The Los Angeles Dodgers have had MLB’s most talented and deepest rosters the past two seasons and have two World Series titles to prove it. Next season, they’ll try to do something no MLB team has done since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees, and that’s win their third consecutive title.
The Dodgers enter their quest for a three-peat in good shape. Even if they don’t make any significant moves between now and Opening Day, they’ll still be the favorites to win it all. However, when has this Dodgers’ front office ever rested on its laurels? When has owner Mark Walters and CEO Stan Kasten ever not told their people to put the pedal to the metal?
That’s exactly why I’m expecting another busy winter for the Dodgers. With the possibility looming that the next collective bargaining agreement could put some limits on their spending in the future, it would make sense for the Dodgers to spend this offseason. Why not take advantage of the present system? After all, they’re practically printing money.
So, what exactly should they target this winter?
The bullpen seems like the obvious place for them to start. We learned as the season and postseason wore on that their bullpen wasn’t as deep as they would have liked, despite a spending spree on relievers last offseason. Injuries and underperformance decimated a group that looked good on paper but never produced as expected.
Their outfield group, as a whole, also disappointed. Right field was an issue defensively and overall they didn’t hit as well as expected. The lack of production wasn’t limited to the outfield, as the lineup in general wasn’t the juggernaut we assumed it would be in spring training. But there isn’t much room to improve on the infield from an offensive perspective, so the outfield provides the Dodgers’ best opportunity to enhance the lineup.
Corner outfielder Michael Conforto is a free agent and almost certainly won’t return after hitting just .199 in more than 400 at-bats in 2025. Center fielder Andy Pages had a strong regular season, but slumped in the playoffs, and although Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas made significant contributions during the postseason, the latter two are both role players and are currently free agents. Bottom line: There were a couple of spots in the lineup that could be improved upon for next season.
In general, where the Dodgers can start adding youth to their core of position players (who are all 30 or older), they should definitely look to do that, keeping in mind, of course, that they aren’t going to replace stalwarts like Freddie Freeman or Mookie Betts.
Now again, they really don’t have to do anything to this roster and they’d still have a legitimate chance of winning it all next year. That being said, every team can be improved, so let’s take the microscope out and see if there aren’t a few ways of actually distancing them more from the rest of the field.
Let’s go position by position, like we did with the Philadelphia Phillies article I wrote earlier this offseason.
Designated Hitter
Shohei Ohtani is the game’s best designated hitter, a four-time MVP with three in the past three seasons. He’s signed through 2033, and the Dodgers won’t have to worry about addressing this position for years.
Catcher
Although Will Smith will be 31 next season, he’s still the NL’s best overall catcher and the second-best in the sport to the Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh. He missed time towards the end of the regular season with a hairline fracture in his throwing hand but still managed to post a 4.5 WAR season in 110 games. Offensively, he had his best season since 2020 and then was a World Series hero. He handles the pitching staff extraordinarily well and is well respected by all the Dodgers’ hurlers.
Ben Rortvedt got the bulk of the playing time when Smith was out, but he was claimed off waivers earlier this offseason by the Cincinnati Reds, leaving promising rookie Dalton Rushing as Smith’s backup for 2026. Rushing has a career .933 OPS in the minor leagues but struggled in his first taste of the majors in 2025, hitting just .204 in his 142 at-bats. He needs experience, but he does have the potential of being a .270 hitter with 15-20 home runs if he’s ever given a chance at everyday playing time.
The Dodgers will need to get Rushing more opportunities next year, not only to enhance his development but also to keep Smith fresh. Rushing can also play some first base, where he will be able to sub in for Freeman occasionally.
Smith and Rushing are a strong combination behind the plate and they don’t need to tinker there.
Infielders
The Dodgers are likely to return the bulk of their infield from 2025, with Freeman at first, Tommy Edman at second, Mookie Betts at shortstop and Max Muncy at third base, and Hyeseong Kim as a utility player. It’s a strong group but also an aging one, as Freeman (36), Muncy (35) and Betts (33) will likely need more days off than they did in their younger years. They just picked up Muncy’s club option ($10 million) for what is expected to be his final season as a Dodger.
Edman can also play some in the outfield, so the Dodgers can explore upgrading at second and still keep Edman in the everyday mix. He had surgery on his ankle after the World Series but is expected to be ready for spring training.
Adding Bo Bichette would give the Dodgers an upgrade in the infield and help the core of their roster get younger. (Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images)
Given Edman’s versatility and Muncy’s contract situation, there is room for improvement in the Dodgers’ infield. They could sign free-agent infielder Bo Bichette, play him at second and move Edman to the outfield, or they could play Bichette at third base and see if Muncy would be willing to waive his 10-and-5 rights and trade him to a team like the Mariners, who could use Muncy at either corner off the bench.
Signing Japanese free agent corner infielder Munetaka Murakami, who is 10 years younger than Muncy, is another option. They could use the 2026 season to develop Murakami and play him some at first, third and in left field to give their veterans time off and then have him become the full-time third baseman by the end of 2026 or the following year.
Or they could keep the infield intact and just re-sign Rojas and promote rookie Alex Freeland as depth. I like the idea of pursuing the younger Bichette and/or Murakami to guard against the infield’s overall aging, however.
Outfielders
The outfield is the area that needs to be upgraded, right field in particular. I love Teoscar Hernández but his defense in right is not good. He often makes up for it with his home run power, but he was worth minus-9 runs in fielding value in 2025, according to Statcast. Moving him to left field and upgrading in right should be a consideration.
