Dodgers Dugout: It’s Opening Day, er, Night! Here’s where the Dodgers will finish in NL West

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and here we go. Another season of anticipation, but this time we have no idea how good this team really is.

The Dodgers begin their 2023 season tonight with the home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks. What to expect? Who knows.

For once, we don’t know if the Dodgers will make the playoffs. With six of the 15 NL teams making the playoffs, they probably will, and seeing how good they really are will make this one of the more exciting regular seasons in recent memory. Let’s look at the positives and negatives.

Any team that has Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Will Smith already has a leg up on most teams. Freeman and Betts were recently listed by MLB as two of the 10 best players in the majors. Smith is the best catcher in the NL not named J.T. Realmuto. That’s a huge benefit.

However, there are some potential gaping holes. Miguel Rojas, who replaced the injured Gavin Lux at shortstop, has never been much of a hitter. Gold Glove level defense though. He’s sort of the new Cody Bellinger, a guy who can’t hit but who saves runs with his glove. Chris Taylor, who had a poor 2022, hit only .158 this spring with 25 strikeouts in 57 at-bats. Max Muncy hit .196 last year, so he has to prove himself all over again. Things looked good in spring and he is one guy who could definitely benefit from the shift ban. Trayce Thompson had a great second half with the Dodgers, but do we believe a great half-season or the fact he always struggled at the plate before that and hit .086 this spring?

J.D. Martinez is tasked with replacing Justin Turner. They had similar seasons last year, but can he fill that void?

Miguel Vargas, who will be the regular second baseman, is a top prospect but an unproven commodity in the majors. He could be gold. He could be fool’s gold. We just have to wait and see.

James Outman, who Dave Roberts said will receive the lion’s share of playing time in center, had a great 2022 in the minors and with the Dodgers. He tied for the team lead with three homers this spring. He looks for real. Will he be? If he is, losing Trea Turner‘s bat won’t be so bad after all.

Turning to pitching, the Dodgers should be as good as usual on the mound, but there are questions. Julio Urías takes his rightful place as staff ace. Clayton Kershaw will be solid, but can he pitch a full season? Can Dustin May rebound from surgery? Is Noah Syndergaard this year’s Tyler Anderson? Can Ryan Pepiot fill in adequately for an injured Tony Gonsolin in the first month of the season?

And will there be a regular closer? It appears the Dodgers will close with whomever is the best matchup each game. Which is fine. Often, the closer role is overrated and in some games it’s actually the setup guy who gets the most important outs. The Dodgers have a solid bullpen.

What does all this mean? We don’t know. Some fans online are saying the Dodgers will be terrible this year. They don’t know that anymore than the people who say this is a World Series team. It’s all just guesswork until the team plays about 40 games. Then we will have a better idea of what kind of season this will be. And not knowing what’s going to happen makes this an exciting season to watch.

Prediction: Dodgers finish 90-72, second place in the NL West. They get a wild-card spot. After that, well, we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.

OPENING NIGHT ROSTER

Catchers (2)
Austin Barnes
Will Smith

Infielders (4)
Freddie Freeman
Max Muncy
Miguel Rojas
Miguel Vargas

Outfielders (6)
Mookie Betts
Jason Heyward
James Outman
David Peralta
Chris Taylor
Trayce Thompson

Designated hitter (1)
J.D. Martinez

Note: Taylor can play any infield position, and Betts can also play second base.

Starting rotation
*Clayton Kershaw
Dustin May
Ryan Pepiot
Noah Syndergaard
*Julio Urías

Bullpen
Yency Almonte
Phil Bickford
*Caleb Ferguson
Brusdar Graterol
Andre Jackson
Shelby Miller
Evan Phillips
*Alex Vesia

*-left-handed

On the injured list
RHP Walker Buehler, RHP J.P Feyereisen, RHP Tony Gonsolin, RHP Daniel Hudson, INF Gavin Lux, RHP Alex Reyes, RHP Blake Treinen.

New things at Dodger Stadium this year

The Dodgers have made some changes to Dodger Stadium and have introduced some new food items this season. A look:

—They replaced all field lights with LED lights, which are more energy efficient and have color-changing abilities.

—New furniture and seating in the Stadium Club and a new Stadium Club LED Board and sound system.

—Vin Scully Ring Display. The hallway behind the Vin Scully Press Box will have a display case featuring a collection of some of Vin Scully’s most significant awards.

—Gil Hodges’ retired number has been added to the Retired Numbers Plaza at the Top of the Park.

New food items:

—LA Cheesesteak (Stand 208 field): A Philly cheesesteak sandwich on an Amoroso roll, with Cheez Whiz and sautéed beef; a wild mushroom Philly sandwich, a Philly chicken sandwich featuring an Amoroso roll, sauteed chicken, Kraft mayo and provolone cheese.

—Dunkin (Stand 246 field) & Trolley Treats (Stand 702 reserved): Fried cheesecake on a stick, which is a NY-style cheesecake hand-dipped in tempura batter, topped with powdered sugar and raspberry sauce. Defibrillator and/or insulin is not included.

—Flamin’ Hot Corner (Stand 247 field ): A hot link corn dog, which is a chipotle sausage hand-dipped in corn batter, covered with cheese sauce and hot Cheeto dust.

—LA Grille (Stand 245 field): A Mediterranean chicken bowl which includes marinated chicken, basmati rice, diced tomatoes, cucumber salad, hummus, tzatziki and shredded red cabbage salad; a Mediterranean falafel bowl that includes falafel, basmati rice, diced tomatoes, cucumber salad, hummus, tzatziki and shredded red cabbage salad; Greek fries, which are crinkle cut fries, gyro meat, feta cream sauce, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, sliced red onions, pepperoncini and feta cheese.

—Think Blue BBQ (Stand 251 field): New barbecue platter featuring half-rack smoked pork ribs, smoked half chicken, smoked brisket, mac and cheese, cornbread, fresh corn and baked beans.

—Taqueria (Stand 360 center field): Potato taquitos, a six-inch tortilla, mashed potatoes, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, charred jalapeño aioli and queso fresco.

—Dodger Deli (Stand 437 loge): Chicken pesto panini, which is sourdough bread, sliced marinated chicken, herb aioli, sliced tomatoes and Swiss cheese.

—Fan Fare (Stand 731 reserved): Chicken sandwich, which includes grilled chicken, leaf lettuce, sliced tomatoes, Swiss cheese, garlic aioli and a potato bun.

Up next

Thursday: Arizona (Zac Gallen) at Dodgers (Julio Urías), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Friday: Arizona (Merrill Kelly) at Dodgers (Dustin May), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Saturday: Arizona (*Madison Bumgarner) at Dodgers (*Clayton Kershaw), 6 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Sunday: Arizona (Zach Davies) at Dodgers (Noah Syndergaard), 1 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Monday: Colorado (Ryan Feltner) at Dodgers (Ryan Pepiot), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Tuesday: Colorado (German Marquez) at Dodgers ( Urías), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

In case you missed it

Six biggest questions the Dodgers face as they open an unpredictable season

After 15 seasons, Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw has perfected his control

Dodgers want to build next era of great teams. But can they be great in 2023, too?

‘We’ve just got to figure it out.’ Dodgers, Angels brace for pitch clock implications

Plaschke: Dodgers open season unsettled and uncertain. And that’s a good thing

Injured Dodgers infielder Gavin Lux plans on playing a lot of video games

Healthy and motivated, Max Muncy out to prove he’s no baseball bum

And finally

Tommy Lasorda on “Police Squad!” Watch and listen here.