Andrew Friedman’s stated goal is to compete in the World Series every year, so right after the parade, the Dodgers will be back to work getting ready for next year. No one can predict what will happen for sure as lots of dominos all across baseball have to fall and then the Dodgers will have to react. I am sure that Teoscar has been told already to “go do what you have to do, but let’s talk before you sign… we want you!”
Teo wants to come back. The Dodgers want him back, but does that make the most sense? Mookie, Freddie, Ohtani, Miggy Ro, Clayton, Brasier, Kike, Treinen, CT3, Barnes, Muncy, and Teoscar are all well past 32 years old. The Dodgers need to start getting younger. Mookie, Muncy, Freddie, Shohei, and Clayton are locks to be back. So is CT3, and the Dodgers can’t let Kike walk… again. That leaves Teoscar, Miggy Ro, Barnes, Brasier, and Treinen on the bump.
Muncy and CT3 come off the books after 2025. Willy Adames will be 30 next year, and while the Dodgers have coveted him for several years, signing him will depend on how much and how long the contract is. So that’s one domino. Juan Soto has an interest in the Dodgers, and it is reciprocated. He just turned 26 years old, so a 10-year deal with him makes a lot of sense. He is one of the best players in baseball, but he is still far from reaching his peak. Would he be willing to sign a deal with money backloaded? We do not know. We do know that the Dodgers will not likely sign Teoscar AND Soto. I was reading the Dodger Preview Piece at MLBTR yesterday, and they just assume that Mookie Betts will be back in RF in 2025. I don’t! Mookie wants to play 2B, and it would help his career immensely if he could move to 2B at the end of his career.
Gavin Lux has shown that he can be a solid 2B (he will never be an SS) in MLB and has good trade value. I think he gets moved to make way for Mookie at 2B. Andy Pages showed a lot of promise in his rookie season. He continues to get better incrementally. He has not plateaued and regressed like Miguel Vargas did. He has plenty of growth left to do, but he will be 24 next year and, I think, will grow into a force. He needs to refine his eye at the plate and take more walks, but I can see him putting up an OPS in the .800 range next season and hitting 25 to 30 HR with even more growth after that. His arm is well-suited for RF, but he is not a centerfielder… although he can play it in an emergency.
Miggy Ro will be 36 next year and has a favorable option in 2025 ($5 Mil or $1 Mil buyout), and could share time at SS, but I don’t see him as the day-to-day option. Do the Dodgers believe enough in Alex Freeland? If so, they could start the season with Miggy Rojas and end it with Alex Freeland. I do believe that with Alex Freeland… anything is possible. He has no business being a Top Dodger Prospect, let alone walking. Born with a club foot, he endured numerous surgeries and now sits at the cusp of a major league career. If it’s not Freeland, then it almost has to be Willy Adames.
Sportrac projects the Dodgers to sign Adame for 6 years and $152 Million. That sounds like a steal. There’s also a chance that Willy’s best days are ahead. I think Adames would get along well with the Dodgers. He is a leader like Miggy Ro and is well respected by his team members and players around the league. Adames is far and away the top option on the market at shortstop, coming off a season in which he posted a 118 OPS+ with 33 doubles, 32 home runs, 112 RBI, 21 steals, and 3.1 WAR in 161 games. Adame has the Qualifying Offer so the Dodgers will be penalized if they sign him.
I think that 2025 will mark a change of the guard at Catcher. Austin Barnes has been the Dodgers backup catcher for ten years, but I think that run should be over. Dalton Rushing should hit and play catcher against tough RH pitchers. Will Smith OPSed .877 against LHP but was at just .715 against RHP. The Dodgers have declared that they are still confident that Rushing will be solid as an MLB Catcher, so I predict a dynamic Duo of Smith and Rushing at C. You may see Smith play some 3B as well. Max Muncy has one more year on his deal, and Nolan Aernado is too old and feeble. Forget that one.
