Dodgers Dugout: What to look for in spring training, and is Kiké Hernández coming back?

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell and pitchers and catchers report Feb. 11. The team’s first spring training game is Feb. 20.

With Dodgers’ baseball resuming this month, what better time to check in with colleague Jack Harris, who covers the team for The Times?

Q. Before last season, many baseball fans considered the Dodgers to be choke artists. Now, suddenly the Dodgers are ruining baseball by “buying all the top talent.” What’s your take on this?

Harris: I think two things can be true here: 1) The Dodgers are acting the way a big-market team with the kind of financial resources they have should act; showing the kind of aggressiveness they were often criticized for not having in the past. 2) The apparent payroll and talent gap between them and everyone else in the sport is somewhat staggering. It’s easy to say that other owners should be mirroring the Dodgers’ at-all-cost ambitions, and some should (the Yankees, for one, are valued by Forbes to be worth some $2 billion more than the Dodgers). But the fact the Dodgers have become such outliers is a potential warning flag — revealing potential cracks in a system that is failing to motivate more teams to spend as the Dodgers are.

Now, is this all really “ruining” baseball? Probably not. The Dodgers still have roughly 3-to-1 betting odds to win the World Series next year. And even if they do, an Ohtani-led dynasty might very well enhance the sport’s overall relevancy. Either way, their roster will eventually turn over. Their dominance, however daunting it looks now, will inevitably diminish. In the meantime, at least, it does add another intriguing layer to the 2025 season, giving the Dodgers’ upcoming title defense all sorts of outsized importance.

Q. It seems this will all come to a head when the next bargaining agreement comes around. When does the current contract expire, and do you expect some pushback on deferred salaries then?

Harris: The current deal expires at the end of the 2026 season. And only in time, most likely, will we see how strong the appetite for change proves to be. While deferrals have drawn much scrutiny thanks to the Dodgers recently, Tony Clark of the MLBPA has said the union wants to protect players’ rights to negotiate them into deals. And the owners’ side, more of the attention might be focused on a potential salary cap, or strengthening of the current luxury tax system — a potential fight many fear could lead to another work stoppage if it takes place.

Q. On to more pleasant topics. The Dodgers seem to have an excess of pitchers? What are they going to do with all these guys?

Harris: The plan is to pitch them, but manage any one pitcher’s workload. After all, the Dodgers have three starters next year returning from major arm surgeries (Shohei Ohtani, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May). They have two others (Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki) used to once-per-week schedules. They are going to be able to employ a six-man rotation, which will also feature Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell. And they will have depth if others get hurt, including Landon Knack, Bobby Miller and Clayton Kershaw once he’s healthy. In the bullpen, they’ve created similar depth too, thanks to the additions of Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates.

It’s worth remembering the Dodgers thought they had more than enough pitching at this time last year — only to have to scramble at the trade deadline for a starter and reliever. This year, they would like to avoid a similar situation. So, they are building up depth now, hoping it will help keep everybody healthier throughout the year.

Q. Shohei Ohtani had offseason surgery on the shoulder he hurt sliding during the World Series. Freddie Freeman had surgery on his ankle. Will they be ready during spring training, and have you detected any concern that Freeman did lasting damage to his ankle by playing on it during the postseason?

Harris: So far the expectation has been that Freeman and Ohtani will be ready for baseball activities by the start of spring. Ohtani, of course, probably won’t be ready to pitch by opening day (not much of a problem since he’ll be on a restricted workload next year anyway returning from his Tommy John revision). But to this point, the team seems optimistic about both of their statuses — both for the start of the year and longer term.

Q. There are two big questions I’ve gotten all offseason, so I will pass them off to you. First, why move Mookie Betts to shortstop when he is a Gold Glove outfielder and you have a Miguel Rojas ready to play short?

Harris: The key things to remember about Mookie Betts’ move to the infield: First, he likes playing on the dirt, since it’s the position he first held as a youth player in the sport. Second, both he and the team believe it keeps him fresher, since he can minimize his in-game running. Third, he believes (and has been eager to prove) that he can be a big-league caliber shortstop, and successfully make the kind of mid-career transition (from award-winning outfielder to everyday-caliber shortstop) that is virtually unheard of in the history of the sport.

Now, whether he can remains to be seen. But the upside is high enough that the Dodgers are comfortable trying. Plus, Rojas has struggled to stay healthy amid everyday playing time the last couple years. And if the team decides Betts’ shortstop defense isn’t good enough at some point this year, they could always slide him to second and have Rojas (or any of the other handful of players on the roster with experience at the position) play a bigger role there defensively down the stretch.

Q. Second, is there any chance they re-sign Kiké Hernández?

Harris: It definitely still seems possible. The Dodgers have a lack of 40-man roster depth on the position player side, ... [with only] 14 non-pitchers. Hernández still checks all the boxes the Dodgers want in a role player, from defensive versatility to a track record for clutch hitting. At the start of the offseason, Hernández voiced his hope of remaining in Los Angeles, too.

