The World Series is over, and the off-season calendar begins. The Gold Gloves winners have already been announced, and as I expected, no Dodger won one, although two were finalists: Mookie Betts at SS and Miguel Rojas at utility.
Immediately following the WS, 7 Dodgers were declared free agents.
- Clayton Kershaw (retiring)
- Kiké Hernández
- Miguel Rojas
- Michael Conforto
- Kirby Yates
- Michael Kopech
- Andrew Heaney
Up until I heard Kevin Millar talking about Miggy Ro, I fully expected the Dodgers to re-sign him. But Millar said that Miggy could be done. Millar says that Miggy told him he wanted to step away and be a father in 2026. I am not buying it until I hear Miggy say he is done. The last time I heard what Miggy was leaning towards, was that he was hoping to play one more year, and with the Dodgers. Maybe winning a second WS has changed his mind. He would be 37 next year. If the Dodgers offered $5MM, would he really turn that down? We will see. The Dodgers have until Thursday at 4:00 PM CT to negotiate a new deal, before other teams can make offers. Even if he doesn’t re-sign with LAD before Thursday, there will still be plenty of time in the off-season to convince Miggy to come back to LAD.
The others…thank you for the year, enjoy 2026 with some other team. That goes for Kiké as well. Kiké is special and he is loved by the fans and his teammates. I do not think the Dodgers are willing to carry him during the 162 game marathon just to have him available for October. But I have no say in roster construction. At some point, the team needs to get younger.
With the free agents no longer on the roster, the 40-man will have 41 players, but the Dodgers have 8 players who ended the season on the 60-Day IL, leaving them with a 33 functional 40-man roster. They will have to be added back to the 40-man roster, I believe by November 21.
- Nick Frasso
- Brusdar Graterol
- Michael Grove
- Kyle Hurt
- Evan Phillips
- River Ryan
- Gavin Stone
- Tony Gonsolin
Of those, I see three pitchers who could be on the bubble for non-tender, or if tendered, later DFA’d: Tony Gonsolin, Nick Frasso, and Michael Grove. Frasso is pre-arbitration, so he has a little more rope. I have previously written that because he will be a free agent after next year, injured reliever Evan Phillips is a potential non-tender. IMO, I think the Dodgers bite the financial bullet and tender him a contract and hope he can come back by August 1. I have written it before, but I cannot see LAD tendering a contract to Tony Gonsolin.
Another player that seems implausible (to me) that the Dodgers would tender a contract to is Esteury Ruiz.
Of the arbitration players, MLBTR also considers Graterol, Anthony Banda, Brock Stewart, and Ben Rortvedt non-tender candidates. IMO, every one of those players will be tendered.
This will be further complicated with which MiLB players will be protected from the Rule 5 draft. Those players need to be protected and added to the 40-man by November 18.
To the best of my knowledge, the Dodgers have 10 players who could be eligible for MiLB Free Agency. I have not found a definitive list, but generally it is any player who signed in 2019 for the first time, and did not make a 40 man. There may be reasons, unknown to me (very possible), that have added another year before he can become a FA. Covid year???
- Ryan Ward – OF
- Kody Hoese – 3B/1B
- José Ramos – OF
- Yeiner Fernandez – C/2B
- Nelson Quiroz – C
- Frank Rodriguez – C
- Justin Jarvis – P
- Logan Boyer – RHP
- Christian Suarez – RHP
- Jerming Rosario – RHP
Some of these players could re-sign LAD MiLB contracts. Some will move on.
There is not one MiLB Rule 5 eligible prospect that screams he needs to be protected. Other than the 10 identified above, there are 26 others eligible.