Freeland could end up taking Kike’s and CT3’s jobs after next year, but I think both players will be back. They need Kike in the locker room and on the field in the playoffs. Muncy, CT3, and Kike will all be back. They are part of the Dodger collective heartbeat, and Juan Soto would be nice, but I don’t see it happening. Teoscar will be back in LF! Here’s what I see next year:
- C – Smith/Rushing
- 1B – Freeman
- 2B – Betts
- SS – Adames
- 3B – Muncy
- LF – Teoscar
- CF – Edman
- RF – Pages
Utility: CT3, Kike, Outman. There’s room for another utility player.
I’ll talk about the pitching next week, but I do not see Corbin Burnes as a target. The Athletic predicts that Corbin Burned will get 7 years at $247 Million Dollars. BTW, they also predict that Soto will get 12 years at $622 Million. A lot of Dodger fans think Roki Sasaki is going to be posted. Many baseball insiders do not think his current team will post him, but that remains to be seen. He is only eligible to sign a minor league contract. Max Fried is more appealing to me, and it is predicted that he will get $174 Million over 6 years.
The Dodgers have a lot of pitchers coming back, and I will discuss that soon. Enjoy the parade, and I hope you all understand how difficult it is to win a World Series, and it is even more difficult to win them back-to-back, but I guarantee that the Dodgers will once again, but the odd-on-favorites do so in 2025! There has never been a better time to be a Dodger fan than now.
Sign Buehler, Sign Teo and forget about Adames. Sign pitchers Fried or Burnes. Pitching pitching pitching you never have enough with unexpected injuries.NO Soto.Don’t need him and better ways to spend Dodger millions.
Excellent analysis, Mark.
–Teo seems to like the Dodgers so much that he might accept a modest discount to stick with the champs. Signing Teo would make it much easier to move Mookie to 2B full-time. (Teo is fine in either corner. Among the players under contract, the OF could be rounded out with Pages, Outman and Taylor.)
–I hope Rushing makes the roster in ’25, but is his defense good enough to share catching duties? The Dodgers have a club option on Barnes, but it does seem like a good time for him to move into coaching. If the brass agrees, the competition for backup catcher would feature Rushing, Cartaya and Feduccia. Giving Smith more rest would help.
–With Shohei part of the six-man rotation, I expect that Roberts might curtail his DH duties a bit, just to provide rest. That could provide more ABs for the likes of Rushing and Pages
–Adames is intriguing in part because he could easily slide over to 3B in a few years. But I’m also comfortable with Edman as the primary SS, with Rojas as backup and Freeland in the wings. Perhaps the $$$ Adames may demand should go to Teo and to bringing back key pieces like Treinen and Kike…. and Buehler!
But I’m also ambivalent about investing too much–not because the Dodgers lack money, but because the spending could limit the opportunities for players like Rushing, Outman, Freeland De Paula and Zyhir Hope. (Isn’t it time for the Dodgers to develop a prodigy?)
Buehler’s return to excellence is a story I didn’t expect. He just got better and better with each appearance toward the end of season. I enjoyed his body language after he struck out Verdugo to seal the title, extending his arms to the sides as if to say, “How about that, folks?” and to collect the cheers. And wearing Hershiser’s jersey for the parade and celebration was a classy touch.
Perhaps Buehler should be, like Kershaw, a “Dodger for life.”
If so, we really might see Farris and Buehler in the rotation in a few years.
‘The Dodgers will commemorate their World Series title on Friday with a parade in Downtown Los Angeles and a special ticketed celebration at Dodger Stadium, the club announced on Wednesday night. Both events will be televised in their entirety on Spectrum SportsNet LA, local television channels and AM 570. Due to logistics, traffic and timing, fans will not be able to attend both events.
The parade is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. PT at Gloria Molina Grand Park on Spring Street in front of City Hall. Mayor Karen Bass will officially kick off the parade, which will then continue on a 45-minute route from 1st Street to Grand Avenue to 5th Street, culminating at the intersection of 5th and Flower Street, with members of the Dodgers traveling atop double-decker buses. Fans wishing to attend the parade are emphatically encouraged to take public transportation due to significant street closures and limited public parking”.
Watched High Heat with Alana Rizzo yesterday and she said one of players who put an asterisk on us winning the World Series in 2020 was Alex Verdugo and she was glad he made the last out last night. Verdugo is a punk and I never liked him and neither did Alexa Cora.
