{"id":549402,"date":"2026-02-01T19:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T19:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/549402\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T19:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T19:21:14","slug":"additions-of-tucker-diaz-have-dodgers-aiming-for-three-peat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/549402\/","title":{"rendered":"Additions of Tucker, Diaz have Dodgers aiming for three-peat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Near the end of the Dodgers\u2019 annual Fanfest event<\/a> on Saturday afternoon, a sudden buzz arose in the crowd.<\/p>\n

Over the Dodger Stadium speakers, fans heard the familiar sounds of a high-pitched trumpet. They started clapping to the beat of what will soon become a common ballpark tune.<\/p>\n

Edwin D\u00edaz, the team\u2019s new closer and $69 million free-agent signing this winter, wasn\u2019t personally in attendance. But on the unofficial start day of a new and highly anticipated 2026 season, his Timmy Trumpet entrance song was already whipping Chavez Ravine into a frenzy.<\/p>\n

Edwin D\u00edaz speaks during his introduction as a new member of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Ethan Swope) AP<\/p>\n

It was a reminder of how, even for a franchise with back-to-back World Series titles, another big winter spending spree has re-energized the club.<\/p>\n

Much like their team\u2019s fans, Dodgers players have watched in amazement at the way the organization has continued stockpiling talent over the last several offseasons. <\/p>\n

Such moves helped build this current Dodger dynasty, netting everyone from Shohei Ohtani<\/a> to Yoshinobu Yamamoto to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. They have also turned the Dodgers into villains, with their $400 million payroll becoming the bane of the rest of the sport.<\/p>\n

Inside the clubhouse, however, this winter\u2019s newest additions \u2013\u2013 namely, D\u00edaz and $240 million outfielder Kyle Tucker<\/a> \u2013\u2013 have served another purpose ahead of the team\u2019s three-peat bid.<\/p>\n

Dodgers players didn\u2019t exactly need more motivation, or a reminder of the opportunity in front of them.<\/p>\n

But seeing more big names walk through the door, \u201cit injects energy into us,\u201d first baseman Freddie Freeman said. \u201cTo go out and keep getting the best players year in and year out, even when you\u2019re winning the World Series, it\u2019s refreshing. It just really shows you that our organization, our front office, our ownership group wants to win every single year. To be a part of that, it\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jan 21, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker (23) is introduced to the media during a press conference at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

This has become something of an annual dynamic for the Dodgers in recent years.<\/p>\n

Each season, they are saddled with lofty expectations. Anything short of another World Series has long been seen as a failure. That kind of environment presents an ever-present pressure, and the threat of mental fatigue over the slog of a long regular season.<\/p>\n

The infusion of new blood, however, has come to provide an important internal reset.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s huge in the sense that you\u2019re getting the talent,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said of this winter\u2019s signings of D\u00edaz and Tucker. \u201cBut the other part is, you\u2019re getting a couple guys that haven\u2019t won a championship (with us) \u2026 Having guys that haven\u2019t had that feeling, that taste, infused with a lot of the guys that we already have here, I think that\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Third baseman Max Muncy, now the longest-tenured player in the organization following Clayton Kershaw\u2019s retirement this offseason, was speaking to reporters Saturday when D\u00edaz\u2019s entrance song made its Chavez Ravine debut.<\/p>\n

He said adding players of that caliber is a reminder to the rest of the roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt always sends a message to the players: We\u2019re here to win,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s not, \u2018Oh, we won one. We\u2019re good now.\u2019 It\u2019s, \u2018We want to keep winning.\u2019 And for us as players, when we see that, you have to understand and know that we can\u2019t just take this year off because we won last year. We have to keep going and get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

FILE \u2013 New York Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Sept. 27, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo\/Lynne Sladky, File) AP<\/p>\n

Veteran infielder Miguel Rojas echoed that sentiment, describing the \u201csense of urgency\u201d such moves create for a new campaign, especially after a long October run and short offseason of recuperation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to push ourselves,\u201d he said. \u201cOlder players need to continue to get better. Younger players need to earn their spot. And I think that\u2019s going to be a good competition, a good vibe and a good atmosphere in the clubhouse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Dodgers wouldn\u2019t be in such a position, of course, had it not been for their biggest recent signing of all in Ohtani, whose heavily deferred contract structure and revenue-driving celebrity status have enabled much of the club\u2019s recent spending.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I signed with the Dodgers, I had conversations with (owner) Mark Walter and (president of baseball operations) Andrew Friedman, in terms of making sure we would be in position to continue to add players,\u201d Ohtani said through an interpreter. \u201cI\u2019m sure from a fan\u2019s perspective, they\u2019re ecstatic to see something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

And on Saturday, it was clear that feeling was reverberating among his teammates, as well, setting the tone for a 2026 season in which the Dodgers will be pursuing history, and re-energized by the new pieces they\u2019ve enlisted to help accomplish it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s why everyone wants to be a Dodger,\u201d Muncy said. \u201cThey see that it\u2019s just all about winning. It\u2019s never about, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re good.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Near the end of the Dodgers\u2019 annual Fanfest event on Saturday afternoon, a sudden buzz arose in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2406],"tags":[5,2178,39,1087,29,1165,4332,4333,774,57,3224,4331,4,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-549402","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-california","10":"tag-dodgers","11":"tag-edwin-diaz","12":"tag-kyle-tucker","13":"tag-la","14":"tag-la-dodgers","15":"tag-ladodgers","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","18":"tag-losangeles","19":"tag-losangelesdodgers","20":"tag-mlb","21":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115997001905795781","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549402","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=549402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}