If the Dodgers don’t want to add an outfielder from outside the organization, they could shift Pages from center field to right field and move Edman to center if they add a second baseman like Bichette.
Of course, the best move they could make would be to sign Kyle Tucker and put him in right field. Tucker is an above-average defender and would be a huge upgrade offensively over what they got from Conforto in left field in 2025. Tucker is also only 28 and, like Bichette and Murakami, would help make the Dodgers’ roster core younger.
Tucker has a quiet personality and isn’t going to be the face of the franchise, but the Dodgers don’t need one with so many other stars on the roster. The Dodgers will have money coming off the books over the next few years, so signing Tucker long-term with some backloading on the contract shouldn’t be a problem for their budget, even though he’ll probably be the highest-paid free agent in this year’s class.
If they don’t sign Tucker, trading for Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran makes a lot of sense as they could play him in left field, keep Pages’ strong glove in center and then find a defensive platoon-mate for Teoscar Hernández in right. Duran is only 29 and controllable through 2028. He’s come into his own as a player the past two seasons and would bring a speed element to the Dodgers’ lineup.
The Red Sox won’t trade Duran cheaply and it’s likely the Dodgers would have to give up a young starter like Emmet Sheehan in any deal. That would be a steep price, but one they can afford to make given the depth of their rotation.
If a Tucker signing or a Duran trade doesn’t work, they could explore a reunion in free agency with Cody Bellinger. His ability to play all three outfield positions and first base is a huge plus and that versatility is highly valued by the Dodgers’ front office.
Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox is another potential trade target, but I think it makes more sense for teams like the Dodgers to wait on a deal until the trade deadline for Robert to see if he can get back to where he was as a player in 2023, when he won a Silver Slugger award. If they did add Robert, he would improve their outfield defense, especially lined up next to Pages.
That said, a Tucker, Duran or Bellinger addition would be a true difference-maker for the Dodgers in the outfield.
Starting pitchers
The Dodgers are the only team in baseball right now that can claim they have four No. 1-type starters (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow). They also have Roki Sasaki, who had his ups and downs as a rookie but still could develop into an ace down the road. It remains to be seen if they will use Sasaki in the rotation or the bullpen in 2026.
The Dodgers have no shortage of depth beyond their top four starters and Sasaki, with Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, River Ryan and Gavin Stone all potential contributors, though Ryan and Stone are coming back from injuries. They also have more depth in the minor leagues, led by prospects Jackson Ferris and Adam Serwinowski.
There really isn’t any need to add additional starting pitching. But again, it’s the Dodgers, so why not look to add?
If the Tigers decide to trade Tarik Skubal, L.A. could offer Sheehan, Wrobleski and one of their top two outfield prospects, Zyhir Hope or Josue De Paula. Detroit would have a hard time saying no to that package, especially when faced with the proposition of losing Skubal for only draft pick compensation next offseason or a smaller trade package at the July trade deadline. The Dodgers do not need Skubal, but he’d give them a powerhouse collection of aces that would also allow them to guard against injuries and a head start in trying to sign him beyond 2026.
Adding Tarik Skubal would give the Dodgers five legitimate No. 1 starters. (Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
If that doesn’t work, they could consider a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for Freddy Peralta. Like Skubal, he’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2026 campaign.
They could also engage in trade talks for the Twins’ Joe Ryan, the Reds’ Hunter Greene, the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore or the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara. All of those teams would love to have Sheehan and Wrobleski because they have high ceilings and are young, controllable and cheap, and those teams would have to consider moving their veteran starters for the right package from the Dodgers.
Relievers
The Dodgers’ bullpen looked loaded coming into the 2025 season after they added Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott in free agency and brought back Blake Treinen. Injuries and unexpected underperformance made the bullpen a liability instead of a strength for much of the season.
Yates is a free agent but much of their current group is set to return for 2026. Given the bullpen’s struggles in 2025 and lingering injuries (Evan Phillips had Tommy John surgery in June, Brock Stewart had shoulder debridement surgery in September, Scott finished the season on the injured list), the bullpen is an area they still need to address.
Sasaki showed promise in the closer’s role during the postseason, regaining his 102-mph fastball and unhittable split-finger. However, he wants to start. Whether he’ll be in the rotation from the outset next year or join halfway through the year, Sasaki’s long-term future with the Dodgers remains as a starter. Given that dynamic, the Dodgers should try to land one of the top two closers on the market, Edwin Díaz or Robert Suarez. If that doesn’t work out, they could look to the next tier of relievers like Devin Williams, Raisel Iglesias, Pete Fairbanks and Luke Weaver.
The Dodgers should be strong on the left side of the pen, especially if Scott can rebound, because Alex Vesia will be back next year, as well as Anthony Banda and Jack Dreyer.
Bottom line
The Dodgers are the favorites right now to three-peat. However, the Toronto Blue Jays proved during the World Series that L.A. isn’t an unstoppable force, as Toronto was just a crazy bounce away from winning it all. No one knows if the Dodgers will be able to maintain their current spending advantage once the league and the players’ union agree on the next CBA. They should take advantage of the present CBA and their record-breaking stream of revenues and go all-out for a three-peat.
Improve the outfield with Tucker, Duran, Bellinger or someone else, improve the back-end of the bullpen with Díaz, Suarez or others, add youth and more options in the infield who can make an impact like Bichette or Murakami and maybe even chase another ace like Skubal or Peralta to put together the best rotation this planet has ever seen and then get ready to cement a three-peat.
Who doesn’t like champagne in their eyes every October?