“A 60-game season, it’s still hard to judge to this day,” Verdugo said then. “Like yeah, it’s a World Series, right? Yeah, they got a ring. But they didn’t play any games at their home field. They didn’t. There weren’t any fans there. It was 60 games. Anyone could ball out for 60 games. That extra 102 is a big difference. They won it, it’s a true one, for what we call it. But I still call it as I see it, it’s still a 60-gamer.”
F Verdugo.
We got 2 rings now buddy how many you got????
And Ill never disparage 20. That was a special year as well.
I was in Texas at Game 1 and Game 2, and yeah it mattered A LOT. So F him.
Good post Matt. We have to start and continue dishing ii out to these Asshole Naysayers about our well earned 2020 World Series win.
What you guys said
After the game, Ohtani went up to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and had a simple message.
“Let’s do this nine more times,” Ohtani said to Friedman.
Friedman hilariously said: “He gets one in his first year so he thinks this is easy.”
There’s NO room for another utility player if your proposed lineup has Rushing or Smith at catcher. You left out Ohtoni at DH even when he pitches.
Just returned home last night after being at Games 4 and 5. 4 sucked, but being at game 5, and making my way to the front to see the final out, and then standing right behind the Dodger Dugout during the amazing celebrations after will be etched in my happy memories forever!
Matt, I did what you did; went to NYC. IT was a blast!!
Let’s enjoy today and then, let’s start discussing how we all know better than Andre Friedman about 2025!
It seems to me we don’t need Kike, CT AND Edman. So will they stick with Kike and his .230 BA all year? I am saying no. Also no for Teo- He will go with a better deal elsewhere. Barnes no. Brasier–no. Bueler yes. Treinen yes These are my predictions on what will happen, not what we are hoping for.
As for trades…That’s harder to predict. I remember there was no way we were going to get Freddie. So trades are a lot of behind the scenes stuff.
Hey, everyone has their opinions. That’s what we do in the off season.
Brasier gets $9 million guaranteed in his new deal with the Dodgers, with $4.5 million salaries in both 2024 and 2025, per Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic.
We don’t need CT3! He’s a strikeout waiting to happen! Edman can take his spot, is a switch hitter, and makes contact. It would be worth it to eat the money to get rid of Taylor.
So who would you sign, David?
Losing Teo, Kike, Barnes and Brasier takes about $30m AAV off the payroll.
A lot is hard to predict–but we know there are about ten free agent starters who could bolster the coming six-man rotation.
Trades are hard to predict, but I’d be shocked if the White Sox don’t try to flip Garret Crochet for a few solid prospects.
This wonderful team of ours is going to be in the playoffs every year. Thanks Andrew Friedman. But as Mark regularly points out, with so many playoff teams now, the playoffs are a bit of a crap shoot. The best team just does not always win. Intangibles matter in October and the greatest intangible is the heart of the player. We all saw how hard Mookie ran down the first base line in that 5th inning. Three rings now for Mookie. I hope we can resign Walker and kike’ for the same reason. Some guys just elevate in October. Here is a thought I would love to get everyone’s comment on…. Bring back Joc Peterson? Andrew seems to pass on him every year and he knows more than I do, but boy does Joctober perform on October, and his OBP was almost .400 this year, very Dodgerish!
And he plays where in the field?
Pederson is a horrible defensive outfielder. No room at the inn for him.
My thought process was based in part on Marks sense that Mookie would be back at 2nd base next year, opening an outfield spot. I agree defensively Joc is a slight drop off from some other options, but…….a Soto-like OBP for a fraction of the cost and a home grown Dodger at his core
Joc is actually kind of a weirdo. He fit the Giants best when he was there.
Joc is fine as a platoon DH and he had a fine season for the Snakes….but clearly the DH job is taken with the Dodgers for the next nine years.
That said, I expect Shohei will get the occasional day off once he starts pitching every sixth game. Just to reduce the wear and tear.