- Griffin Lockwood-Powell – AAA, C/1B
- Jesus Galiz – A+, C
- Jose Meza – A, 1B
- Edwin Sanchez – Rookie, 1B
- Austin Gauthier – AAA, Utility
- Taylor Young – AA, 2B
- Kyle Nevin – AAA,1B/LF/3B
- Noah Miller – AAA, SS
- Sean McLain – AA, SS
- Jose D. Hernandez – A+, SS
- Chris Newell – AAA, OF
- Damon Keith – AAA, OF
- Chris Campos – AAA, RHSP
- Peter Heubeck – AA, RHSP
- Roque Gutierrez – AA, RHSP
- Jared Karros – AA, RHSP
- Maddux Bruns – A+, LHSP
- Christian Romero – A+, RHSP
- Jose Rodriguez – AAA, RHRP
- Ronan Kopp – AAA, LHRP
- Lucas Wepf – AAA, RHRP
- Antonio Knowles – AAA, RHRP
- Ryan Sublette – AAA, RHRP
- Kelvin Ramirez – AA, RHRP
- Brandon Neeck – AA, LHRP
- Reynaldo Yean – A+, RHRP
Before any Rule 5 prospects are protected, before any non-tenders, and considering the 60-day IL players will be reinstated, the Dodgers will have 41 for the 40-man. So it will depend on how many of the above the Dodgers may want to protect before any non-tenders are made.
I would think that maybe 3 could be protected: Noah Miller, Ronan Kopp, and Reynaldo Yean. Yean would be the one I could see. You cannot teach what he has. But he is extremely unpolished, and could be years away. Once protected, he will have 3 option years. I would not be surprised if the Dodgers did not protect any of them.
We will begin to look at what FA the Dodgers may be interested.
And potential trades.
Thanks for the comprehensive report. I remain astounded by the Dodgers’ pitching depth. I’m reading along and thinking , “oh yeah… Frasso…. oh yeah, Grove…” The way I see it, Gavin Stone and River Ryan will be back to compete with Sheehan for a spot on the six-man rotation.
And I have given up on Bobby Miller yet–but perhaps he’d benefit from a change of scenery.
While I certainly don’t think it will happen, I think it would be pretty cool if the Dodgers brought back Kenley Jansen. He had a fine season for the Angels–certainly better than Scott, Yates, Treinen and others.
USA Today saluted Roberts for four pivotal moves: going with Rojas in games 6 and 7, his pitching decisions (in general), his specific reliance on Yamamoto in Game 7, and his insertion of Pages for defense.
USA Today missed a fifth, more subtle decision: shuffling the batting order to have Will Smith second and moving Mookie to clean up. That set the stage for, Smith’s big go-ahead HR.
I saw that Kevin Millar report about Miggy too. It surprised me because about a month Miggy was quoted as saying that he wanted to play one more season.
If he wants to go out on top, he could sign a one-day contract for the Dodgers to host “Miguel Rojas Day.”
But perhaps he’ll play in ’26 and he can have his “day” in ’27.
Excellent post about the Dodgers looking offseason decisions.
Yean is the one I would definetely protect. Kid can revv it up to 104 mph and his control has gotten considerably better the last couple of months .
If he can continue to improve his control even more he has closer written all over him. Can not teach that kind of velo.
Would like to see a young bona fide center fielder to move Pages to RF. Trade Teo if another team is interested in a solid DH.
That 3b from Japan is interesting. Still relatively young with huge power though allegedly his defense is below average.
Tucker IMHO is too injury prone to shell out a contract he will demand.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dodgers definitely need another big outfield bat. AF will deliver. After getting burned last year signing bullpen guys, it will be interesting how they proceed this offseason. We have a lot of big, young arms but are any of them closers? One name comes to mind is Wrobo. Love the fire and competitiveness. And the stuff
I too think Wrobo has made a great transition to relief. If he wants to stay in the bullpen, he can and will succeed. But if he still wants to start, he will probably be traded. Those discussions happen in the exit interview.
Can Wrobo close back to back games? How about the back to back to back. Maybe rare, but it does happen. Kenley Jansen did that a lot.
I have still not given up on Edgardo Henriquez. Kyle Hurt and River Ryan are two power arms that could be slotted in that closer role. Evan Phillips could be back next July/August (assuming he is tendered).
I still do not believe the Dodgers like to crown a single closer. Maybe not closer by committee so much but I do not believe they will have such defined roles that there will only be one closer.
And I know many out there do not want to hear it or believe it, but IMO, Tanner Scott comes back strong in 2026.
