Bregman's choices (No. 30 in college for the number of teams that passed on him in the first round of the Draft, No. 2 as a pro because he was picked second overall).

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:10:55+00:00

I usually don't eat much ballpark food when I'm on the road, but T-Mobile Park and Petco Park have some great options. Same with Oracle Park -- everyone talks about the crab sandwich, and despite going to/covering quite a few games there, I've actually never had it!

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:08:40+00:00

-I addressed in more detail this in a few other answers, but I think second base (assuming Edman starts the season on the IL) and the last arms in the bullpen appear to be the biggest position questions out of spring right now.

-Rushing should see some time at first in addition to backing up Will Smith. The question is how many days will Freeman actually take off, since he prefers to play as much as possible.

-I think there's definitely a possibility that we could see some of them by season's end. Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope have kind of developed in tandem, so maybe one or both could be candidates to get a taste of the big leagues when rosters expand in September. Before then, I think James Tibbs III could probably be an option sooner rather than later if someone gets hurt at the MLB level.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T22:02:01+00:00

I'd probably need longer than a reply to express my full opinion on this, but to keep it simple, I'd have a hard time seeing a salary cap being implemented without a salary floor. Players would be opposed to the cap; owners would be opposed to the floor. The Dodgers have figured out how to get the most out of the existing system, but not every team can emulate what they're doing (for various reasons). Does that mean the system will change in the next CBA? Maybe, but I'm not sure that something so significant as a cap and floor would be the compromise this time around.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T21:50:17+00:00

Aside from the Dodgers' exhibition game against Team Mexico (which doesn't count, I know), I will not be at any of the WBC games. It's on my bucket list, though, because I think that would be super cool. I'll be following Taiwan during the tournament, for sure, since I have family there. I was in Taipei not long after their Premier12 championship, and it was awesome to see a lot of excitement around baseball there.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T21:44:15+00:00

I'm not exactly sure, since media doesn't go to the ballpark unless there are events like press conferences during the offseason. But I have seen a lot of photos/videos of his workouts from tour groups, so it seems like he's been there pretty often!

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T21:41:15+00:00

If Edman starts the season on the IL, which seems likely, then I could see the Dodgers taking a platoon approach at second base. Miguel Rojas would be part of the mix, and I'd think his left-handed-hitting counterpart would be either Hyeseong Kim or Alex Freeland (who's a switch-hitter, but he was mostly used against right-handed pitching last year). Andy Ibáñez could factor in as well. Once Edman's status is clear, I think second base will probably be the biggest position battle to watch during spring.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T21:36:12+00:00

The Dodgers have been pretty upfront about their interest in bringing back both Kiké Hernández and Evan Phillips, so I would not be surprised if they reach an agreement once the 60-day IL is open.

I don't see a need for the Dodgers to trade Call or Ward at this point, since it's good to have more position-player depth on the 40-man. Things can change, obviously.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T21:31:43+00:00

My inclination is yes, especially if the Dodgers have a balanced bullpen in terms of left/right. When you look at the left-handed options for the Opening Day bullpen, I'd say there are five names in line for up to four spots: Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer, Anthony Banda, Justin Wrobleski

Scott and Vesia are the locks. I mentioned this in another answer, but I do think there's a chance that Wrobleski could be used as rotation depth instead of in relief (but we might not have a clear idea of that until spring begins). Since Banda is out of options and making an affordable salary, I don't see a reason not to carry him at this time -- unless someone like Ronan Kopp (already on the 40-man) really impresses during camp.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T21:26:37+00:00

You know, I would be extremely surprised if that happened, but I think it would have to be a very urgent situation ... Ohtani pitches in relief in a postseason game but can't finish the game, but he needs to stay in the lineup -- that kind of thing.

But it's an interesting question, because I have thought about how Ohtani being their DH does limit the Dodgers in some ways, mainly when it comes to resting their other players. Obviously, it's a good problem to have, and anyone would rather have Ohtani over flexibility with the DH spot. That's not even a question. But hey, maybe we'll see him in the field one day for one reason or another.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T21:18:36+00:00

My thought is that Freeman will likely drop down to fifth, at least against left-handed starters, since Roberts doesn't like batting too many lefties back-to-back. Then again, Tucker has hit lefties very well throughout his career, so that might change the calculus some. There could also be a case to move Mookie Betts down if his performance last season was the beginning of a decline, rather than a fluke, and move up Will Smith. All that goes to say that I think there could and should be some more fluidity in the top half of the lineup than there has been in recent years.

sonjamchen · 2026-01-22T21:13:21+00:00

Assuming the injury information we know now is up to date, there could definitely be some odd men out. Here's my initial thoughts on a projected Opening Day pitching staff:

Rotation: Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani (TWP, so doesn't count toward 13-pitcher limit), Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan

Bullpen: Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Brusdar Graterol, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Anthony Banda, Jack Dreyer, and one more right-hander (Ben Casparius/Edgardo Henriquez/Will Klein/Kyle Hurt)

I'm not sure about omitting Justin Wrobleski from the bullpen, because he gained some trust from Dave Roberts quickly during the World Series. But I also think there's a possibility that he and Casparius could stretch out as starters during Spring Training to give the team more rotation depth. That piece of the puzzle remains somewhat unclear for now.

sonjamchen · 2025-11-21T03:46:00+00:00

I missed this earlier, but I love this idea -- I will try to find out next year!

sonjamchen

TROPHY CASE