2026 in Preview: Second Base and Shortstop

Today, we will focus our sights on 2B and SS. We will look at potential trades, free-agent signings, and minor-league prospects. Here we go…

Second Base

Perhaps there is no other position in which the Dodgers could upgrade through trade or free agency than 2B. Bo Bichette remains unsigned, but that is going to require a commitment of around (more or less) $200,000,000! I like Bo Bichette, but there is no guarantee his knee will return to 100% of what it was. In fact, he was diagnosed with a PCL sprain in his left knee, and he and the team expected it to heal with rest and rehabilitation. He did not require surgery. I would not be willing to sign him to a big free agent deal without assurance that his knee would be fine going forward… and there are no guarantees.

Instead, I would look to trade for Brendan Donovan, who is under team control until 2028. Alex Freeland, Hyeseong Kim, and another OF prospect (Tibbs or Davalan) should get the job done. Donovan can play all over, but I see him more valuable as a 2B where he grades out above average. He would improve the bottom third of the Dodgers’ lineup dramatically.

Other players who could see time here:

1. Miguel Rojas – The Wizard of Glove can play anywhere in the infield.
2. Kike Hernandez – If Kim and Freeland are traded, he will be back, and he means more emotionally to this team than he does statistically. Oh, and he can play every position at a high defensive level. After offseason surgery, he just might hit better as well.
3. Max Muncy– While he can play 2B, it’s unlikely, as he is needed at 3B.
4. Tommy Edman  – While he won’t be ready at the start of the season due to ankle surgery, he is an accomplished defensive 2B, as well as a CF’er and 3B man.
5. Mookie Betts – Maybe in a year or two.

Shortstop

Mookie Betts arguably turned himself into the best defensive shortstop in baseball in 2025. He will most definitely be there again in 2026 and probably 2027. We have no clue if it was an “offensive decline”, “age erosion,” or other issues, such as learning a new position and being sick at the beginning of the season. Maybe it was all of the above.

Logic tells us that he won’t put up a 1.078 OPS as he did en route to winning the MVP in 2018, but I also don’t expect a .732 OPS as he put up last year. Frankly, I see him as a .850 OPS player, and if he does that, he should still hit #2.

Other players who could see time here:

1. Miguel Rojas – “Wizard of Glove”
2. Tommy Edman
3. Kike Hernandez

Of course, most of this is conjecture, as no trade or free-agent signing has yet happened. Alex Freeland is my favorite player, and I seldom have favorites, but it is because of what he has overcome, not his raw potential. He can play every day with the Cardinals. He might not make the Dodgers’ big club. So… we wait!

Other Dodger News

Joe Kelly and Andrew Heaney have retired, or as Joe Kelly said: “Retiring is like, something that my grandmother did….I’m sorry all you people out there watching this that work a real job.  You guys deserve to retire, athletes don’t,” Kelly said.  “We just stop [expletive] playing, okay?  Let’s cancel the word ’retirement.’  It’s used for people who [expletive] served in the military, used for people who worked until 65…When athletes are done playing, just say ’congratulations, they’re no longer playing.’ ”

MLB.com names Mike Sirota as the Dodgers Breakout Player in 2025:

Dodgers: Mike Sirota, OF (No. 5/MLB No. 64)
A likely first-rounder before slumping during his junior season at Northeastern in 2024, Sirota dropped to the Reds in the third round, then went to the Dodgers in the Gavin Lux trade last January before even making his pro debut. The grand-nephew of Hall of Famer Whitey Ford batted .333/.452/.616 with 13 homers in 59 games between two Class A stops and looked like a potential 20/20 center fielder before injuring his right knee on a slide in July.