What makes you think Scott could come back strong? What was the cause of him coming into this year weak?
Same reason as David Bednar came back stronger this year. Same reason Kenley Jansen bounced back after off years. Same reason Aroldis Chapman came back after poor 2022 and 2024 years. Same reason Josh Hader came back from a bad 2022, and a so-so 2024.
Relief pitchers are extremely volatile and fickle.
Good rebuttal….well said. I feel better now….especially seeing we are paying him 18 million.
A couple of days ago I mentioned what I thought needed to be addressed and there were no responses so I think maybe I’ll just wait and see what happens early in this off season and possibly comment on that.
The clutch hits finally came, though the team stats show the Dodgers were out scored 34-26 and out pitched 3.21 ERA to 3.95 ERA. How did they win? Grit. Determination. Experience. Yamamoto.
Great rundown on the Dodgers current collection of talent Jeff. Thanks for that work I know there’s been a lot of talk about a need for a new hitting approach (losing RVS) but I don’t see the philosophy changing. Small ball, as exciting as it is for us old timers to see, is, for the Dodgers anyway, an expiring philosophy. The Dodgers are going to slug and keep slugging until it doesn’t work anymore. I suspect there are more than a few sluggers out there that love to be a part of this.
The Dodgers will also keep paying large sums for pitching. It’s going to be an interesting offseason. They all are.
Re the Dodgers reliance on slug: if Miggy doesn’t connect in the 9th and the Dodgers lose there would be a lot of people screaming about the Dodger’s inability to hit in the WS. I would love to see more of a Blue Jays approach to hitting— it’s not small ball but it does include putting the ball in play, hitting to the opposite field, hitting the ball hard and wearing out the pitcher. Way too many Dodger strikeouts, pop outs and lazy fly balls for my taste. Probably won’t happen but I’m really not sure if LA’s current philosophy has much of a shelf life going forward.
Totally with you Wally.
Not to detract from our winning the Series but we had zero capable pinch hitters available off the bench. Doc stuck with lineup and regular platoons because there were no capable bats on the bench. He substituted well for defensive chops.
That is one reason why I believe the Dodgers not only will exercise Max Muncy’s option, but also go out and get another 3B. Max at $10MM would be an excellent role player.
I don’t think a player like Edman will be encouraged to be what Taylor became. So yes, the Dodgers will always have 4 or 5 who slug but hopefully not also have any Taylor Made players filling out the lineup.
Maybe
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I believe we are in a great situation to bring in our younger players. We have great veteran leaders and players to help bring them along. If I were in charge these are the scenarios I would be looking to utilize for the 2026 season.
Scenario 1:
SP:
Yamamoto
Snell
Ohtani
Glasnow
Sheehan
Wrobo/Sasaki/Stone/Ryan
RP:
Scott
Vesia
Treinen
Wrobo/Sasaki/Stone/Ryan
Klein/Henriquez/Casp/Hurt/Miller/Stewart/Dreyer
That’s a lot of competition for the 6th spot in the rotation and the bullpen.
Line up:
Betts SS
Ohtani DH
Will C/1B
Freeman 1B
Pages RF
Muncy 3B
Teo LF
Kike CF
Kim 2B
Edman 2B
Rojas 2B/SS/3B
Rushing C/DH
Call OF
I would have Edman and Kim share time at 2B.
Rojas and Muncy share 3B.
Rushing DH the day of or after Ohtani pitches. Ohtani gets one day off per week. Getting Rushing more at bats is crucial for his development. He catches 3 times per week and DH once.
Will plays 1B once a week. Freddie gets a day off per week. Will takes over for FF when his contract is up.
Call is a defensive replacement for Teo and gives Kike a day or two off per week.
Scenario 2:
Pitching: Trade Glasnow for MLB ready 3B or CF prospect.
Line up:
Betts SS
Ohtani DH
Will C/1B
Freeman 1B
Pages RF
Freeland 3B
Edman 2B
Kike/Tibbs LF
Kike/Hope CF
Trade acquisition from Glasnow would replace Freeland/Tibbs/Hope. Hope and Tibbs battle for a roster spot.
