If you got to a player’s page on baseball reference, you would see just above his career stats, a line that reads 2026 projections. Judging from what they have for Ohtani, they expect his offensive production to fall off some. Now I don’t know if that is because Shohei is going to be pitching more next season or not, they have his OPS dropping under 1.000 for the first time in 3 years.
His BA is expected to be slightly higher, his HR total dropping to 44, and him driving in under 100 runs. They do not project his pitching stats. His best combined pitching-hitting stats came in 2023 when he hit .304 with 44 homers and 95RBIs. He had a 1.066 OPS. He pitched in 23 games with a 10-5 record, 3.14 ERA in 132 innings. That was prior to him being shut down from pitching in August with a UCL tear. It was corrected that winter and he returned to pitching this year.
His best season pitching came in 22. He was 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA in 166 innings pitched. He started 28 games that year. I do not expect him to match those numbers in 26. The reason is simple. The Dodgers handle their pitchers during the season much differently than most teams. Unlike his situation with the Angels, the Dodgers are deep in pitching depth and can rest their front-line pitchers at will. At least that is what has happened the last two seasons.
The big question is how much being a regular rotation starter is going to affect his offense if at all. I do think Doc should consider batting him deeper in the lineup on days he pitches so he does not have to leave the mound in the first inning and get ready to hit right away. Ohtani is a special talent and has skills we have never seen in the game. Ruth when he first began playing in Boston, did not have to worry about a pitch clock.
Fans expect a lot of this team now, and its superstars are no exception, and they are expected to perform at the highest level. Ohtani proved he was up to the task when he joined the Angels. Now he has to prove it to Dodger fans. We have seen two excellent offensive years from the Big Show. What does he do for an encore?
Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear
GOATahni
Did the Mets just say no to Diaz when they signed Devin Williams to a 3-year deal?
According to MLBTR, no. Mets would welcome Diaz back.
But noit at what Diaz is aksing. NYM does not want to go 5 years.
I agree
Looks like it
Not necessarily…. I’ve heard reports that the Mets want to have the game’s best one-two punch to close out games.
We’ll see…
What’s next for Ohtani?
I’d be OK with a Cy Young Award…
Hit .400
Maybe he can rest the day after his pitching and just be available for late inning PH. This also frees up Max, Freddie or Teo to DH now and then
It’s time to give the long time veterans days off regardless of them wanting to play everyday. Freddie, Mookie, Muncy and Teo. Give them a day now and then better yet give them two days off with an off day so three days off. Same with the pitching, stick to a six man rotation and skip a start now and then. The Dodgers have the talent to do this and will much better off when the playoffs start. Much can be said about the starting pitching and the innings they threw and how well they threw in the playoffs.
The Dodgers used quite a few pitchers as starters last year but in the post season when their Big Four were healthy, guys like Sheehan got rusty. I’m sure that can be debated.
I think if the Dodgers have a 6 man rotation then in the playoffs when they go to a 4 man rotation, the Dodgers should think about pairing starters so the Sheehans know which games they will pitch in and get used in ways they can count on.
Rushing could catch two days a week and play first base one day a week. Smith could DH the day before, or day after, or the day Ohtani pitches. If Edman can’t play CF everyday then maybe he could play there two games a week so that Pages can move to RF/LF and give Teo rest.
Cease signing just finalized.
Toronto has agreed to terms with RHSP Cody Ponce. Three years, $30MM. Ponce returning to MLB from Japan and Korea. Was Korean League MVP. Methinks this is a sneaky good signing.
Toronto now has two additions to their rotation.
Angels signed Manoah to a major league ontract.
Winter meetings will be active
Sure looks that way.
Can’t wait
So far in this year’s Hot Stove season the Blue Jays have been the most active on the FA market. They liked the post season experience and want to make a serious run at in again in 2026.
I expect the Dodgers to do something at the Winter Meetings either via FA or the trade market. They will not sit back and do nothing but I don’t see a big signing along the lines of Tucker or Diaz. Sign Kenley Jansen on a one-year deal to give them the righty/lefty late inning closer match-up with Scott having a rebound year.
Miggy Ro needs to come back and I’m ambivalent on the Kike FA market. See how his surgery rehab goes and maybe consider a spring training signing and then a 60-day IL stint and then a mid season activation.
Roll with the kids to fill in the margins with Rushing, Kim and Wrobkeski, Hurt, Casparius, Klein, Henriquez etc.
Solid NO to Kenley Jansen.
I’d take Kenley. He’s done quite well in Anaheim (albeit with no pressure).
I can’t see him being any worse than Yates or others who we’ve kept throwing out there the past few years. I’d trust Kenley over Treinen for sure.
I like KJ and I would like to see him retire as a Dodger. But I would not be comfortable with him in a high leverage situation in a key game any longer. A walk turns into a triple. In an extra inning game, you might as well start the runner on 3B. His K’s are down and his exit velo is up. Those are not good metrics to bank on.
You do not need to go to Edwin Diaz for a quality closer. Robert Suarez is a quality closer. He is lethal against RH batters. He had 40 saves and only 5 blown saves. He inherited 14 runners and 4 scored. His FIP has been dropping consistently, and is lower than his ERA. He is a bit HR prone. He has pitched well in the playoffs.
I like Tyler Rogers as a RH setup as a compliment to LHRP Jack Dreyer. I also want to see what Brusdar Graterol and Kyle Hurt can do in a late inning high leverage situation. I would like to see the growth of Edgardo Henriquez this year. I would like to see what Paul Gervase can do in a non-high leverage first.
The Dodgers are going to give River Ryan every opportunity to start this year. But I would not be surprised to see him in the Sasaki role next year in the playoffs..
And a lot less expensive than what Diaz will cost.
Looks like we’re about to find out if all the credit that Andrew Friedman has gotten for being a genius was actually due to Josh Byrnes.
DePo just hired Byrnes as his new GM for the Rockies.
The Dodgers survived the loss of Farhan Zaidi and Alex Anthopoulos, and they will survive the loss of Josh Byrnes. But I think Byrnes will be the hardest of the three to lose. One day the Dodgers will lose Brandon Gomes to POBO for some team. Mark of a good leader.
I have no doubt that AF will find a capable replacement for Josh, but he will be missed in the short term. Byrnes was responsible for supervising both the scouting and player development departments for the Dodgers. Unfortunately the Rockies have one of the worst ownership groups, Monfort Brothers, in all of MLB.
If the Rockies are patient, they may have found a duo in De Podesta and Byrnes that can develop a MLB team rather than a MiLB team masquerading as a MLB team. De Podesta will get Colorado to build a quality analytics department if the Monfort Bros will fund it. Byrnes knows the LAD prospects better than anyone except maybe Will Rhymes. Unfortunately, it is the lack of talent on the Rockies MLB team as well as a barren farm system that will prevent the Rockies and LAD from consummating a significant trade, even if both teams were willing to trade within the same division.
I would not be upset if the Dodgers could get Colorado to trade Kyle Karros. But I am not sure that he is any better than Alex Freeland. Karros got a chance to play regularly at the MLB level, and Freeland not so much.
“De Podesta will get Colorado to build a quality analytics department if the Monfort Bros will fund it”
”If” is the operative word.several weeks ago I read that some teams wanted to limit the amount a team could spend on analytics. Not sure if the Rockies were one if those teams but I guess time will tell.
Same question was asked when Farhan left
Should be interesting to see if those two can turn the Rockies fortunes around.