This year marks the 68th year of Dodger baseball in Los Angeles. Exactly the number of years the team played in Brooklyn. They were in Brooklyn from 1890-1957. The Brooklyn Dodgers won 1 World Series and 9 pennants if you count the one in 1890. The Los Angeles Dodgers have won 7 World Series, 6 pennants and been to the playoffs 38 times. This year there are a lot of expectations on this team. Fans expect them to win the West and then advance to the playoffs and eventually the World Series.
Just me, but I have always been cautious about expectations. Especially where it comes to Dodger baseball. The team is deep that is true. But I still think they have some warts. Bench is RH heavy and there is no real thumper coming off of the bench unless someone like Conforto or Muncy is there because of a tough lefty. Slow starts by some players immediately have the fans wanting changes.
That has been true this season already. Nine games in there are all sorts of trade suggestions and replacement ideas from the farm system. Since he took over, Freidman has made just one deal involving a position player prior to the season, when he traded AJ Pollock to the White Sox for Craig Kimbrel. He has not made a major deal prior to the All-Star game or the deadline since he traded for Machado in 2018.
Some have suggested that it is time to move on from Max Muncy. I get it. Muncy is a .231 hitter in the first half for his career. This season, he is off to a very slow start. As per usual when this happens, the boo birds come out. 12 strikeouts in 26 at bats will do that. Muncy also is not walking as much as he normally does. At this point, he does not look like the Muncy we have seen since he joined the team, a power hitter who walks a lot and has a high OPS.
Another sore spot is Chris Taylor. Fans have been calling for the Dodgers to move on from Chris the last few years. Chris hasn’t played enough to even be evaluated. He has exactly 3 at bats. But fans want him gone anyway. Kike is also off to a very slow start, which is a problem since Freddie is injured and Kike has been getting the bulk of the play at first. Kike has 2 hits in 22 trips to the plate, granted, they both were home runs. He has 8 Ks in those 22 at bats. Kike now has 3 hits, all of them home runs and is batting .115.
The Dodgers traded for a speedy CF, Esteury Ruiz. His biggest asset is his speed. He stole 67 bases as a rookie with the A’s in 23. He led the AL. Despite all that, he had a -0.3 WAR. He is not the best defender out there. He also has little power. He hasn’t played for OKC yet, probably because Outman and Dean are ahead of him on the depth chart. Ruiz has a .286 BA in the minors with an OPS over .800. If he could match those numbers in the majors, then he could be an asset on offense. In my eyes though, and a I am not always right, he is merely a depth piece.
Outman’s trade value at this point is at an all-time low. He would not bring much back. But a change of scenery would probably benefit him greatly. Shocker this early in the year is Tommy Edman, tied for the NL lead in homers with 5. He also leads LA in RBIs with 9. As good as the top of the lineup has been, the bottom, not so much. But it is way too early to evaluate where this offense will be come the first of June.
We have seen a little history made already here in the 68th season of baseball in Los Angeles. 8 straight wins to start the year is the most ever by a defending champion. LA passed the 33 Yankees who started off with 7 wins. 8 is the third most in Dodger history to start a season. The 1940 team won 9 in a row. The 55-squad won 10 straight and 20 of their first 22 games. Myself, I would wait about 50 games before evaluating where the team is at. That is around 150 at bats for the regulars.
I would not expect any major changes or additions to the team other than the occasional call-up until much closer to the deadline. AF once stated he hoped the team would be in a position where they did not have to make a deadline deal. Players who might peak the Dodgers interest, and who most likely will not be dealt until the deadline, would be Robert Jr. and for the fans at least, Arenado. I am still of the mind that if LA wanted Arenado, they would have already traded for him.
He is owed 42 million after this season is over. He is also 34 years old right now. He is off to a good start to his season, and his defense is as sound as always. If he continues to hit, his price in a trade is going to be high. Same with Robert Jr. who is not off to a very good start so far. I have to believe that if the Dodgers make any trades at all, they won’t be made before the deadline.
