2027 Roster Construction

The Dodgers have spent a lot of dollars in free agency with mixed results.  It was necessary because, while their farm system had talent, none were at an All-Star level.  They have also traded for and extended some players. 

The dearth in top MiLB talent is no longer an issue. Not with 5 top 35 prospects and 6 top 80.  While CF Eduardo Quintero, SS Emil Morales, and 2B/OF Chuck Davalan are not MLB ready yet, they might be during the year, and the Dodgers are not going to want to block them.  RHSP Christian Zazueta could get called during the year.  

Josue De Paula is going to get every opportunity to make the LAD opening day roster.   Mike Sirota will be at OKC and ready to move to LAD when called.  Zach Ehrhard is not a top overall prospect, but he could be an ideal 4th OF taking the place of Alex Call.  BTW, I may be one of the few who actually appreciate what Call can bring.  But Ehrhard is younger and has more of a ceiling. The problem will be that he will not get enough AB, and fans will clamor for his release when he does not catch fire right out of the gate. Right, Alex Freeland? Ehrhard does not have to be protected, so there is more of a chance (in the LAD organization) that he goes back to OKC to start the year.  

There are currently 46 on the 40-man roster with 6 being on the 60-day IL.  They will have to be reinstated 5 days post World Series.  At the same time options need to be exercised, and free agents are declared.  

Of the 6 players on the 60-day IL, two will be free agents and will not be reinstated: RHRP Brusdar Graterol and LHSP Eric Lauer.  The four that will be reinstated: RHP Ben Casparius, RHRP Jake Cousins, RHRP Will Klein, and RHSP Gavin Stone. 

At the same time those four are added, the following players will become free agents:  RHSP Tarik Skubal, RHRP Blake Treinen, RHRP Evan Phillips, INF Miguel Rojas, UTIL Kiké Hernández, LHRP Alex Vesia, LHP Kris Bubic.  

That will leave three spots available for Rule 5 protection, without needing to release or non-tender players.  The date the players eligible for the Rule 5 draft have to be added is Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. ET.  One for sure player to be protected will be RHSP Christian Zazueta. One very likely protection will be for LHSP Jackson Ferris.  Others who will garner consideration: LHP Adam Serwinowski, 3B Jake Gelof, 3B Logan Wagner, 3B Kyle Nevin, RHP Patrick Copen, and RHP Hyun-Seok Jang.  I do not believe the Dodgers will protect SS Noah Miller, but he could be picked up by another team in the Rule 5 draft. 

Will AF/BG DFA players to make room to protect Rule 5 draft eligible players?

While the players still have to be selected to the 40-man, there is a distinct possibility that there will not be a Rule 5 draft, just like the last lockout.  How will that factor into who is protected? Will they take chances on not protecting anticipating a long lockout and no Rule 5 draft?

The current roster has 6 players in arbitration: 

·      Year 3 – RHRP Brock Stewart – Current salary $1.3MM

·      Year 2 – OF Alex Call – Current salary $1.6MM

·      Year 2 – RHRP Jake Cousins – Current salary $950K

·      Year 1 – RHP Emmet Sheehan – Current salary $810K

·      Year 1 – RHP Gavin Stone – Current salary $810K

·      Year 1 – OF Andy Pages – Current salary $800K (Super 2 arbitration player, first of 4 arbitration years) 

Everywhere I read, Alex Call is a probable non-tender.  If the Dodgers do not need a roster spot, why not keep him and option him or DFA him later? Or package him in a trade? Another non-tender candidate would be Cousins.  I would be against that.  The Dodgers are going to need to look at relievers anyway and they have one of those possibilities already on their roster.  Cousins was a very good reliever pre-injury with NYY.  Like Call, Cousins has an option and there is no reason to rush to non-tender him when he can be optioned or DFA later.  

The Dodgers have 14 players under contract: 

·      Yoshinobu Yamamoto – 9 years $289MM

·      Shohei Ohtani – 7 years ≈ $322MM ($2MM salary + $44MM deferral payment).

·      Will Smith – 7 years $86MM

·      Mookie Betts – 6 years ≈ $180MM (AAV value, cash out difficult to calculate because of differing deferrals. I will let MLBTR calculate it).

·      Kyle Tucker – 3 years $180MM

·      Tommy Edman – 3 years $39MM (includes 4th year club option buyout)

·      Blake Snell – 3 years $80MM + $10MM club option for 4th year, no buyout

·      Tyler Glasnow – 2 years $54MM.  The 2nd year assumes a player option of $21.5MM, assuming the Dodgers do not exercise the $30MM club option (they wouldn't).  It is plausible that Glasnow would not exercise the player option, and Glasnow could be a free agent in 2028. 

·      Edwin Díaz – 2 years $46MM with a $6.5MM club option for the third year. 

