The Dodgers optioned OF Ryan Ward and LHP Ronan Kopp to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and sent pitchers Carlos Duran , Carson Hobbs , Garrett McDaniels , J ackson Ferris, Wyatt Mills , Jordan Weems , and Lucas Wepf, catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell, and OFs Josue De Paula and Kendall…
The Dodgers optioned OF Ryan Ward and LHP Ronan Kopp to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and sent pitchers Carlos Duran, Carson Hobbs, Garrett McDaniels, Jackson Ferris, Wyatt Mills, Jordan Weems, and Lucas Wepf, catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell, and OFs Josue De Paula and Kendall George to minor league camp.
That should narrow it down to 50-something players in Camp. Ryan Ward had his shot and did almost nothing… The field is narrowed…
I said it when Roki Sasaki was struggling…If not Roki, who? He finally started to pitch with more confidence and he put together a string of positive starts. Yes, there were those who forgot about his previous four excellent starts and instead focused on his CWS start. He is a…
A good percentage of comments on this blog relate to “who bats where” in the batting order. “Shohei should bat cleanup.” “ Freddie should be the number three hitter.” “No, Freddie should hit second.” “Max Muncy should hit cleanup.” “Mookie should hit 9th.” … and on and on… Where…
I grew up in Ohio and lived there until 1976, when I was 23 years old. I have been in Indiana for 50 years, so I consider myself a Hoosier. Now, I actually live 45 minutes from Bloomington, where the IU Hoosiers play. However, since I was nine years old, I have been a Dodger…
What do I mean by true blue? Well, over the years I have seen my share of bandwagon and fair-weather fans. True blue fans stick with the team no matter what. Their allegiance to the team never waivers. Not when a favorite is traded or lost to free agency, not when the team…
Discussion (41)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Bobby Witt, Jr. had quite the game.
I like Senzel better than Freeland at this point.
WBC 2026 Tournament Status (as of March 10)
Pool Team Record Status
A Puerto Rico 3-0 Qualified
Canada 1-1 In Contention
Cuba 2-1 In Contention
Panama 1-3 Eliminated
Colombia 1-3 Eliminated
B USA 3-0 Qualified
Italy 2-0 In Contention
Mexico 2-1 In Contention
Great Britain 1-3 Eliminated
Brazil 0-4 Eliminated
C Japan 3-0 Qualified
South Korea 2-2 Qualified
Australia 2-2 Eliminated
Chinese Taipei 2-2 Eliminated
Czechia 0-3 Eliminated
D Dominican Rep. 3-0 Qualified
Venezuela 3-0 Qualified
Israel 1-2 Eliminated
Netherlands 1-2 Eliminated
Nicaragua 0-4 Eliminated
Key Quarterfinal Details
Qualified Teams: Japan, South Korea, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the United States.
Senzel is definitely interesting
It’s March 9th. Almost 3 weeks left… and things can change quickly, but Alex Freeland is trending down.
Espinol is still the flavor of the week, but watch out for Nick Senzel.
He is closing in on Espinal in OPS and has more thunder in his bat.
He now has more ABs.
Playing Words With Friends with Kiké would probably be 30% word game, 70% clubhouse banter, with the energy of a playoff dugout and the vocabulary of a dictionary that occasionally wandered into a tequila bar.
BANG!
Well, I would not want it to happen this way.
Exactly!
Well Kike…. Not a brain trust. Great teammate. Won’t beat anyone in “Words with friends”
It’s not about winning it’s about winning for your country. Some people have patriotic beliefs and some don’t. Some appreciate what their country gave them and some don’t care. Some leave, some stay. Baseball players have one opportunity to represent their native or ethnic countries and that’s the WBC.
There’s been no comment because AF is seething and knows the Dodgers are bigger than the whole damn WBC. This will be remembered.
Mark, you may get your wish about Freeland making the Opening Day roster:
“Team Korea advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic behind a 7-2 win over Team Australia on Monday despite not having Hyeseong Kim in their lineup.
Kim missed the thrilling victory because of a left hand injury he suffered while stealing a base in Korea’s previous game. The Dodgers have not yet commented on or provided further details of Kim’s injury at time of publishing.
Any sort of lingering issue would be another blow for the Dodgers and disappointing development for Kim. He fared well in Cactus League play before leaving Spring Training for his second time participating in the WBC”.
4:10 PM ET
Dodgers (93-69)
Brewers (97-65)
SP Emmet Sheehan R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Aaron Ashby L
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B A. Freeland S
LF T. Hernandez R
3B Max Muncy L
DH Nick Senzel R
C D. Rushing L
RF Zach Ehrhard R
1B James Tibbs L
SS Noah Miller S
CF M. Siani L
78° Wind 5 mph R-L
Treinen is a lock, bank on it. Hurt has options, Ward already sent to minors, Freeland going down is an easy decision.
Its all BS any of these guys would trade a WBC title for a World Series title….
Miggy is the Dodgers version of the Phillies Lenny Dykstra, nicknamed “Nails”. Tough and dependable. And yes Espinol will get his shot along with Kim. Good luck to both of them.
If Espinal is good enough to make the Dodgers, he is good enough to get something back in trade.
I’m starting to think Espinal will win the 2B job outright.