The team’s defense was excellent the first six games. They then made 5 errors in the next 3 games. Four of those errors came on throws. The only fielding error was credited to Edman, who is one of the best defensive players they have. Fortunately, only Yamamoto’s bad throw to third was a factor in a loss. As the season wears on, we will see some more gaffs, and we will see some very good plays like Teo’s outfield assist in the 3-1 win over the Phillies. It kept the tying run from scoring.
Overall, this team is built to win and win a lot. Will they break the record for wins? I do not really believe that is the goal. The goal is to repeat, becoming the first NL team to do so since the 75-76 Big Red Machine. There will be tweaks to the roster, there always are. Some players might struggle for lengthy periods of time, will the Dodgers trade those guys? That remains to be seen. No matter what, the Dodgers 68th season in Los Angeles figures to be historic.
MiLB GAME SUMMARIES
El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) 6 – OKC Comets 4
Evan Phillips was making his 2nd rehab appearance. He was the opener in this game and was outstanding. He allowed a bunt single but retired the side with two strikeouts. He threw 13 pitches and 11 were strikes. With Jack Dreyer going 2+ innings on Sunday, and Ben Casparius pitching 2.0 innings each of his last two games, three days apart, he might be needed, sooner rather than later.
Bobby Miller relieved Phillips to be the bulk innings pitcher in this one. Miller completed 5.0 IP and 90 pitches (only 44 strikes), less than 50% strikes. He allowed 3 runs on two hits, but 6 BB.
With one out in the 3rd, Miller walked Joe Connor. Trenton Brooks followed with a 2-run HR. In the 5th, Miller’s lack of control got him again. With two outs, he walked Tirso Ornelas. Yonathan Perlaza followed with a run scoring double.
For the Comets in the 4th, Kody Hoese drew a 2 out BB. He came around to score an unearned run on an error from a Ryan Ward hit ball. Ward reached 2nd, but stayed there.
In the 5th, Justin Dean led off with a triple and scored on an Esteury Ruiz double.
Logan Boyer relieved Miller in the 7th. Connor Joe hit a one out double. Trenton Brooks reached via E-5. Ornelas hit an infield single to load the bases. After Boyer struck out Perlaza for the second out, Luis Campusano singled home Joe for an unearned run. Jack Little relieved Boyer to get out of the inning.
OKC got the run back in the 8th, after Austin Gauthier drew a BB, he scored on a Chris Okey double.
Little remained in the game for the 9th. A walk, single, force out ground out put runners on 1st and 3rd. Campusano doubled home both runners. Ben Harris relieved Little and got out of the inning without further damage.
Down by 3, Alex Freeland led off the 9th with a double. Freeland stole 3rd and scored on a James Outman ground out. Kody Hoese grounded out to end the game.
- Alex Freeland – 2-5, 1 run, double (2)
- Kody Hoese – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run, double (1)
- Chris Okey – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, double (2)
- Justin Dean – 1-3, 1BB, 1 RBI, double (2)
- Esteury Ruiz – 1-5, 1 RBI, double (1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals (KC) 14 – Tulsa Drillers 3
The Drillers were actually in this game early. They led 1-0 after one and 2-1 after two. In the first inning, Taylor Young and Chris Newell led off with singles, with Young moving to third. In the 2nd inning doubles by Yeiner Fernandez and Taylor Young gave the Loons a very brief lead. Tulsa had 5 hits in the first two innings, with only two more for the remainder of the game.
Jacob Meador ended the 2024 season with Tulsa (3 starts) and is counted on being one of the AA starters this year. This was not a good start to his 2025 season. It took 3.2 IP for Meador to reach his 75 pitch limit. In those 3.2 innings, Meador allowed 7 runs on 7 hits and 3 BB, with 6K. One of those hits was a 3-run HR in the 3rd.
Five relievers followed Meador. In 5.1 IP, the relievers allowed 7 runs (5 earned) on 10 hits and 5 walks, including a 3-run HR off Antonio Knowles.
