Dodgers Dugout: Which free agents should the Dodgers bring back?

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Is it too soon to start looking at next season?

Well, whether it is too soon or not, the fact is the countdown to next season is upon us. Free agency is here, people are speculating about who signs where.

Just what will the Dodgers look like next season? The big trio of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are all under contract, but what about everyone else?

Let’s take a look:

Free agents
Walker Buehler
Jack Flaherty
Kiké Hernández
Teoscar Hernández
Joe Kelly
Clayton Kershaw
Blake Treinen

Retired
Daniel Hudson
Kevin Kiermaier

Signed for next season
We will list the player, what they will get next season (as listed by baseball-reference.com) and length of contract

Austin Barnes, $3.5 million, signed through 2025
Mookie Betts, $30.4 million, signed through 2032
Ryan Brasier, $4.5 million, signed through 2025
Tommy Edman, $9.5 million, signed through 2025
Freddie Freeman, $27 million, signed through 2027
Tyler Glasnow, $32.5 million, signed through 2027 (team option for 2028)
Max Muncy, $14.5 million, signed through 2025 (team option for 2026)
Shohei Ohtani, $28.22 million, signed through 2033
Miguel Rojas, $5 million, signed through 2025
Will Smith, $16 million, signed through 2033
Chris Taylor, $13 million, signed through 2025 (team option for 2026)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, $14.17 million, signed through 2035

Under team control, eligible for salary arbitration

Anthony Banda
Tony Gonsolin
Brusdar Graterol
Michael Kopech
Gavin Lux
Dustin May
Evan Phillips
Alex Vesia

Under full team control
Ben Casparius
Michael Grove
Edgardo Henriquez
Brent Honeywell Jr.
Kyle Hurt
Landon Knack
Bobby Miller
James Outman
Andy Pages
Emmet Sheehan
Gavin Stone
Justin Wrobleski

A couple of notes: The Dodgers picked up the contract options for Austin Barnes and Miguel Rojas soon after the World Series, which shows you how valuable they are viewed by the team. Clayton Kershaw did not pick up his option for next season but said he wants to remain a Dodger and give them a lot of contract flexibility, so he almost assuredly will be back. But he is a free agent, so that’s where he is listed. Also, the Dodgers owe $2 million in deferred salary to Justin Turner next season.

So, which free agents do the Dodgers re-sign? Well, if they are serious about moving Betts back to the infield, that leaves them with a grand total of zero established outfielders. Which makes the announcement about moving Betts back to the infield even more puzzling.

Right now, the starting outfield is probably Andy Pages, Tommy Edman and James Outman, or Chris Taylor, or top prospect Dalton Rushing. So a big bat in the outfield would be nice, and a reunion with Teoscar Hernández, who says he wants to come back, would be nice. He added some fun and some swagger to the team that had been missing. You have to figure some team out there will offer him a monster deal. MLB Trade Rumors (bookmark that link to keep track of all the free agents) predicts he will get three years, $60 million. Will the Dodgers want to give him that? I would, then again, I’m not privy to all the internal numbers the Dodgers have. It appears the top candidates to land him are the Dodgers, Boston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Toronto, San Francisco, Kansas City, Washington and Cleveland. Please, not the Giants.

Or will the Dodgers go all in on Juan Soto? He is expected to receive somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 years, $600 million. Putting aside how annoying he was during the 2023 Dodgers-Padres NLDS, Soto is a great player and turned 26 only two weeks ago. He has a career OPS+ of 160, making him 60% better than league average (for comparison, Betts’ career OPS+ is 138 and Ohtani is 157). The only active players ahead of Soto are Aaron Judge and Mike Trout, both at 173. Soto’s career numbers are .285/.421/.532. An Ohtani-Betts-Soto-Freeman top of the lineup is pretty good.

Then there’s Walker Buehler. Were the improvements he made in the postseason real? Just adrenaline? Do you risk matching a big deal some other team might give him? He’s predicted to get one year, $15 million.

And what about Jack Flaherty? He’s expected to get five years, $115 million. Blake Treinen?

It’s not going to be an easy offseason for Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes. Championship teams that stand pat rarely repeat, but who do you bring back and who do you let go? And what newcomers do you bring in who could change the winning chemistry in the clubhouse, either enhancing it or damaging it?

Survey time

Here are a series of surveys for you to answer based on the information above. Should the Dodgers bring back Hernández? Buehler? Treinen? Kiké Hernández? Flaherty?

Click here to take part.

Odds and ends

Turns out, Ohtani was hurt a little more than the Dodgers let on in the World Series. He recently had arthroscopic surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder that resulted from the dislocation. It should not impact his hitting because it is his back shoulder (when he stands in the box, the shoulder farthest from the pitcher.) Cody Bellinger’s infamous tear during the 2020 World Series that hurt his hitting for the next two years was to the front shoulder.

