Looking Ahead
The Dodgers are the most dominant team in baseball right about now, but I am always looking forward to what will happen next year and beyond. Next year could bring some BIG CHANGES for the Dodgers. Let me list what I think they will be: Max Muncy will not be re-signed. He will…
The Dodgers are the most dominant team in baseball right about now, but I am always looking forward to what will happen next year and beyond. Next year could bring some BIG CHANGES for the Dodgers. Let me list what I think they will be:
- Max Muncy will not be re-signed. He will be 35 this year and 36 next year. It’s time! Just ike Justin Turner, Max is going to decline.
- Miguel Rojas will retire and join the Dodgers front office or coaching staff.
- Michael Conforto will be gone by then… if not sooner.
- Kike Hernandez will retire a Dodger and go to work for the team.
- Mookie Betts will move to 2B, his best position.
- Dalton Rushing will become the Dodgers’ starting catcher. Oh, and along the way, he will become an All-Star Catcher.
- Will Smith will move to third base and work on this transition over the winter and in Spring Training. His bat will play there. He has become an elite hitter, but catching wears him down.
- Teoscar Hernández will move to LF. Andy Pages will move to RF, not because he can’t play CF, but because he is an elite RF’er, and Tommy Edman will move to CF, where he is also elite.
- That leaves SS to Hyesoeng Kim and Alex Freeland. I think Freeland will win the spot as Kim will be the “play-all-over” utility man. Elijah Hainline is also coming on fast – 22 year-old SS is hitting .300/.849 OPS between RC and OKC this year.
The Lineup will look like this:
- Ohtani DH
- Betts 2B
- Freeman 1B
- Smith 3B
- Rushing C
- Hernandez LF
- Edman CF
- Pages RF
- Freeland SS
Utility: Kim, Feduccia, Outman, ???
The key to this is Dalton Rushing, whom the pitchers love to pitch to and whose bat will be that of a slugger. He is very Muncy-esque. The Dodgers and all of his teammates are high on Dalton. Will Smith will be an All-Star third baseman (maybe not every year, but he will excel at that spot). SS is also taxing on Mookie. He is doing a great job there, but his offense is suffering. I could even see a move being made this year where Mookie moves to 2B, Conforto is DFA’d, and the outfield rotates with Kim and Freeland manning SS. If they are considering that, they should do it soon.
OK, let your heads explode!
X-CITES
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (97)
Disagree, not disagreeable
What a bunch of BS
If Dalton progresses like I am reading on this blog, and after the post-season concludes, he is considered ready to be the every day catcher, I would not rule out the possibility of the Dodgers trading Will Smith.
I know it sounds like a long-shot bc he’s so well-liked, a great hitter, and represents everything we like about the Dodgers, but he’s a man without a position and has tremendous trade value that could net the team a 3rd baseman or SS of the future.
No one is untouchable except for Ohtani, Betts and Freeman.
Catcher just wears down a player. Both Smith and Rushing could be elite hitters but playing catcher every day wears a player down. Witness Smith’s hitting every second half. Both are very athletic. Pick another position, I would say 3rd base, and let them platoon at 3rd and catcher. Both stay in the lineup and neither wears down. Move Max to second. He as several more years not just one.
I think the key here is to keep Rushing up, promote Freeland no d and let the other chips to all where they may. Kim has 4 Gold Gloves, 2 SS, 2 2B, in Korea. Defense is defense, no matter what league you play in. MOOK is hitting 250, not superstar caliber and little guys wear down quicker. Live the guy but…..
Will Smith will be 31 next year. I think he needs to move sooner, not later.
He can serve as the emergency catcher, but the Dodgers need to bring in a catcher to back up Rushing.
I am very high on Rushing BECAUSE he does not swing at stuff outside the zone. Mike Sirota is the same way. In fact, last week, Sirota had four walks in one game.
Now, maybe the Dodgers do not believe Smith can play 3B, but I think so.
Ol Friend Miguelito gets his ring tonight!
10:10 PM ET
White Sox (28-56)
Dodgers (53-32)
SP Shane Smith R
3-5 3.38 ERA
SP Y. Yamamoto R
7-6 2.61 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
RF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
LF M. Conforto L
2B Tommy Edman S
SS Hyeseong Kim L
71° Wind 10 mph Out
07/01/25 Los Angeles Dodgers placed RHP Michael Kopech on the 15-day injured list retroactive to June 28, 2025.
07/01/25 Los Angeles Dodgers recalled RHP Will Klein from Oklahoma City Comets.
Ardaya had a Q&A ($$$$)
Open on www.nytimes.comhttps://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6459611/2025/06/29/dodgers-live-qa-fabian-ardaya-trade-deadline-shohei-ohtani/on Ryan Ward
….This is not intended as a slight towards, him but he’s 27 years old at this stage, and by all accounts the gap between Triple A and the majors has never been wider…..
On injuries:
“…I addressed this a little in our “The Pulse” newsletter recently, but the long and the short of it is this: the Dodgers did have an internal audit last year, and haven’t disclosed many details about what it revealed…. Two, the Dodgers invite this kind of variance just because of their spending power and risk tolerance. They’re willing to go after injury-prone pitchers because that’s what they feel is their best way to tap into high-upside talent. ….That, along with cluster luck (to be clear, not that the injuries themselves are unlucky, just the sequencing) have all contributed to the Dodgers getting obliterated by pitcher injuries….”
On Betts:
“….That being said, him being at shortstop is still likely a short-term solution. He won’t be the Dodgers’ shortstop when the contract is done – that’s a safe, safe bet.
If you’re looking at it from a contract standpoint, the Dodgers have already gotten enough surplus value out of the deal. He’s produced 26.5 fWAR already to date, won two World Series, and financially they will be more than fine.”
also touches on runway from Michael Conforto, Otani’s being slow, walked, rushing, playoff rotation and a lot more good stuff