Tulsa got one more in the 6th on their final two hits. José Ramos singled for his second hit of the game. Ramos moved to 2nd on a WP. John Rhodes drew a BB. Yeiner Fernandez slugged his second double of the game, with Ramos scoring.
Taylor Young – 2-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, double (1)
- Yeiner Fernandez – 2-3, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, 2 doubles (3)
- Damon Keith – 1-2, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 Sac Fly
Lake County Captains (Cleveland) 13 – Great Lakes Loons 2
This was a forgettable game that started out innocently enough. Payton Martin started and completed 4.0 IP, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 BB. Unfortunately one of those hits was a 2-run HR that followed a 2-out BB. He did strikeout 6 batters in the 4.0 IP.
The problem was the four relievers that followed Martin. In their 5.0 IP, the relievers surrendered 10 runs on 6 hits and 10 walks. Six of those runs came off three HRs.
Offensively, the Loons were not much better. The Loons scored 2 runs on 3 hits. One of the three hits was a solo HR by Josue De Paula. The second run scored after a HBP, single, and two walks.
- Josue De Paula – 2-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (1)
- Zyhir Hope – 0-2, 3 BB
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 8 – Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 1
The Quakes completed a three-game sweep over the Lake Elsinore Storm on Sunday afternoon. LHP Jakob Wright, in his pro debut, completed 3.2 IP and RHP Sean Linan finished the final 5.1 IP, and combined for a one run, four hit, three walk performance. Wright threw 57 pitches (35 strikes) and Linan threw 61 (45 strikes). Linan had 11 strikeouts, including all three in the 9th.
In the 2nd inning, Samuel Munoz and Nicolas Perez each drew a BB. Munoz scored on a Elijah Hainline single.
In the 4th, Perez drew another BB and promptly stole 2nd. Hainline drew a walk, and Perez stole 3B and scored on the catcher’s throwing error. Victor Rodriguez walked. Both Hainline and Rodriguez scored on a Eduardo Quintero double.
In the 6th, Quintero slugged a 2-out double and scored on a Jaron Elkins single.
In the 7th, Munoz drew a BB and scored on a Perez triple. Hainline got his 2nd run scoring single of the game. Hainline moved to 2nd on a WP, and scored on a Victor Rodriguez double.
- Eduardo Quintero – 2-4, 1 BB, 7 run, 2 RBI, 2 doubles (2)
- Joendry Vargas – 2-5
- Elijah Hainline – 2-3, 2 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI
- Jaron Elkins – 1-3, 2 BB, 1 run
- Nicolas Perez – 1-1, 3 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, triple (1)
- Victor Rodriguez – 1-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, double (1)
The weekend started with a brilliant 4.0 scoreless innings from RHSP Hyun-Seok Kang on Friday, RHSP Aidan Foeller followed with 4.1 scoreless innings in Game 2, then LHSP Jakob Wright pitched a scoreless 3.2 innings in the Sunday finale. Then RHP Sean Linan did him one better with a brilliant 5.1 IP to close out the win.
Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear
90 pitches for Miller. Wow.
Miller has the same problem he had last year. He if anything has regressed. I use him as trade bait while he still has some value.
Every time he pitches his trade value goes down.
I think they almost have to wait (and hope) for him to partially turn himself around so that at least they could get something half worthwhile for him.
We may be watching another Cartaya situation play out here. Highly thought of prospect held too long as we watch his trade value sink lower as time goes on.
I do think that Miller could eventually find himself again but a change of scenery definitely seems in order.
Cartaya never reached Miller’s heights tho
One start.
One start, but his second game. He has walked 8 and struck out 7 in 9.2 innings. He looks nothing like the pitcher he was in 23.
I haven’t seen confirmation, but a rumor has Kim coming up very soon.
I’m skeptical, because I think the Dodgers would want to have Kim get more reps in OKC.
But they know he can play a high-quality 2B, and at some point he’ll have to try to hit major league pitching.
At any rate, shifting Edman to CF and placing Kim at 2B would vastly improve the up-the-middle defense.
If Kim struggles at the plate, well, Pages was already doing that while delivering shoddy defense.
