LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts stared at his hand and issued a proclamation. No active position player has more championship hardware than the Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder, and he wants more.
“We got two so far,” Betts said of his titles with the Dodgers (he won one more with Boston). “We got, like, eight, nine years left (under contract)? I got to get to at least five or six, right? We got to do this at least five or six times, right? … I’m trying to fill this hand up, L.A.”
Betts’ vision is far-reaching, yet tangible. Welcome to what Andrew Friedman has long forecast as the Dodgers’ architect. An aspirational “golden era” has arrived in the form of two World Series titles in five seasons, with no end in sight.
This is what the Dodgers have built. To borrow the words of their president, Stan Kasten, they are “defying gravity.”
That optimism does not deny the existence of challenges. To repeat is to do something no Dodgers team has ever done, and what no team in baseball has done since the Yankees won three straight starting in 1998. The Dodgers’ last attempt at a repeat, in 2021, fell short as they ran out of gas in the NLCS.
So how feasible is a back-to-back title for this group? Kasten said the organization’s goal should be to contend for the title annually.
“Because we’re the Dodgers, all that. That’s what we expect. It’s the legacy we are proud to represent,” he said. “We’re Jackie, we’re Sandy, we’re Fernando, and on and on and on. So we know we need to have a championship team every year.”
The lineup
The Dodgers are set up well for 2025. Shohei Ohtani is just 30 and gearing up for a return to the mound. Betts is 32 and was on an MVP-level pace before he broke his hand in June. Freddie Freeman is 35 and was at his best even while physically compromised during the World Series. That nucleus of former MVPs is enough to have the Dodgers back within October contention. Will Smith’s 10-year contract extension is in full swing. Max Muncy remains locked in on a team-friendly deal. Tommy Edman remains under club control, shoring up the Dodgers’ depth at multiple spots. Gavin Lux and Andy Pages are under club control, too. Miguel Rojas and Austin Barnes each had their club options picked up.
Teoscar Hernández is a free agent but has been transparent about his desire to return to Los Angeles after a career-best 33 home runs in 2024. He’ll inevitably receive a qualifying offer at the very least.
The Dodgers’ corner outfield need will be a focus all winter regardless, which could steer the team in an interesting direction. Ohtani’s deal and deferred money have given the Dodgers an enviable position and incentive to keep pushing. According to FanGraphs, the Dodgers’ projected competitive balance tax figure for 2025 is $270.77 million, which clears the first two levels of the tax but still gives them about $30 million in room before the most punitive level. Would it shock anyone to hear the Dodgers connected to Juan Soto at some point this winter? Or Willy Adames, a longtime favorite of this front office? It shouldn’t.
Kiké Hernández, whose October heroics continued during this title run (.808 OPS in 57 plate appearances during the postseason) is also a free agent; the utilityman showed noted improvement at the plate after starting to wear glasses midseason to address astigmatism in his right eye.
The Dodgers’ decision to pick up Barnes’ option complicates Hunter Feduccia’s role, and the club will have Dalton Rushing cresting into a major-league job at some point in the summer — be it behind the plate or potentially in the outfield. Another intriguing homegrown talent is shortstop Alex Freeland, who was around during workouts before the postseason.
The rotation
Ohtani’s return to the mound will boost what Friedman acknowledged last month will likely be a six-man rotation, with Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto each expected to be at the head of it. For the second year in a row, the group will rely on a quantity of arms to piece things together throughout the summer. The starters will include Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, who are coming off major surgery. The list should also include Clayton Kershaw, who said he will return in some fashion after foot and toe surgeries. Bobby Miller, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski and Landon Knack each have big-league experience and should be part of the mix, with Emmet Sheehan and Kyle Hurt perhaps entering the conversation after their respective Tommy John surgeries (River Ryan underwent his Tommy John surgery in August, and Gavin Stone is expected to miss all of 2025 after shoulder surgery).
What then, for Walker Buehler, the man who appeared to find his best form for the Dodgers in October, including 13 consecutive scoreless innings to end his postseason and the last three outs of the Dodgers’ World Series title? A one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer suddenly seems like a possibility for the right-hander — whether he gets one could set the tone for what his market looks like.
Jack Flaherty will get more than the one-year, $14 million he got from the Detroit Tigers this offseason. But as much as Flaherty said “I never want to leave” Los Angeles, his market could dictate otherwise for what the Dodgers are looking for.
This market is pitching-rich, including a familiar Friedman target in Blake Snell. There are also former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes and All-Star left-hander Max Fried. A possibility looms that Roki Sasaki is posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines, suddenly throwing an economical option into the mix.
The bullpen
Most of the group that carried the Dodgers through October is slated to return. Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol and Anthony Banda are all in the arbitration process and under club control for 2025. Ryan Brasier still has another year left on the two-year deal he signed last winter. Brent Honeywell, Michael Grove, Edgardo Henriquez and Connor Brogdon remain as depth options.
Still, the bullpen will be losing pieces. Daniel Hudson retired. Joe Kelly, who didn’t pitch in October, is a free agent.
Then there’s Blake Treinen, who at $1 million this past winter represented one of the best bargains in baseball and is now a free agent after a resurgent 2024. Fresh off missing essentially two seasons with shoulder issues, he once again was the Dodgers’ most important bullpen arm with a 1.93 ERA in 50 appearances. The Dodgers haven’t splurged often in the reliever market, but there’s certainly familiarity between the two sides.
(Top photo of Mookie Betts with the trophy: Elsa / Getty Images)
