Dodgers’ depth is already showing
by Cary Osborne
If the Tokyo Series were any indication, when the Dodgers have to shift, they go from Plan A to Plan A2 — not Plan B.
That often-used word with this team — depth — appears to be stronger than recent years and has been tapped into already.
Even without Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in last Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s season-opening games in Japan, the Dodgers were still operating from positions of strength at shortstop and first base, respectively.
That will be the case as well when they re-open the season on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers.
The team is being cautious with veteran relievers Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech, who won’t be on the re-opening day 26-man roster. Tyler Glasnow — last season’s Opening Day starter — won’t debut in the regular season until the Atlanta series at Dodger Stadium, which begins March 31.
“Obviously, we’ve had a lot of great rosters, but this is probably the most talented roster — and I keep saying that it seems like every year that we’ve had,” said manager Dave Roberts. “You lose your two best players 48 hours before Opening Day (Betts and Freeman) and to still move forward is pretty remarkable. And to kind of keep guys sharp, relevant, to make sure I get those guys that are on the bench current, keep them relevant is probably the most flexibility that we’ve had.”
The Dodgers won both games of the Tokyo Series with Miguel Rojas at shortstop and Kiké Hernández at first base.
Roberts announced that two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell will start the home opener and make his Dodger debut on Thursday. He will be followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto and then Roki Sasaki. That creates a potential series of Glasnow, Dustin May and Snell starting against Atlanta.
Moving to the bullpen, Phillips (the Dodgers’ saves leader over the past two seasons) and Kopech (who had a 1.13 ERA for the Dodgers after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox before the 2024 trade deadline) are on the injured list with shoulder ailments.
The Dodgers have the affordability to be patient with Phillips and Kopech.
Phillips, Roberts said, looked good in live batting practice on Saturday and will throw another inning in live BP during this Freeway Series. Kopech, Roberts said, is in a holding pattern, though said it’s not a setback. Kopech didn’t appear in any Spring Training games.
The expectation is Betts and Freeman will be ready to start the home opener. Betts lost a considerable amount of weight due to an illness and was unable to play in Tokyo. Freeman, who battled through a rib injury during the World Series, was unable to play in Tokyo because of left rib discomfort.
Freeman is in the lineup for Sunday’s Freeway Series opener. Betts was originally in the lineup on Sunday, but was a late scratch.