If Kim can perform offense at about 80% of his level in Korea, he’d fit nicely as the “second leadoff” guy with top-end speed.
And meanwhile, Edman can continue to his Willie Mays impression.
I concur, Kim is hitting in OKC and could not do much worse than Pages anyway. It seems like a reasonable plan,the question is when?
Dodgers need to address the CF situation sooner rather than later. Pages needs to OPS at least .750 or better to justify keeping him in CF. Outman played 36 games in March, April, and May for the Dodgers in 2024 before he was sent down. Pages is not a CF and this experiment needs to end. Either put Edman in CF and play Kike, Taylor, Rojas, or Kim at `2B or keep Edman at 2B and play Kike or Taylor in CF. Either could hit better than Pages. Another option is to bring Outman back for another shot. He can’t be any worse at the plate and would at least play good defense.
Edman to CF; Kim to 2B.
Where’s Fred? Think I’ll email him.
Maybe they would leave Kim down longer but Pages is embarrassing himself. He needs AAA too. And something needs to be done about Taylor. He’s just sitting there.
The giants have 4 guys hitting over .300. 3 hitting well over .300. That won’t last.
I wonder how bad the weather will be in Washington. Cold and wet for sure.
I think Miller just needs more work. I hope that’s what it is. No home runs and only 3 BB is a concern, but I think Muncy will snap out of it. He’s never been that great a hitter but his OPS+ is 122 and that’s what the Dodgers value.
I read somewhere years ago it takes 100 at bats to gage how a season will go. That’s a lot of at bats. I think it’s only with veterans the Dodgers will wait that long.
Not sure how Edman will fare in center. There’s something about his arm that troubles me. But for those that don’t have strong arms hitting the cutoff quickly is key.
Weird after this start the Dodgers are in second place.
If they keep everyone on a 6 day schedule they will need 2 starters from OKC. Wrobleski,Knack,Frasso,Gondolin( Miller). Take your pick
Wrobleski & Knack only two who’d be ready to go five.
The season is a marathon. I’m fine for Snell sacrificing one or two months now for health later.
Because of injuries we’re seeing Dreyer establish himself.
I just do not trust Knack as a starter. With Snell down, I would rather see Wrobo.
I like Knack but I still view the organization’s reluctance to start him in the postseason when ALMOST EVERY STARTER WAS INJURED as a sign of how he’s viewed by the brass.
One game will be a bullpen game, I believe I’ve read.
Pages has to have played himself not only off the field but actually off the team, he really must go down and figure some things out, he just isn’t a MLB hitter or CF (or any position actually). Before blowing everything up with a hasty trade, give Outman a good chance to own the spot, at least we get a defender out there instead of an offender in CF.
So Jeff your blog title from a few days ago really hit home during yesterday’s pitching collapse “just how good is the Dodger bullpen?”. The more appearances the bullpen makes the more they seem to be exposed. A couple of guys are doing pretty well, but most are a real crapshoot (emphasis on “crap”)
Outman is not the answer.
I wrote that not Jeff. The pen for the most part has been pretty good, and they have pitched more innings than the starters. Therefore, there is a bigger chance to suck. Of the Dodgers 9 wins, the bullpen has 6 of them simply because so many of them have been comeback wins. Team leader is Banda with a 3-0 record. Yamamoto is the only starter who has pitched more than 10 innings.
Too many walks is still a big problem. Can’t get around it, walks will kill ya most of the time. Pen has not been very good actually, outscoring opponent has worked and masked the week efforts from the pen.
WEll, that did not take long for Snell to go on the IL.
Hopefully just precautinary and nothing serious. Shoulder inflammation and forearm tightness are words you do want to hear about your ace.
Give Pages some more time. If he is still as bad come May sent him down. No need to freak out about it.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Snell has an injury history. I think this is the sixth time he has gone on the IL in his career. Dude rarely goes more than 5 innings anyway. 182 million for him seems a little steep. He spent time on the IL last year.
