Getting Ready to Rubble
Opening Day against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on March 26 is approaching sooner than later. Except for 2B, which ultimately seems to belong to Tommy Edman, who will start the season on the IL, all the positions are set… barring injury… and there will be…
Opening Day against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on March 26 is approaching sooner than later. Except for 2B, which ultimately seems to belong to Tommy Edman, who will start the season on the IL, all the positions are set… barring injury… and there will be injuries. Won’t there?
Breakout candidate: Christian Zazueta is a RHP who is 6′ 3″ and very skinny. He came to the Dodgers in the Caleb Ferguson deal with the Yankees. He has recently added 17 pounds but needs about 30 more. His fastball tops out at 98 MPH and has a killer changeup. He is working on a sweeper/curve, but he is a strike thrower. Last season, between Great Lakes and Rancho Cucamonga, he was 7-2 with a 2.41 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. In 67 IP, he struck out 81 and walked just 16, so he has incredible control for someone so young. He will start at Great Lakes, but he could move rapidly and could possibly see the show by fall. Watch this kid:
Players most likely to be traded: I am going to preface this by saying, “If he has a good spring.” The player is Hyeseong Kim. He is essentially Alex Freeland with less power and not able to hit from both sides of the plate. I can see him being traded if he has a hot spring. Oh, and if Freeland has a good Spring. Kim really isn’t the type of player the Dodgers seek. I prefer Freeland, and Kim has some real value to certain teams.
Some fans will say Miller or Knack, but that would involve selling low. We know that Graterol and maybe Snell will be late to the dance, along with Edman and Kike, so some pitchers will get an opportunity early. I think that after the World Series of 2025 and the long season, the Dodgers will slow-play a lot of the staff. Look for Wrobleski, Casparius, Stone, Sheehan, and Ryan, along with Knack, to get opportunities.
The Lineup:
Right about now, it looks like this:
- Ohtani DF
- Tucker RF
- Betts SS
- Freeman 1B
- Smith C
- Muncie 3B
- Teoscar LF
- Pages RF
- Kim/Rojas 2B
Bench: Rushing, Call, Freeland
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Discussion (110)
Disagree, not disagreeable
The team is beyond loaded. Both a lot of competition and very in that the spaces are so rare.
That poor horse……is beating a dead one considered animal cruelty?
02/21/26 Los Angeles Dodgers placed 1B Enrique Hernández on the 60-day injured list. Recovery from left elbow surgery.
It is split about 50/50 on those who watched the play. Some thought Kike would have caught it. Others thought that he was too low and would have had to jump to catch it as he was running with his back to the play. Kike has said that he would have caught it and also that he wouldn’t have caught it. Statcast gave Pages a 60% Catch Probability. All I know for sure is that Pages DID catch it. Would Kike have caught it? We will never know!
Katie Woo @katiejwoo As expected, Dodgers are targeting midseason returns for Kiké Hernández & Evan Phillips per general manager Brandon Gomes. Hernández will start taking swings soon, while the org is looking at Phillips as more of a “deadline acquisition,” in terms of timeline, Gomes said.
Kim is safe until then… maybe!
Nick Senzel bears watching.
Good for Fedex, Lux, Busch and McKinstry. Ward is a probably hoping for a a trade to end this BS before he is 30. No we didn’t have room for them, but I wish them well.
Big difference between Milb and MLB performance as Freeland has proven. He is not going to play for the Dodgers if he doesn’t hit better. Plus he can’t play/sub CF, SS, 2B or even 3B in a pinch. I wish hits .280 with 30 dingers but spring training will give us a hint. Thanks for letting us comment freely. It means a lot.
Freeland is adept all over the infield. He has not played outfield.