Dodgers Notes: Unfortunate Mookie Betts Update, LA Linked to Cy Young Pitcher in Blockbuster Trade
Mookie Betts has been under the weather since the final two games of Cactus League play in Arizona and even missed the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two exhibition games in Japan. With Opening Day right around the corner, the team unfortunately won’t have their superstar for the Tokyo Series.
Additionally, while the Dodgers have had an unbelievable offseason, they were recently linked to a Cy Young award winning pitcher. As he comes off of missing 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery and is currently on a non-contending team, it could spell the perfect scenario for a Dodgers trade.
Best arm? How many wins? Some picks to click for Dodgers in ’25
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The Dodgers are used to having a target on their backs after making 12 consecutive trips to the postseason and winning two World Series in the past five years. For opposing teams, the prospect of toppling Los Angeles is even more enticing now that the team is fresh off a championship and another big offseason.
Manager Dave Roberts wants his team to wholeheartedly embrace the mentality of being the ones to beat.
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“Flip it, and be the hunter instead of the hunted,” Roberts said. “I think when you’re the Dodgers, there’s always a target. You can’t run from it.”
The time is now, as the Dodgers’ quest to repeat as champions begins with Game 1 of the Tokyo Series vs. the Cubs on Tuesday (3 a.m. PT on FOX and MLB.TV). Here are some key topics to follow and predictions for the season ahead:
What needs to go right?
For a roster stacked with this much talent, all the Dodgers really need to do is to stay healthy. It’s easier said than done: Last year, the pitching staff in particular was ravaged by injuries, leading to the team using 38 pitchers (not including Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas) over the course of the season. The Dodgers ended up having just enough pitching to get through their World Series run, but they don’t want to struggle to patch together nine innings on the mound the way they had to at times last year.
Great unknown
There’s a lot of excitement surrounding what Roki Sasaki might do in his first Major League season, but the fact of the matter is no one really knows what he’ll bring to the Dodgers this year. He was lights-out in two Cactus League outings, but spring results can only indicate so much about regular-season performance. Sasaki could shove from the start, or he could take time to adjust to the big leagues. The talent is certainly there, but he remains a self-professed work in progress. Sasaki’s MLB debut on Wednesday (3 a.m. PT on FS1 and MLB.TV) will be must-watch programming.
Team MVP will be … Shohei Ohtani
As the saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Ohtani is one of three former MVPs in the Dodgers’ lineup, but it’s hard not to give him the nod here, no matter how talented the roster is at large. He’s slated to return as a two-way player this year, and his offseason shoulder surgery hasn’t seemed to affect him at the plate. Ohtani came up big time and again in his first season with the Dodgers, and there’s no reason to think that things will be any different this year. His return to the mound after a second major elbow surgery will be intriguing to follow.