Orthopedic surgeon Paul Rothenberg, who is not involved in Ohtani’s treatment, told Jack Harris, “For him, [it’s good] it’s the top hand, and not the one where in the follow-through of the swing you can sometimes fling the bat over your shoulder, because that would be the one motion where it would potentially irritate a torn anterior labrum, just that motion. For me, the fact that he’s a lefty batter, and it’s his left arm, the range of motion required to perform that motion, he should have it. And he should have it without any significant due stress on what was done. So in my opinion, I think he should be OK.”

However, Ohtani probably won’t be able to pitch when the season begins. He was going to be on an innings limit anyway, so this is not perceived as a big setback.

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Clayton McCullough was named manager of the Miami Marlins on Monday, so the Dodgers will need to find a new first base coach. McCullough is considered an expert at analyzing a pitcher’s pickoff move and a big reason the Dodgers were so successful at stealing bases. The rest of the coaching staff is expected back.

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Japanese pitching star Roki Sasaki is eligible to sign with an MLB team, and the Dodgers are a top candidate. Because Sasaki, 23, is under 25, he will be limited to a minor-league contract with a modest signing bonus, so he won’t command the huge deal Yoshinobu Yamamoto received.

In four seasons in Japan, Sasaki went 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA, pitching 394-2/3 innings, giving up 265 hits while striking out 505 and walking 88. He never has pitched more than 129-1/3 innings in a season and would face the same durability and rest issues that accompany Yamamoto. It’s likely Sasaki ends up with the Dodgers or Padres. We’ll talk more about him when he signs.

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The Dodgers said signing Dave Roberts to a multiyear contract extension is a priority this offseason. Sorry, all you Roberts haters.

Scheduling note

Barring major development, the plan is for this newsletter to go into hibernation until after Christmas, when we will return with the annual Hall of Fame voting. If there is big news, we will cover it. Until then, please continue to follow The Times’ Dodgers coverage here and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

Your memories of Fernando

From Anthony Romano: I became a Dodgers fan in 1981. I lived in Connecticut. Much to the dismay of my Yankees fan family, I had become the enemy. That year, at just 9 years old, I watched every Dodgers game that I could or that my parents would let me stay up for, when they played the Mets. I would wait until the following day’s newspaper came out to see the late, out of town box scores. All I cared about was, “Did the Dodgers win, how well did Freddy pitch, and did ‘Pete’ (Pedro Guerrero) hit one out?” They went on to win the World Series against the Yankees and I’ve been a very proud Dodgers fan ever since.

However, my favorite memory of Fernando is from 1993. And it won’t ever show up in a box score and it won’t be remembered by anyone but me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was 1993, and a college buddy of mine took a ride to Fenway Park. The Sox were playing the Orioles. We sat next to the Orioles dugout. What I remember most is, me off by myself to grab a sausage and peppers and seeing two guys coming coming toward the visiting dugout from left field. It was Fernando and one of the coaches. Fernando with his signature gait and jacket draped over his left arm coming closer my way. In a still quiet Fenway, I yelled from 100 yards away, “Hey Freddy!” He looked around and spotted me, the only guy at an Orioles-Red Sox game with a Dodgers cap on, waving his way. He waved back, put his head down and kept walking. For one brief second I felt like Fernando had just seen his biggest fan, and he knew it.

Rest well, Freddy. You gave me a sense of pride, forever.

From Steven T. Miller of Anna, Texas: While I never attended a game when he pitched, like so many others I was a big fan. That made it extra special to meet him in a charity golf event about 10 years ago in Corona.

It was a fundraiser for our community church and a good friend and church member invited me to play. He was a former pro ballplayer and coach and he knew Fernando from his coaching days. He was also a Dodgers season-ticket holder and we attended 15 to 20 games a year together for several years.

We caught up to Fernando on the 12th tee at Dos Lagos golf course. Fernando was waiting for the group ahead to get near the green before hitting his drive. My friend Remi approached him, asked him to come over and meet his foursome and Fernando obliged. He shook our hands and each of us got an autographed golf ball. It’s one of my prized possessions.

When the fairway cleared, he stepped up and crushed his drive. The hole plays about 530 yards. Fernando had about 150 to the green after his drive. What a true athlete, and a very humble and grateful human being. It was truly my honor to have met him.

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Please share your memories of Fernando Valenzuela, to be published in upcoming newsletters. Put Fernando memories in the subject line of your email and send to me at [email protected].

In case you missed it

Marlins hiring Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough as their new manager

Japanese ace Roki Sasaki to be posted, becoming a top Dodgers free-agency target

Why re-signing Teoscar Hernández will be among Dodgers’ most important offseason decisions

Shohei Ohtani’s labrum surgery could delay return to pitching but shouldn’t impact swing

Dodgers to move Mookie Betts to infield in 2025, seek pitching and outfielders this offseason

Family, friends and fans pay tribute to Fernando Valenzuela at public funeral Mass

Shohei Ohtani has surgery to fix torn labrum, expected to be ready for spring training

‘Run it back.’ Will Dodgers keep roster core together for World Series defense?

Clayton Kershaw declines 2025 option but intends to return to Dodgers

L.A. toasts its World Series champion Dodgers: ‘The city needed this parade’

And finally

Hear all the calls of Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series. Watch and listen here.