·      Tanner Scott – 2 years $36MM

·      Freddie Freeman – 1 year $27MM

·      Teoscar Hernández – 1 year $17MM, $15MM club option with $6.5MM buyout

·      Max Muncy – 1 year $13.75MM – CANNOT BE TRADED WITH HIS 10/5 RIGHTS WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION

·      Hyeseong Kim – 1 year $4.1MM + 2 $5MM club options with $1.5MM buyout 

Both Snell and Díaz were on the IL list long enough to generate a club option after the original contract runs out, at very favorable terms.

Most expect Teoscar to get traded.  With the expected $23.5MM obligation, it is likely the Dodgers are going to need to pony up some of the $$$.  That is equivalent to about a 3.0 fWAR.  In 2024 he had a 0.6 fWAR and last year a 1.2 fWAR.  At this point in his career, Teo is really a DH.  That will be too much for a low revenue team to take on.  Because of one year remaining, it is probable that Teo gets moved to potential contender.  A team like Toronto may want to bring Teo home.  Would Houston be interested? Texas? The Dodgers need to make room for JDP, so I too expect Teo to be playing elsewhere in 2027. 

Tyler Glasnow has also been rumored to be a potential trade option.  There is no question about his “stuff”, but there are a lot of questions about his ability to stay healthy.  I am an unapologetic Glasnow fan, and I do not think his financial commitments (2 years, $54MM) are so much that he is not a good trade possibility.  IMO, the Dodgers are going to need to be convinced Glasnow cannot stay healthy, but that should not be hard.  There should be teams who will be interested in his services, and depending how much cash LAD might be willing to include, they might be able to get a decent return.  

Then again you never have enough pitching.  I doubt the Dodgers will re-sign Skubal.  Do the Dodgers have enough SP with: 

·      Yamamoto

·      Snell

·      Ohtani (he says he is pitching)

·      Sasaki

·      Wrobleski

·      Sheehan

·      Stone 

I do not think the Dodgers can count on Jackson Ferris or Christian Zazueta coming out of spring training. With such an uncertain rotation, can they afford to trade Glasnow? 

I have no idea who the Dodgers may be interested in for trade or FA.  I have thought that if the Dodgers do want to re-sign Tarik Skubal, they are going to need to do it before the lockout. I have no idea what spending capacity they will have with the new CBA or Mark Walter’s litigations.  Skubal should be another in the potential grandfathered contracts. 

Elly De La Cruz?  IMO, not a chance.  Cincinnati has three years’ control.  This is his first year of arbitration.  There is not a chance that Cincinnati trades him now not knowing what the next CBA may bring. In his first year of arbitration, he is going to be more than affordable for the Reds organization. I doubt they want a double hit with what the pending lockout may mean to attendance, and also losing their franchise player. Then there is the issue that the Dodgers never overpay in a trade for this level of a player.  Yes, the Dodgers got Mookie one year before he was to become a FA, but not three years.  Cincinnati would expect a ton more than what they gave to Boston. They are also probably still bitter with how AF/BG fleeced them in the Gavin Lux trade.

Freddie Freeman?  I know Mark thinks there is a chance, but I put the chance at zero that Freddie gets traded. They may not re-sign him after 2027, but he will finish this contract as a Dodger.

As stated above, Max Muncy is not getting traded.  He can’t without his permission, and the Dodgers have no reason to request it.  He will be making all of $13.75MM (about 1.7 fWAR) and then retire as a Dodger.  I do not care how many of his HRs were solo HRs. He had 29 of them.  He still had a .837 OPS and 128 OPS+.  I do not know how, but he is a GG finalist.  His fWAR was 4.1. Why would the Dodgers trade him?  Outside of the pre-arbitration players, he may be the most affordable Dodger under contract.

There are a lot of untradeable contracts, so where will the younger and more athletic come from?

LAA owner to be, Stan Kroenke, does not take control of the Angels until next year (currently projected to be 1st quarter).  I do think Kroenke would trade with LAD, but Arte Moreno is too bitter, so unless Kroenke gets involved, I do not think that Zach Neto gets traded to the Dodgers. 

Jeremy Peña is a viable target.  He has one year of control remaining.  The Astros traded Tucker a year before he was going to be a free agent.  Houston got Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski, and Cam Smith for Tucker. A good return. Smith and Paredes are starters and Wesneski is in the rotation.  They did not trade Alex Bregman or Framber Valdez before they became free agents.  With their horrid farm system, I do not think they want to make that mistake again.  Peña will get traded and the Dodgers can make them a good offer.  Will they? 

I am still in the Alex Freeland camp, and I believe he will be a regular for somebody.  I wish it was for the Dodgers, but I just believe the Dodgers will push for a veteran (like Peña) over Freeland. Do not agree with it, but expect it. Maybe Freeland doesn't work out, but I do not give up on 24 year old players because of a poor start. But as always, I will still root for the team on the front of the jersey more than the name on the back of the jersey. I did with Corey Seager, so Freeland will not be a test.