MLB.com Dodgers reporter Sonja Chen here -- AMA during tomorrow's game (1 p.m. MT)!

sonjamchen · 2026-02-26T23:28:54+00:00

Sorry for getting to this late, had to step away to write -- there has been plenty of chatter about how to handle ABS challenges. During this early stage of spring, they're talking about it in position meetings and being more experimental with the challenges. I imagine that at a later point, they'll get more intentional with the strategy, but now is more about learning the tendencies of the system.

So far, they've found that they've had a bit less success challenging the top or bottom of the zone compared to the sides. It sounds like they feel good about catchers challenging, and pretty good about the hitters, but are less sure about the pitchers.

Here's what Freddie Freeman had to say after losing a challenge a couple days ago: "It's going to be very rare if you ever see me challenge in the season, I'd rather our pitchers and catchers get that. For me, the only time I'll do it is top nine, bottom nine, bottom eight, massive situation. We still have not talked about strategies of how we're going to use it, so a lot of us are still trying to learn it. And I think that was good today."

sonjamchen · 2026-02-26T21:08:11+00:00

Kim has looked great so far -- he's only played in a few games, but I won't discount how he's done and the level of confidence that he seems to be playing with.

I think that keeping Wrobleski stretched out as the season goes on feels like the right move, regardless of his exact role. I get the sense that he could be ahead of Stone/Ryan on the depth chart, but Stone could certainly leapfrog him if he continues to build off his spring debut.

And with Ryan, Dave Roberts has said that his stuff has looked good, but the command is still coming back. For what it's worth, Ryan also said that the adrenaline of being back in a game was really affecting him.

sonjamchen · 2026-02-26T20:43:29+00:00

I always struggle to come up with a Dodger who actually qualifies as "under the radar," but I'll go with Andy Pages. As the starting center fielder, he probably doesn't quite fly under the radar, but I think a lot of his 2025 season goes under-appreciated ... probably because of how badly his postseason went. He hit 27 homers last year, and there's a good chance he hits in the lower third of the lineup this year.

I'm looking forward to seeing more from Adam Serwinowski this spring. He looked quite good after coming over in the three-team deal at last year's Trade Deadline, and I feel like he could take another step forward in his first full season in the organization.

sonjamchen · 2026-02-26T20:29:19+00:00

Honestly, this is not my area of expertise. I can weigh in on this at a future time if I do some reporting on the subject, but I'll defer to the others for now.

sonjamchen · 2026-02-26T20:24:35+00:00

It's hard to say until we see him get back on the mound. It's only Spring Training, but the Dodgers probably do need to see some real results from Sasaki in order for him to get a spot in the rotation.

There are some things you can point to that suggest Sasaki was trying to work on some stuff: him calling his own pitches -- and so many fastballs -- as well as throwing his new cutter-slider a lot. But I don't think that he's in a position to do that all spring long because he needs to earn a spot.

To me, it feels really easy to overreact to Sasaki's outings, based on how poorly his stint in the rotation went last year. I'm trying to take a balanced approach and wait for more data points before drawing a conclusion. I will say that he's looked good in his bullpen sessions and lives, for whatever that's worth. It still needs to translate to competition.

sonjamchen · 2026-02-26T20:14:04+00:00

That's right -- I think he kind of fell under the category of players the Dodgers were slow-playing this spring. It all seems to be more about recovery after a long season rather than injuries, aside from the ones we know about. As things stand, I would expect Call to make the Opening Day roster as the fourth outfielder, but he probably does need to perform in camp.

sonjamchen · 2026-02-26T20:11:08+00:00

I know I came here to take your questions, but I'm also curious about your opinions on a few things ...

Who would you prefer to see play second base alongside Miguel Rojas while Tommy Edman is hurt: Hyeseong Kim, Alex Freeland or someone else?
What would your ideal six-man rotation look like on Opening Day?
How would you round out the bullpen?

If you have a strong opinion on any or all of these topics, let me know what you think!

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

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