Kim 2B
Noah Miller 2B/SS/3B- if Rojas retires
Rushing C/DH
Call OF
I would have Edman and Kim share time at 2B.
Freeland, Kike and Edman share 3B.
Rushing DH the day of or after Ohtani pitches. Ohtani gets one day off per week. Getting Rushing more at bats is crucial for his development. He catches 3 times per week and DH once.
Will plays 1B once a week. Freddie gets a day off per week. Will takes over for FF when his contract is up.
Call is a defensive and gives Kike a day or two off per week.
Interesting thoughts.
On the other hand…
— If Rojas decides he wants one more season, the Dodgers surely will bring the WS hero back.
— Has Rortvedt bumped Rushing from the backup job? Sure looked that way in the postseason. If so, should the Dodgers deal Rushing?
—Alex Freeland is rated ahead of Noah Miller among infielders. If Miggy retires, Freeland is next man up.
— Perhaps an OF prospect breaks through in ’26, but ’27 seems more likely. The FA and trade markets have a lot options in the meantime, and certainly quality players would be interested in joining the champs.
I am of the mind that Rushing gets dealt. Rortvedt is a perfect backup type player. Smith is not going to be moved from catcher for at least a couple of years. Rushing will be a hot commodity this winter.
I have Freeland at 3B.
I don’t think that will happen. They will exercise Muncy’s option. Just 10 mil for Max. Freeland showed some defensive chops, but he doesn’t have Max’s power or his OBP. A lot going on in MLB. Perez inks new 2-year deal with the Royals. Bieber exercised his option and will stay with the Jays. Padres declined options on Diaz, Tyler Wade and Kyle Hart. Pirates placed Ji-Wan-Bae, Jack Little and Liover Peguero on waivers. They got Little from the Dodgers earlier this season. Harrison Bader declined his mutual option with the Phillies. Astros placed five players on outright waivers. Chas McCormick, Kenedy Corona, Pedro Leon, John Rooney, former LA Dodgers farm hand, and Luis Garcia. Braves will exercise option on Ozzie Albies. Red Sox declined their mutual option with Liam Hendricks. Martin Perez declined his option with the White Sox and Jack Flaherty is staying in Detroit. Brewers declined options on Rhys Hoskins and Jose Quintana and also turned down the option on William Contreras who remains with the team since he is arbitration eligible. Trevor Story is staying in Boston.
You don’t trade great pitchers. Can’t you see what wins in the playoffs? GREAT PITCHING. WE HARDLY HAD ANY HITS DURING THE WS but still won….thanks to pitching.
Find another way to get a stud OF….just leave our starters alone.
Here’s a nugget from the LAT’s Dylan Hernandez, about the Dodgers’ aging core:
“There were times that even Ohtani started to show the effects of being on the wrong side of 30. Ohtani’s father acknowledged this reality in a congratulatory open letter he wrote to his son, which was published in the Monday edition of Sports Nippon.
“Shohei, you’re 31 years old,” Toru Ohtani wrote in Japanese. “I think that as a baseball player, you’re in your prime, but there will come a time when you have to decide between pitching and hitting. When you can’t pitch anymore, you can be an outfielder. I think that if you practice, you can definitely do it.”
Fans want to see Ohtani. Tickets are expensive. It’s hard to sit him. But IMHO I would sit him when he pitches and the day before he pitches. How about using him as DH the day after he pitches and in LF the other 4 days. That would let Smith DH twice a week.
I’ve suggested trading Glasnow. But he is a Southern California native and a Dodger fan from childhood. I worry about his physical reliability though. Instead of thinking a Glasnow trade might be a good idea, I will now just say I hope Sheehan, Stone, Wrobleski, Klein, Dryer, and Casparius are keepers.
I still like Royce Lewis at 3rd base. He is 26 but has suffered from many missed days due to injury. He can run. He had 400 plate appearances last year. Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run: 70 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55 Freeland could back him up as well as backup short and second. Rushing might be the next big dumper but he worries me with his swing and miss. Rushing for Lewis could be a thing.
