Getty Shohei Ohtani
Having spent over a billion dollars in free agency this winter, the Los Angeles Dodgers are going into the 2024 season with very high expectations. Other than in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Dodgers haven’t won a World Series title since 1988, and with their newly-stacked roster, they’re looking to immediately change that.
With just three weeks until Opening Day on March 28, Los Angeles is slowly locking in its 26-man roster, and from a retooled starting rotation to a batting lineup stacked with talent, it’s clear the Dodgers are the team to beat in 2024 — if they can keep their players healthy.
Batting Lineup
- Mookie Betts (2B)
- Shohei Ohtani (DH)
- Freddie Freeman (1B)
- Will Smith (C)
- Max Muncy (3B)
- Teoscar Hernandez (LF)
- James Outman (CF)
- Jason Heyward (RF)
- Gavin Lux (SS)
In the largest contract signing in professional sports history, the Dodgers added two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani on a 10-year, $700 million deal on December 11, 2023, structuring the deal so $68 million per season would be deferred to be paid out from 2034 to 2043. Having received surgery in September 2023 to address a UCL tear in his right elbow, Ohtani is not expected to pitch until 2025, but he will still bat as the team’s designated hitter.
“I would say the hitting part of my rehab is over officially,” Ohtani told Dodger Insider’s Christian Romo on March 5. “Now I just need to get more at bats, have quality at bats and be able to see the ball and get my timing down before Opening Day.”
While most of the Dodgers’ batting order is effectively locked in for 2024, one big question mark hangs over shortstop Gavin Lux. On March 7, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reported that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was “noncommittal” when asked whether Lux would be the team’s starting shortstop this season. Earlier in spring training, Roberts was “adamant” Lux would take on the role, according to Ardaya, but the 26-year-old has since struggled with throwing issues in camp after missing the entire 2023 season due to a torn ACL.
“Performance is paramount at this level,” Roberts told Ardaya regarding Lux. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
The Dodgers have been adamant since the start of spring that Gavin Lux will be their starting shortstop.
After some recent throwing woes, Dave Roberts was noncommittal about sticking to that plan and “I don’t know” if Lux will start there on Opening Day.
If Lux isn’t locked in as the Dodgers’ starting shortstop, the team has infielder Miguel Rojas on the bench, as well as utility men Kiké Hernández and Chris Taylor. To round out position players, Austin Barnes will be the Dodgers’ second catcher after Will Smith.
Starting Rotation
- Tyler Glasnow (RHP)
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto (RHP)
- Bobby Miller (RHP)
- James Paxton (LHP)
- Gavin Stone (RHP)
The Dodgers have had a pretty major overhaul of their starting rotation this offseason, even if Ohtani isn’t included until 2025. Los Angeles acquired ace Tyler Glasnow in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on December 16 and immediately secured him on a five-year, $136.5 million contract extension. Eleven days later, the Dodgers signed Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million deal, breaking the record for the richest pitcher contract in major-league history.
Still, the back-end of the Dodgers’ rotation remains uncertain.
Since both 10-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw and two-time All-Star Walker Buehler will begin the season on the IL, the Dodgers’ fifth starter is yet to be decided. Gavin Stone is arguably the frontrunner for the role, though Emmet Sheehan is also fighting to prove himself in spring training. Sheehan has been recently sidelined with shoulder soreness, though he has already resumed a throwing program and the injury “shouldn’t limit him to start the season,” according to MLB.com’s Juan Toribio.
Bullpen
- Evan Phillips (RHP)
- Brusdar Graterol (RHP)
- Ryan Brasier (RHP)
- Joe Kelly (RHP)
- Blake Treinen (RHP)
- Alex Vesia (LHP)
- Ryan Yarbrough (LHP)
- Daniel Hudson (RHP)
In 2023, the Dodgers’ bullpen recorded a 3.42 ERA in 644.2 innings, ranking them third in MLB. With a familiar group of faces returning and plenty of backup contenders in the farm system, Los Angeles looks set to have another season of strong relief innings.
After missing the entire 2023 season to recover from right shoulder labrum and rotator cuff repair surgery, Blake Treinen will return to the Dodgers’ bullpen this season. Ryan Yarbrough is arguably still in the conversation for the fifth position in the starting rotation, though on March 5, Roberts told SportsNet LA that he sees Yarbrough as a “swing guy,” making occasional starts but largely pitching out of the bullpen.
On March 6, Roberts told Ardaya that veteran Daniel Hudson, who is currently on a minor-league deal with a March 15 opt-out, “will be in [the Dodgers’] bullpen,” though Roberts did add that there’s no “hard date” for when that will happen. Hudson isn’t yet on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster so a corresponding roster move will need to be made when he’s elevated, and the above projected bullpen is assuming he makes the roster out of spring training camp.
If Hudson isn’t deemed ready to join the bullpen for Opening Day, the team has Michael Grove, Ricky Vanasco, and J.P. Feyereisen waiting for a chance. Sheehan may also join the bullpen if he doesn’t beat out Stone for a spot as a starter.