The front office will have a lot of interesting options to consider during the off season–but they Joc isn’t one of them.
joc hasnot been an outfielder in 5 years! he can’t play first, he won’t DH, he has no speed. his value has been decreasing yearly. he was one of my favorite dodgers , but he probably ends up in some place like pittsburgh or colorado. at least i hope so . ….. read few minutes ago Teo said his first choice is to stay in LA! make it happen! …. Still believe Adames ends up with the dodgers. ……. Maybe ole Barnsy retires and becomes a coach for the dodgers. i said a long while ago, he’ll make a good one. …. hope i’m wrong, but i don’t see Outman on the roster next season. if teo and kiki both are resigned, plus Adames, that puts Edman in center, with pages in right, and teo in left. that leaves taylor, rushing,kiki, and possibly Rojas? One intriguing option? ohthani plays left? heard a few whispers! don’t think for a minute he wouldn’t be a gold glove left fielder! the fun continues!
My concern with Teo is how long of a contract he wants. Re-signing him and Adames makes us older overall. Signing Soto would cost a lot and the team would need to decide what to do at SS. With Soto we could go with a combination of Freeland, Edman and Rojas until we know if Freeland can handle the position. Soto and Freeland would make the team younger and with Soto we could afford to have a lesser bat at SS.
I watched Soto during the series and I don’t think he’s a good fielder at all. Pretty good arm but not a good fielder.
Pass on Soto. Once he gets his millions,will he perform at the same offensive level? I don’t think so.
Zero chance of Adames. At least if history is any indicator.
You can count the number of non-superstars that Friedman pursues who DO NOT sign as a bargain (ala Teo) on a fingerless hand.
It doesn’t happen.
From my limited understanding, there’s very little left for Rushing to prove in the minors so I can see him replacing Teo.
Again, the big money comes off the books next year. That’s when the next big signing will occur, IMO.
Also, this could be the off-season where Barnes or Feduccia leaves. Can’t keep 4 catchers on the 40.
There’s trade fodder: tons of pitchers. Outman, Pages, so maybe a young (Washington?) SS could be acquired that way.
https://media1.tenor.com/m/3dnzk_8PqwoAAAAd/dumb-and-dumber-jim-carrey.gif
Thank you Mark, for a great blog which I followed every day. When do pitchers and catchers report to Candlestick?
Why would we have our pitchers and catchers report to an old Giants’ torn down stadium?
I assume you meant Camelback? 🙂
Candlestick
Camelback
Cameltoe
Camel Lights
Who knows?
I vote for “Cameltoe”….
My bad – my 87 yrs showing – and I have been to camelback!
If Mookie plays 2B, then whence Lux?
Pages is not a CF – if they move him to RF, they still need a CF and LF. Do they rely on Outman at CF? If not, then Edman? Maybe Rushing in LF?
And if Edman is in CF, and Rojas isn’t an every day SS, then who is at SS? I am not convinced it will be Freeland. Adames? I’ve never really been a fan – low BA and a lot of swing and miss. They already have Muncy with that profile.
For SP, by the season’s beginning, they will have Glasnow, Ohtani, Yamamoto, Kershaw, Gonsolin, Miller, Stone (maybe), Casperius, Wrobleski, Knack, May, and Frasso (all on the 40 man), but none of these guys are a sure thing to last the season at this point. I expect them to go after a high end starter. Burnes has been very consistent and not injury prone.
I agree with Bluto – too many catchers on the 40 man. Cartaya gets traded maybe? Barnes is the unofficial captain and has a cheap $3.5 MM team option. I expect he stays. Maybe Feduccia traded?
No way they resign Joc – he can’t play OF and the Dodgers don’t need a DH. No way they let Ohtani play OF – too risky.
They don’t need Edman, Kike (not Kiki), and Taylor, so Kike not returning unless they trade or cut Taylor.
Washington’s SS is Abrams. He had a horrible 2nd half – overall numbers .246/.314/.433/.746 with 40 BB and 128 Ks. 2nd half he was .203/.260/.326/.568 and he was demoted to the minors the 2nd or 3rd week of September due to “an internal matter”. GM Mike Rizzo said ” Optioning him out wasn’t the end of the world. We have a standard here and we have to keep people accountable.” So there were character issues in addition to performance issues, so that’s a no for me, at least for now.
so sorry for misspelling kike!!! no more risk in ohtani playing outfield than him pitching. Rather have Edman in center than shortstop. Rojas? utility or a coach! Barnes? it’s time. he didn’t get a single AB in the series. another coaching candidate.
