LOS ANGELES \u2014 By the time the gates opened Saturday morning at Dodger Stadium, it already felt like baseball season again.<\/p>\n
With pitchers and catchers set to report on February 13, the Dodgers officially turned the page to 2026 by hosting Dodger Fest, a fan-friendly kickoff that mixed optimism, honesty and just enough intrigue to remind everyone why this roster continues to be the envy of the sport.<\/p>\n
The biggest headline of the day came from manager Dave Roberts, who confirmed that Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in the upcoming World Baseball Classic \u2014 a decision that came straight from Ohtani himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell he\u2019s not gonna pitch in the WBC,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut he will be ramping up his arm to get ready for the season.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
That clarification mattered. Ohtani won\u2019t be taking the mound in March, but he will be a full participant as a designated hitter during the tournament. More importantly for the Dodgers, Ohtani confirmed he\u2019ll open the regular season as a two-way player, giving Los Angeles its first full year of the unicorn experience.<\/p>\n
That news also cushions a rotation that may be without Blake Snell on Opening Day.<\/p>\n
Snell admitted his shoulder bothered him throughout the postseason after a heavy workload, though nothing required more than physical therapy and rest. The Dodgers will take a cautious approach this spring.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll be slow-played, but Snell made it clear the goal remains the same. As far as Opening Day?<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the plan.\u201d Snell said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
While Ohtani will stay stateside as a pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is going the opposite direction. After carrying a heavy load during the playoffs, Yamamoto still feels strong enough to represent Japan in the WBC.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoshi feels that he wants to take it on, feels good and we support it,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n
Roki Sasaki, however, will not pitch in the tournament \u2014 a decision made by the organization, reflecting a more measured approach with the young right-hander.<\/p>\n
On the position-player side, Tommy Edman offered encouraging news after offseason surgery on his right ankle that addressed ligament damage and bone spurs. His spring will be gradual, but the progress has been steady.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnkle is feeling great,\u201d Edman said. \u201cI\u2019ve hit every checkpoint along the way in the recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Opening Day remains a possibility \u2014 not a promise, but not out of reach either.<\/p>\n
Freddie Freeman, fresh off back-to-back World Series titles, looked as relaxed as anyone at Dodger Fest. For him, the best part of the offseason was simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited, the offseason has been good, no rehabbing so that\u2019s nice,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n
He also couldn\u2019t hide his enthusiasm for the Dodgers\u2019 latest additions, especially Kyle Tucker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you signed Edwin you\u2019re like, oh that\u2019s great,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cThen all of a sudden Kyle comes along a couple of weeks ago and you\u2019re like, geez, okay. Talking about it makes me smile. It\u2019s great for the fans and LA.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Freeman called Tucker \u201cone of the best players in the game\u201d and believes the transition will be smooth, thanks to the depth surrounding him in the lineup.<\/p>\n
One of the more unexpected and uplifting moments of the day came from River Ryan, who made a surprise appearance after missing all of last season following Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n
Ryan said he\u2019s added 30 pounds over the past five months and now sits at 225, part of a rehab process that\u2019s left him feeling stronger than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel great, I feel healthy, feel strong and ready to go,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n
The added weight has translated to more velocity \u2014 and maybe even a mystery pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m able to throw a lot harder, a lot easier,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cPutting on some weight has helped me in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for that rumored seventh pitch?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still gonna wait,\u201d Ryan said with a grin. \u201cPeople are gonna see at spring training.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
There was also a family angle. The Dodgers recently signed Ryan\u2019s brother, Ryder, to a minor league deal \u2014 something River called a dream come true. The two haven\u2019t played together since high school and, yes, they\u2019ll be roommates in spring training.<\/p>\n
Dalton Rushing also shared his plans for 2026, entering his first full season with the big club. The backup catcher will see time at first base when Freeman gets days off \u2014 something Rushing embraced without hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really plan to play any position they ask,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the one name still hanging out there: Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n
Miguel Rojas made it clear he expects the postseason hero to be back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in constant communication with Kik\u00e9,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cI have no doubt that he\u2019s gonna be back. Everybody in this clubhouse wants him back.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Dodger Fest wasn\u2019t about answers to every question. It rarely is. But it did what it always does \u2014 reconnect the team with its fans and set the tone for what\u2019s ahead.<\/p>\n
Spring training is almost here. The roster is stacked. And once again, the Dodgers enter the season with expectations as high as the Southern California sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 By the time the gates opened Saturday morning at Dodger Stadium, it already felt like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2406],"tags":[5,39,815,29,1165,4332,4333,774,57,3224,4331,4,1526,169,110,468,880,6094,313],"class_list":{"0":"post-548472","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-dodgers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-dodgers","10":"tag-freddie-freeman","11":"tag-kyle-tucker","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-la-dodgers","14":"tag-ladodgers","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","17":"tag-losangeles","18":"tag-losangelesdodgers","19":"tag-mlb","20":"tag-mookie-betts","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-roki-sasaki","23":"tag-shohei-ohtani","24":"tag-tommy-edman","25":"tag-tst-los-angeles","26":"tag-yoshinobu-yamamoto"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115992888866156108","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}