Winning a World Series is hard. Doing it twice in a row? That’s basically the final boss of professional sports. But looking at the Los Angeles Dodgers 2025 roster and their offseason trajectory, you kind of get the feeling that Andrew Friedman is playing a different game than everyone else. It’s not just about the money, though having a payroll that looks like a small country's GDP certainly helps. It’s the sheer density of talent.
Honestly, the 2024 parade in downtown LA felt like a beginning rather than an ending. When Shohei Ohtani signed that massive, deferred-salary contract, the whole point was to ensure the team could keep adding pieces every single winter. Well, winter is here.
The Ohtani Factor: Year Two and the Return to the Mound
Everyone talks about 50/50. It was historic. It was absurd. But the biggest storyline for the Los Angeles Dodgers 2025 campaign isn't what Shohei does with the bat; it's the fact that he's actually going to pitch again.
Remember, Ohtani spent all of 2024 as a "specialist." He was a designated hitter who just happened to be the best athlete on the planet. This year, the two-way threat returns. Early reports from Camelback Ranch and the Dodgers' medical staff suggest his elbow progression is right on schedule. Having a guy who can hit 50 home runs and then start Game 1 of a playoff series is basically a cheat code. It changes how Dave Roberts manages the entire staff. You suddenly have an extra roster spot because your ace and your cleanup hitter are the same human being.
But there’s a catch. There's always a catch. Coming off a second major elbow surgery, the Dodgers aren't going to let him go 200 innings. Expect a six-man rotation. Expect "load management" to be the buzzword of the spring. They need him in October, not just for a random Tuesday in May against the Rockies.
Building a Rotation That Actually Lasts
If you followed the team last year, you know the pitching staff was basically a revolving door of orthopedic surgeons. It was a mess. Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw—everyone spent time on the IL.
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For the Los Angeles Dodgers 2025 to repeat, the health of the rotation is everything. Yamamoto is the key. He showed flashes of absolute dominance in the postseason, specifically that masterpiece against the Yankees. In his second full year in MLB, the expectation is that he’ll be more comfortable with the travel, the ball, and the five-day rest cycle.
Then you have the young arms. Ben Casparius and Landon Knack proved they belong. They aren't just "depth" anymore; they are legitimate options. And let's talk about the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes. Every team in baseball wanted the Japanese phenom, but the Dodgers’ track record with international stars and their proximity to the Pacific makes them the perennial favorite for a reason. Adding a 100-mph arm like Sasaki to a room that already includes Glasnow and Ohtani is just unfair. It’s baseball's version of the "rich get richer" trope, but it's executed with surgical precision.
The Teoscar Hernandez Situation and the Outfield Mix
One of the biggest questions of the offseason was whether Teoscar Hernandez would return. He became the emotional heartbeat of the clubhouse. You saw it in the dugout—the seeds, the dancing, the clutch hits. Losing that kind of "vibes" guy can hurt a team more than the stats suggest.
The Dodgers' front office usually prioritizes flexibility, but Teoscar's desire to stay in LA was the worst-kept secret in baseball. Keeping that core of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Ohtani together is the priority, but you need the "glue guys" like Tommy Edman and potentially a returning Hernandez to make the lineup deep enough to survive a 162-game grind.
Mookie's move back to the infield—or potentially staying in right field—is the domino that sets everything else in motion. The guy is a Gold Glover wherever you put him, but for the Los Angeles Dodgers 2025 defense to be elite, they need stability. Constant shuffling mid-season is what leads to those weird errors that cost games in June.
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Why the NL West Isn't a Cakewalk
People love to say the Dodgers have "bought" the division. It's a lazy take. Look at San Diego. The Padres aren't going anywhere. They pushed LA to the absolute brink in the NLDS, and AJ Preller is just as aggressive as Friedman, even if he’s a bit more chaotic about it.
The Diamondbacks are still dangerous, and the Giants are always lurking, trying to find their identity. The Los Angeles Dodgers 2025 season will be a gauntlet because every time they roll into a city like Phoenix or San Francisco, it’s the other team’s World Series. They get everyone’s best pitcher. They get the loudest crowds. It’s exhausting.
To survive that, you need a bench that can play. Will Smith is arguably the best catcher in the league, but he needs rest. Max Muncy’s health is a variable. Gavin Lux finally looked like himself in the second half of last year, and they’ll need that version of him for six months straight.
The Strategy of Deferred Money
We have to mention the finances because it defines this era of Dodgers baseball. By deferring hundreds of millions of dollars, the team has created a unique window. They are effectively operating with a credit card that has a $0 interest rate for the first ten years.
Critics call it a loophole. The Dodgers call it smart business. Regardless of how you feel about it, it allows them to remain players in every single free-agent market. Whether it's Juan Soto or a high-end reliever, the Dodgers are never "out" of the running. This financial flexibility is why the Los Angeles Dodgers 2025 projections look so much better than everyone else's. They can fix their problems with a checkbook in July if the injury bug bites again.
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What Most People Get Wrong About This Team
There’s this idea that the Dodgers are just a bunch of superstars who don't care about the "grind." If you watch Freddie Freeman play with a broken bone in his foot, you know that’s nonsense. This team has a chip on its shoulder. They heard the "Mickey Mouse ring" jokes for years. Winning in 2024 silenced a lot of that, but the hunger for a dynasty is real.
A dynasty isn't two titles in five years. It’s three in four. It’s being the 1990s Yankees. That’s the bar Ohtani and Betts have set for themselves.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're following the Los Angeles Dodgers 2025 journey, keep your eyes on these specific markers:
- Ohtani's Bullpen Sessions: The moment he starts facing live hitters in Spring Training, the betting odds for the NL Cy Young will shift. Watch his velocity, but more importantly, watch his command of the sweeper.
- The Bottom of the Order: The Dodgers win when guys like Miguel Rojas and whoever is playing center field are productive. If the 7-8-9 hitters are hovering around a .750 OPS, this team is unbeatable.
- The Trade Deadline: Friedman rarely stands pat. Even if the team is in first place by ten games in July, expect a move for a high-leverage reliever. The bullpen is the one area that always needs fresh arms by September.
- Yamamoto’s Splitter: In 2024, it was one of the most unhittable pitches in baseball. If he maintains the vertical drop on that pitch over 30 starts, he’s a frontrunner for the Cy Young alongside his teammate.
The road to another trophy goes through Chavez Ravine. It's going to be a long summer, full of high-intensity baseball and probably a few more record-breaking moments from the top of the lineup. Get used to the blue and white dominance; it doesn't look like it's fading anytime soon.
Next Steps for Following the Dodgers:
- Monitor the official MLB transaction wire for any late-winter depth signings, particularly in the bullpen.
- Track the Spring Training innings counts for Glasnow and Yamamoto to gauge the team's "load management" strategy.
- Keep an eye on the Cactus League performance of top prospects who might be used as trade bait or mid-season call-ups.