The Dodgers already have Joc… you just spell his name: “James Outman!”
I could see Outman and Pages sharing time.
Let me give you some more fuel for thought (thinking outside the box):
1. Rojas and Barnes retire and are paid well as talent developers.
2. Will Smith and Max Muncy platoon at 3B, with Smith becoming the primary 3B in 2026.
3. The Dodgers platoon two rookies at Catcher – Cartaya and Rushing.
4. If the Dodgers can sign Adames for less than $180 Mil/6 Years, they will/should do it.
5. Trade Gavin Lux, Peter Huebeck, and Justin Wrobleski to the Brewers for Devin Williams.
With Edman, Adames, and Betts up in the middle, they are STRONG.
I think it’s very likely none of these happen to any degree
Interesting thoughts. The Dodgers would get a lot younger if both Rojas and Barnes move on to other other roles.
I’ve always liked the idea of Smith getting experience at 3B. But I expect he’ll be the primary catcher for at least the next few seasons, having built a relationship with the pitching staff. (When he signed his 10-year extension, Smith made it clear he sees himself as a catcher. A point of pride.) It will take a while to ease in a successor.
Instead of Devin Williams, how about a nice package for Garrett Crochet?
The brass always seems to come up with surprising RP talent–but starters with ace potential are harder to find.
Friedman is always adapting, and doing it well. I think with the depth we have they decided the key to October was elite defense , a great bullpen and a little more small ball. I find it hard to believe they will give a long term deal to an average at best defender. I admit I don’t know the stats that the FO uses to evaluate talent. But I’ll bet defense is a major factor as it should be. So a hard no on any FA that’s not elite defensively. Same if a trade is consummated. If I went through all the moves the FO made this year. Pitching and defense were king. The Series was lost because of a weak defense.
Kudos to the organization!
Book em
read earlier,(not making it up!) outman listed as one of the top 3 dodgers tobe traded. i just believe that if you’re wrong (mark) about Will Smith and Rushing platooning at catcher, and smith platooning at 3rd, Rushing platoons in the outfield, with will getting an occasional day off and Dalton catching. although i wouldn’t mind will playing 3rd. Max has gotten better, but his .200 average , and strikeouts still are excessive. the fun continues!
Not saying it is going to happen, but it is something to think about.
Interesting thoughts. The Dodgers would get a lot younger if both Rojas and Barnes move on to other other roles.
I’ve always liked the idea of Smith getting experience at 3B. But I expect he’ll be the primary catcher for at least the next few seasons, having built a relationship with the pitching staff. (When he signed his 10-year extension, Smith made it clear he sees himself as a catcher. A point of pride.) It will take a while to ease in a successor.
Instead of Devin Williams, how about a nice package for Garrett Crochet?
The brass always seems to come up with surprising RP talent–but starters with ace potential are harder to find.
I didn’t see Kopeck at the ceremony in dodger stadium, anybody see him maybe i missed him.
Clayton Kershaw To Undergo Toe And Knee Surgeries
“As the Dodgers celebrate their World Series victory today, left-hander Clayton Kershaw informed reporters that he will be on the surgeon’s table next week, with work to be done on his left toe and left knee.
He missed time this year due to bone spurs in his left big toe, but the problems evidently go beyond that, as he also has a ruptured plantar plate. The knee surgery will be to correct a torn meniscus. Details were relayed by various reporters, including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic (X links). His return timeline is unclear at this point”.
During the Dodgers World Series parade, legendary pitcher Clayton Kershaw proclaimed himself to be a “Dodger for life”.
Bluto – hope you’re good.
I’m with you all the way on CJ Abrams
His value has diminished after he was axed for some misdeeds at the end of last season, plus his performance fell away after a great first half.
We’ve done lots of business with the Nats
CJ Abrams has immense upside.
But can you fix character flaws? I thought Alex Verdugo’s character flaws could be fixed with maturity and quality people around him. I was wrong. I don’t think the Dodgers will risk CJA.
No to Abrams. Don’t need him. Character matters to AF.