Whether or not a reunion comes to fruition remains to be seen. Last year, the Dodgers didn’t bring Hernández back until well into spring camp. Right now, they don’t have a glaring hole in their lineup, either. But, in the event that, say, Max Muncy misses extended time again, or injuries strike multiple starters in the outfielder, the Dodgers could find themselves short on answers. To that end, Hernández would provide a proven safety net. And come October, few in recent postseason memory have been better.

Q. Finally, what do you think are the most important things for fans to keep an eye on during spring training?

Harris: Just to name a few: Ohtani’s pitching progression coming off Tommy John ... Betts’ shortstop defense after a full offseason of work ... Sasaki’s early adaptation to life in the big leagues ... How well May and Gonsolin recovered from their 2023 surgeries ... How well Glasnow bounced back from his season-ending elbow issue ... The battle to be the opening day starter between Glasnow, Sasaki, Yamamoto and Snell ... How the bottom of the lineup will be shaken up with the additions of Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim.

More on Freeman

At DodgerFest on Saturday, Freeman talked a bit about his injury. Quoting this story from colleague Mike DiGiovanna, Freeman was still having ankle trouble a couple of weeks after the World Series ended.

“A scan revealed a bone chip that had floated down to the Achilles tendon as well as several bone spurs. Freeman underwent surgery on Nov. 30 to remove the chip and shave down the spurs.

“Eight weeks removed from surgery, Freeman swung a bat for the first time on Thursday. He will begin agility drills by the end of this week but said he won’t begin running until the Dodgers’ first full-squad spring training workout in Arizona on Feb. 15.

Freeman said he will be relegated to designated hitter for the first week or two of exhibition games, but the slugger is confident that he will be a full-go for the team’s March 18-19 regular-season opening series against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo.

“I feel good,” Freeman said. “I’m on track.”

And Freeman also played through the World Series with a rib injury. It’s a wonder that the guy got out of bed every day.

Dodgers sign Yates

As Jack mentioned above, the Dodgers have a new member of the bullpen since the last newsletter. They signed right-handed reliever Kirby Yates to a one-year, $13-million deal. Yates had a 1.17 ERA and 33 saves in 61.2 innings with the Texas Rangers last season, giving up only 23 hits to go with 28 walks and 85 strikeouts. He had an IRS% of 21.9%, allowing only four of 19 inherited runners to score. Yates will turn 38 in March.

The Dodgers have a deep bullpen now, which is evidenced by the fact that to make room for Yates, the Dodgers designated reliever Ryan Brasier for assignment. Brasier had a 1.89 ERA over two seasons with the team.

Dodgers Dugout Dodgers Hall of Fame

Voting is closed and results will be announced later this week.

Dodgers become expert trollers

The Dodgers announced their promotional giveaway schedule last week, and you have to wonder if one date was ... coincidence?

They will give away a Blake Snell bobblehead on June 16. The opponent: the San Diego Padres, who Snell played for for three seasons. Coincidence?

They will be giving away a replica World Series trophy to fans June 17. The opponent that day: the San Diego Padres. Again, coincidence?

They will be giving away gold World Series shirts to fans June 18. The opponent that day: the San Diego Padres. But yes, I’m sure that’s all a coincidence.

Bobblehead giveaways this season:

April 2: Shohei Ohtani
April 11: Freddie Freeman
April 26: Dave Roberts
May 13: Mookie Betts
May 15: Shohei Ohtani
May 19: Vin Scully
May 21: Will Smith
June 2: Tommy Edman
June 16: Blake Snell
June 21: Ice Cube
July 2: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
July 6: Joe Davis
July 18: Ron Cey
July 19: Fernando Valenzuela
July 22: Teoscar Hernández
Aug. 4: Roki Sasaki
Aug. 8: Kobe Bryant
Aug. 16: Blake Treinen
Aug. 27: Shohei Ohtani
Sept. 10: Shohei Ohtani
Sept. 18: Tyler Glasnow

For all the giveaways, go here.

In case you missed it

For Dodgers star Freddie Freeman, much of the offseason was a fanfest

Hernández: Shohei Ohtani has had two major surgeries. So why aren’t the Dodgers concerned?

Dodgers’ signing of Kirby Yates is latest example of effort to shore up pitching staff

Dodgers avoid arbitration and agree on a deal with left-hander Alex Vesia

Newsom taps Magic Johnson, Casey Wasserman, Mark Walter to lead philanthropic L.A. fire recovery initiative

Amid rash of serious injuries in baseball, Neal ElAttrache also sees better recoveries

Analysis: How past trade deadline scrambles motivated Dodgers’ winter spending spree

Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter allegedly impersonated him to transfer $200,000

The burning question Roki Sasaki asked teams: Five takeaways from his first day as a Dodger

And finally

Due Snider’s Hall of Fame induction speech. Watch and listen here.