I think we sat around and brainstormed what could be the single most impactful addition to our team in October and came up with a veteran power LHSP.
For better or worse we settled on Snell.
Yes, and I thought it was a good signing. I still do, but pitchers today are so fragile. Snell is 4-3 in postseason play with a 3.33 ERA in 12 games, 10 of those are starts.
I guess it’s a good position to be in, but really we’re playing for October right now. We’ve seen that Philadelphia can stand toe to toe with us and it looks like SD/SF/AZ might be worthy competitors in the division, but realistically the most we’re playing for is HFA in the NLCS, which comes down to a single game advantage.
What will our four-man rotation look like in the postseason? We say we don’t want anymore bullpen games but what if that’s the best option?
What will our lineup look like? Losing Freeman obviously hurts right now but we hope to avoid any major loses over the course of the year.
Bullpen & bench figure to morph and shift over time. I think we have enough of the former but we may have to address the bench at some point later in the season.
Pages, Outman, Kim, Ruiz, Feduccia, Rushing & Freeland are currently uncertain contributors. Adding just one impact reserve player might help cover up the weakness of Taylor’s roster spot [Rojas doesn’t look great either early on].
Time is our friend. Injured players are rehabbing. Minor leaguers are developing. Current roster spots are being evaluated. Who knows how long the runway is for certain guys.
Guererro Jr. and the Jays have agreed to a contract extension pending his physical. Any roster moves the Dodgers might make probably won’t be apparent until maybe an hour before game time which is at 3:45 PST. Among the unexpected starts, Atlanta is 1-8 after 9 games. Rockies already 6 games back. Dodgers team BA is .229, Team OPS .784. They are slugging .471 but the OBP is just .312. They have struck out 89 times as a team and walked just 39 times. Pages 14, Muncy 13, Teo 11, and Ohtani 10, lead the team in Ks. Ohtani and Smith each lead the team with 9 walks. The pitching has been excellent overall. Team ERA is 2.48 and they have given up just 5 homers while the team has hit 23.
Cubs fans realize Tucker will cost at least $400m and possibly the full $500m.
I would take Tucker over Guerrero Jr. everyday.
I think the Dodgers hitters are much better than the numbers show. I believe that but I don’t know it. I also don’t believe Guerrero is worth that kind of money but for that organization maybe he is.
Looks like it might be a bad deal. But who knows.
The Guerrero contract will not age well. Now they need to overpay to keep Bichett.
14-year deal. He will be 40 in the last season, just like Ohtani
Actually, Ohtani will be baseball age 38. He will turn 39 on July 5 of the final year of his contract. Then again that is just disingenuous, supercilious, and irrelevant nit-picking on my part. 😍
And churlish!
I see that Knack is in Washington DC. Should have brought Outman with him to take over in CF.
Landon Knack is in Washington. Looks like he will be taking Snell’s place in the rotation for Tuesday’s start. Hopefully May and Knack can get deep enough into the game to save the bullpen for Wednesday’s game. And hopefully the 9 bats in the lineup will show up to take the pressure off the pitching.
Bear, you made the comment “Another sore spot is Chris Taylor. Fans have been calling for the Dodgers to move on from Chris the last few years. Chris hasn’t played enough to even be evaluated.”
I’m one of those fans who have been calling for his departure and his $13 million bloated salary.
I beg to differ that he hasn’t played “enough to be evaluated”.
There’s a reason he has 3 at bats in 2025.
Let’s evaluate his last 4 seasons. Since 2022 through today, CT3 has hit .221 but last year until now he is at .199. And his strikeout rate during the last 4 years is 38%. To me, he has one swing and if he’s lucky the ball hits his bat occasionally.
With the utility depth on this team, he’s the first one who needs to be gone.
And Kike needs to get it going as well. But he seems to be teflon when it comes to Dodger fans. Our bench needs an overhaul with some pop added.
Taylor did play better in the last half of the season, but is it enough to hold a spot on the roster. In general I agree with you assessment PJ
Taylor would have been cut a long time ago if not for the ill advised contract AF gave him.