Pages and Teo are also on my okay to trade list.
Ohtani is not sitting. Especially not the day he pitches. He will continue to do both for at least the next three or four years. Bank on it.
No to trading Glasnow. Let’s end this conversation before it even starts.
Glasnow is always hurt and seems to be mentally weak. We have a ton of good young pitchers to replace him. He had one good start in the playoffs. It was also part of scenario two. Not my first choice.
I think he is a lot tougher than you give him credit for. He also has some of the nastiest stuff on the staff. He isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
You make two good points- always injured and mentally weak….but he has rare talents. As long as he can pitch in September and October, I’m okay with him being in streetclothes for a while.
Guaranteed that Kike will not be a starting outfielder next year for us. AF will get a big bat for our outfield, not named Bellinger. I’d be really surprised if one of our young outfield prospects makes the leap next year.
Kike will not be a Dodger next season. LA can just not afford to carry his weak bat all season just waiting for the postseason. He was awful in the World Series. He hit .179 and struck out 15 times.
21 players no longer with the team will get World Series rings next year.
If any of the young OF prospects makes the leap from A+ to MLB in one year, with the Dodgers, the Dodgers will be in trouble. Look how long it took to promote De Paula and Hope to AA (after the season ended with Great Lakes). Or Eduardo Quintero to A+ from Rancho Cucamonga. Mike SIrota was hurt for most of the 2nd half.
James Tibbs III was traded twice in the year after he was drafted in the 1st round (13th overall). That was 7 spots ahead of Trey Yesavage. His best stop was with Tulsa. The Dodgers do not have a lot of depth in the OF for OKC, but that has never stopped them from filling it from outside the organization. I hope Tibbs III gets to start the year at OKC. But I do not expect him to make the leap to MLB in 2026.
Shota Imanaga declined his option with the Cubs. Yu Darvish will miss the entire 2026 season after having surgery to fix his UCL and a damaged flexor tendon. Padres will be hunting starting pitching with him and King both gone. Rockies declined mutual option with Kyle Farmer. Walt Weiss named Braves manager. Bill Hasselman named as Reds catching coach. Orioles picked up Kitteridge from the Cubs, Bautista will miss most of 26, so they need a closer. Red Sox avoided arbitration with Jared Duran, he gets a 7.7 mil deal with 75 K in bonus’s available. Mariners exercised Munoz’s option. White Sox exercised Luis Robert Jr.s option. Yamamoto on Cy Young finalists list. Ohtani finalist for MVP. Roberts did not make manager of the year list. Era Committee of the Hall of Fame announced 8 players on this year’s selection list. Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Bonds, Clemens, Delgado, Sheffield, Valenzuela, and Jeff Kent. Three who at one time played for LA. If they ignore the PED stuff, Bonds and Clemens could make it, but each voter can just vote for 3 and you need 9 votes to get in. Will be hard for either of those guys to get 9 votes. Mattingly and Murphy will get strong consideration. Do not think Fernando has much of a shot.
Cease is also gone from SD rotation. Suarez is gone from the bullpen. They do get Joe Musgrove back, but they will obviously have to add starting pitching. Thier cupboard is bare from the Farm, so they are going to have to buy them. Preller is actually not a bad evaluator of talent. They picked up Nick Pivetta last year when it seemed like nobody wanted him. Maybe Ranger Suarez fits there. That would be a big pickup if SD has the $$$.
I think Dale Murphy and Donnie Baseball fall into the good but not HOF elite category. I do not think the Baseball Writers missed on either of them. I do not think either one was as good as Jeff Kent. Neither one was nearly as surly as Kent, but that should not constitute votes.
I agree. With all the starters the Dodgers have available, I wonder if they would consider chasing Imanaga or Suarez. Snell is the only lefty now.
I think they will look at both.
Out of that list of 7, I’d like to see Kopech and Rojas return. I would miss KiKe but he slowed down this October. A ton of Ks. Weak with the bat.
Don’t think they will keep Kopech with guys like Henriquez and Klein younger and cheaper.
Agree. We have hoards of bullpen options. If we target any, let tgem be quality.