Trea Turner hit a grand slam in the last WBC. He said it was the biggest hit of his career. So Hernandez isn’t the only player to feel the way he does.
Damte Bichette comeback tour
WBC better than the WS Kike? Playing well for a couple, three weeks right up your alley.
There are two options for Espinal/Freeland:
1. DNF Espinal and add Freeland to the 26 man roster.
2. Add Espinal to the 26 man roster and have Freeland play every day at AAA.
Option 2 allows the Dodgers to see if Mark or DNS are right. If Mark is right then Freeland is brought up. But if Espinal is real then the Dodgers have a better lineup and position variability.
Option 2 provides the Dodgers with the most flexibility for the season. Option 1 locks the Dodgers into a position with less flexibility. I see the Dodgers decision based solely on that
Wrobo was great in the WS too.
And a bit spicy!
Hey, Trayce was in the starting lineup in the postseason while Belli was on the bench!
Yep…
I think Miggy’s heroics in the WS altered the timeline for Freeland. Rojas was talking about retirement but then Game 7 happened,. The oldest guy on the squad turned out to be The Man.
The Dodgers can give Kim ample runway to see how good (or not) he might be. He really didn’t get a full opportunity as a rookie, in part because Roberts prefers veterans.
I expect some “load management” among the aging position players.
One of the most ridiculous camps in recent memory:
Chris Colabello (2014 Twins)
Hit .468 in Spring Training
He made the team… and soon pitchers remembered they were allowed to throw breaking balls. Then he hit .194.
Dope-fiend move!
In the interview with Kristen, he sounded confident and chill. I thought he would be in the pen before Spring, but he is headed to the rotation where they need a LHP.
I think the decision on Espinol has already been made.
I really like what I’ve seen from Wrobleski this Spring and hope he makes the starting rotation. He is fearless and comes right after the hitters. Love how he has matured as a pitcher.
Kim has to make it. I would just rather see Freeland than Espinol.
We have seen Trayce Thompson do this repeatedly: tear it up in Spring and then revert back to Trayce Thompson in the regular season.
This is called The Natural Habitat of the Spring Training Mirage
Why this happens:
1. Pitching quality
March is full of minor leaguers, rehab arms, and pitchers working on changeups.
2. Tiny sample sizes
A guy might get 30–40 at-bats.
3. Veterans experimenting
Pitchers throw pitches they would never throw 2-0 in July.
4. Environment
Arizona and Florida ballparks are hitter-friendly.
Spring statistics are like cotton candy: bright, sugary, and structurally unreliable, but guys like Thompson and Espinol feast of this stuff. It just never translated into the regular season.
We all know that AF prefers veterans especially when he is going for a three peat.That is one reason Freeland will spend time at Oklahoma City. He also has more invested in Kim.
I like Freeland too but Espinal might have a good year in him yet.
Yeah that part was just for ease of listing. Rojas is a lock.
Sounds like Espinal to me
If you look at Frereland’s history, he always struggled when he went up a level but then adjusted. I do not have any illusions that he is going to be a batting champ. He’s a utility man… through-and-through. I get that Espinol has had an amazing spring, but this happens frequently when a fringe MLB player with several years of experience destroys AAAA pitchers. We all know he will revert back to being a .240 hitter, which is what Freeland likely will be… just with more SLG. Plus, I must confess that I love Freeland’s story.
As of March 9, 2026, Japan is the only team to have clinched a spot in the quarterfinals from Pool C.
The current pool play standings and win-loss records are as follows:
Pool A (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Puerto Rico: 2–0
Cuba: 2–0
Canada: 1–1
Panama: 1–2
Colombia: 0–3
Pool B (Houston, USA)
United States: 2–0
Mexico: 2–0
Italy: 2–0
Great Britain: 0–3
Brazil: 0–3
Pool C (Tokyo, Japan)
Japan*: 3–0
Australia: 2–1
Chinese Taipei: 2–2
South Korea: 1–2
Czechia: 0–3
*Advanced to Quarterfinals
Pool D (Miami, USA)
Venezuela: 2–0
Dominican Republic: 2–0
Israel: 1–1
Netherlands: 1–2
Nicaragua: 0–3
Looks good but have to agree with Duke on Kim at 2B with Miggy as the RH platoon. Hurt got hammered yesterday and Trenien has been awful. Probably a scramble to replace those two. We also really need a RH corner IF to spell 35 yo Max so he makes it to the playoffs
Anyone have an idea who may rise to the top?
Freeland is probably still a season away. He’s better off playing every day in OKC than coming off the bench in the majors.
A few seasons back, management tried to get younger–but Miguel Vargas clearly wasn’t ready.
excellent guess….
I see Kim at 2B and Rojas on the bench. He needs to play to improve.
Best guess at 26 man roster:
IF)Smith/Freeman/Rojas/Betts/Muncy
OF)Teo/Pages/Tucker
DH)Ohtani
B)Rushing/Call/Espinal/Kim
SP)Yamamoto/Glasnow/Ohtani/Sheehan/Sasaki/Wrobleski
RP)Diaz/Scott/Treinen/Vesia/Casparius/Dreyer/Klein/Hurt
Toughest cuts: Freeland & Ryan
Work to do: Henriquez