As the MLB hot stove continues to percolate, there are still a slew of factors that could affect how the Opening Day roster for the Los Angeles Dodgers shapes up in 2025. More specifically, there are various scenarios that could affect where some players appear regularly on the field.
What we know for certain, as far as position players go, is that Shohei Ohtani will do the bulk of the designated hitting, Freddie Freeman will be at first base, Will Smith will be behind the plate and newly acquired Michael Conforto will see time at the corner outfield spots. It’s also highly likely that Max Muncy will be the club’s regular third baseman.
However, the moment you begin talking about Mookie Betts and Tommy Edman, the rest of the lineup becomes a whirlwind. Yes, Betts is presumably set to return to the infield on a full-time basis, but we’ve already heard that narrative before. And, if the Dodgers don’t make any more high impact moves, it could be safe to say that Edman could be the team’s regular center fielder, particularly if the club awards the primary shortstop spot to Betts or Miguel Rojas.
A lot to digest, right?
So, with Rojas at short, Betts at second and Edman in center, it pretty much eliminates Gavin Lux as an everyday player. If Betts settles in at short, it keeps the door open for Lux at second with Rojas and Edman providing cover for Mookie. Obviously, skipper Dave Roberts does a fine job with hitting matchups and rotating players into the lineup, but it doesn’t make much sense having a 27-year-old Lux ride the pine for the majority of the time if the club could get at least something resourceful for him in a trade.
According to some rumblings around the league, the Dodgers and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez have reached an impasse, which may or may not have spurred the signing of the lefty-hitting Conforto. Those same rumblings suggest Los Angeles might be in pursuit of names like Seiya Suzuki or Luis Robert Jr. as a righty-hitting outfield replacement for Hernandez. Additionally, they mention a potential fit with infielder Ha-Seong Kim, if only for the sake of adding a legit righty bat to the offensive mix.
Utility man Chris Taylor is still around for at least one more year — at least as far as the payroll goes — but the fact that he hasn’t hit over .237 for a full season since 2021 suggests he might be running out of gas offensively. We also haven’t heard anything about Enrique Hernandez. Although Hernandez has expressed a desire to return to Los Angeles, it might be tough to find a roster spot for him, especially with guys like Taylor, Edman and Conforto around.
Regardless, if 2025 Cactus League play were to start tomorrow, and if the Dodgers stick to their guns of keeping Betts on the dirt, the primary outfield would likely consist of Edman in center, Conforto in left (he appeared in 106 games there for the Giants last year) and Andy pages in right, with Taylor lurking and James Outman given every possibility to earn a roster spot out of spring training.
It’s not the perfect picture on paper, but having Enrique Hernandez as the everyday center fielder in the 2024 World Series wasn’t either.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Happy Holidays to all!
Dennis, you make it seem as though the most likely scenario is for Rojas to be the regular shortstop and Mookie to be at 2B, but from everything I’ve read, management says they expect Mookie to be the shortstop and he’s working out during the off season with that in mind.
Now, if I was sitting in AF’s chair and wanted to have Mookie at 2B and trade Lux, I would be saying the same thing he is right now. A starting second baseman for the World Champs is likely to bring far more in trade than a guy who is destined to be a bench player…………..so we shall see.
It would be great to get Teo back, but I’d also be happy with Suzuki depending on what the cost would be to get him. I have mixed feelings on Robert Jr, but if Andrew likes him enough to trade for him that would be OK with me.
As far as Kim is concerned, I really don’t see the logic in signing him if we already have Mookie, Rojas and Edman who can play shortstop. All three of those guys plus Lux can also play second so I just don’t see the need. Furthermore he may miss 2-3 months recovering from shoulder surgery so I’m really not sure how much production he will provide in 2025.
I’m expecting good things from Conforto, whose home-road splits last year in SF were ridiculous. He simply couldn’t hit in SF but his road numbers were really very good.
Overall, our starting pitching should be so much better than last year’s (assuming all the same guys don’t get injured again), that making no more changes to the offense wouldn’t be all that awful. There’s a little voice in my head that says an outfield of Conforto, Edman and Pages/Rushing might be pretty darn good. And who knows, Outman might just re-discover himself and make a major contribution as well.
I’m really hoping we get Tanner Scott to put a cap on the bullpen and Sasaki to put a cap on the starting rotation, but we could survive without either of them.
Again, wishing all who post and/or read here a very happy holiday season.
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Merry Christmas to you, too. My gut still thinks Mookie ends up as the regular right fielder.
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If I had to bet on something other than shortstop, I’d pick second base before right field, but I would have said the same thing last year.
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Well, the outfield picture just got a lot clearer with the re-signing of Teo. Teo in LF, Conforto/Pages in RF, and Edman in CF. That is if Mookie is truely going to be our SS. I wonder what this means for Outman.
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If we assume that Rojas, Barnes and CT3 will be on the bench, that only leaves room for Pages OR Outman. One of them will start the year at OKC or be traded and Outman is the more likely of the two.
Of course, they could still decide to include Lux in a trade for a big-name closer (apparently that was close to happening with Williams), move Edman to 2B and keep both Outman and Pages. The odds of this happening are more than zero, but probably not very high.
Andrew has stated he really doesn’t like to be forced to make deals at the deadline. He’s also said he’s looking for someone for the back end of the bullpen. If he wants to throw enough money at him, that guy will be Scott, but if not, he could find another free agent or make a trade. I definitely think he’ll come up with someone before spring training.
Even without another bullpen piece and without Sasaki, this roster already seems much stronger to me than the one which won the World Series. If we can just keep the pitchers healthy.
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