LOS ANGELES — DodgerFest always has that “okay, we’re really doing this again” feeling, and Dave Roberts sounded like a guy who could feel the calendar flipping in real time. The offseason is the offseason, but once the fans and players are back in the same place, the tone changes. Roberts leaned into that energy, but he also kept circling back to the idea that the work still has to match the talk. He covered a lot in a short stretch, from lineup ideas to new faces to Shohei Ohtani’s pitching plan.
Roberts said the vibe at DodgerFest is the moment when the switch starts to flip. “You spend the offseason trying to detach, catch your breath a little bit,” he said, and then the scene in front of him did the rest. “Now seeing players here, seeing their energy, obviously seeing the energy of the fans, it’s certainly time. The calendar’s turned and spring is in the air.”
When the topic turned to the top of the order, Roberts made it clear he’s thought about it, even if he’s not ready to lock anything in publicly. “I’ve thought about it,” he said. “I do feel great about having Sho lead off. I do feel great about having Will in the five. After that I’m going to kind of read and react.” He acknowledged how the pieces can fit in different ways, including the balance element managers always talk about when they’re trying to keep a lineup from becoming too predictable. “The handedness, you certainly see Mookie in the three,” Roberts said, before adding he’s still going to “see how it goes” once camp gets rolling.
The “three-peat” idea came up too, and Roberts didn’t swat it away, but he didn’t let it turn into a victory-lap conversation either. “I don’t mind the three in the air as a carrot and a kind of a north star of focus,” he said, “but I do think that we’re very mindful that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to get to that point.” He framed it as a real challenge the group can lean into. “It’s something of a challenge that I feel that our guys are not going to run from,” Roberts said, especially with so many of the same players back in the mix.
Roberts also sounded genuinely energized talking about the new additions, and not only because of talent. He likes what happens when you mix in guys who are hungry for that first parade. “It’s twofold,” he said. “You’re getting the talent, but the other part is you’re getting a couple guys that haven’t won a championship.” He pointed to past examples of bringing in that kind of edge. “We did it with Teo a couple years ago… what we did with Blake Snell last year,” Roberts said. “Having guys that haven’t had that feeling, that taste, infused with the guys that we already have here, I think that’s great.”
On fit, Roberts said he’s not shy about doing the background work, and yes, that includes reaching out. “Absolutely,” he said. “We all kind of do our due diligence and then have conversation on figuring out if the player makes sense.” He lit up when describing Edwin Díaz as a person as much as a pitcher. “You guys are going to love him,” Roberts said. “He’s easygoing. He’s very accountable, hard worker. All he wants to do is win. He left money on the table to come to the Dodgers. Same guy every day.” With Kyle Tucker, Roberts painted a quieter picture. “He’s kind of simple, not an outgoing talker, just likes to work,” he said. “Accountable, shows up, wants to play.”
Roberts was firm on one headline item: Ohtani won’t pitch in the World Baseball Classic. “He’s not going to pitch in the WBC,” Roberts said, while adding that Ohtani will be building up for the Dodgers’ season. He didn’t act stunned by the decision, either. “I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “It just seemed like the right decision.” Roberts emphasized whose call it was. “It was absolutely his call,” he said, then contrasted it with Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s mindset. “Whereas Yoshi feels that he wants to take it on and feels good, and we support it.”
As for how Ohtani will be handled on the mound during the season, Roberts didn’t sound like he’s planning to treat him like a novelty. “I honestly don’t think that I’m going to manage him any differently as far as each outing,” he said. He did acknowledge the reality of extra rest days. “It’s not a five-day, six-day rotation,” Roberts said. “There’s going to be rest in between.” But the broad plan, in his words, isn’t built around tiny leash lengths: “Outside of that, it’s not going to be the two-inning, three-inning governor.”
Roberts also took a moment to talk about the emotional shift that comes with Clayton Kershaw no longer being part of the daily rhythm. “When we get to spring training and Camelback and not seeing his locker where it’s been for 17 years, 18 years is going to be different,” he said. He described the little things that will hit him. “A presence… seeing number 22 out there early doing his sprints… knowing it’s Kershaw day, so not having that, it’s different.” And then he turned the page the way a manager has to. “I’m excited for Clayton,” Roberts said, “and I’m excited to kind of move forward with the guys we got now.”
He was also asked about game seven, and Roberts gave an answer that sounded like every fan superstition rolled into one. “No, I haven’t,” he said. He mentioned revisiting it recently in conversation, but as for sitting down and watching it straight through? “I haven’t, for fear that there might be a different outcome,” Roberts said, laughing. “I kind of like where it is right now.”
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