Dodgers Mentioned As Potential Tarik Skubal Destination

Skubal: Do?

It's obviously just speculation, but here's here's The Athletic's Jim Bowden's argument for why the Dodgers might be in the running for the two-time Cy Young Award winner:

Potential trade return: RHP Emmet Sheehan, LHP Justin Wrobleski, LHP Jackson Ferris and OF Zyhir Hope

The Dodgers already have four aces in their rotation and an exciting development project in Roki Sasaki. However, teams can never have enough starting pitching, so the Dodgers have no reason not to add another ace to the top of the rotation, especially when they can offer a competitive package and have the resources to keep him long-term, as well.

Los Angeles could offer two major-league ready starting pitchers in Sheehan and Wrobleski, and a third pitcher in Ferris who’s getting closer to being major-league ready. Sheehan and Wrobleski have already cut their teeth at the major-league level, even getting important innings during the postseason. Sheehan was especially impressive with the Dodgers this year, putting up a 2.82 ERA in 73 1/3 innings during the regular season.

Ferris should start next season in Triple A after posting a 3.62 ERA in 154 1/3 Double A innings the last two seasons. He and Hope were the return the Dodgers got from the Cubs in the deal that sent Michael Busch to Chicago. Ferris won’t turn 22 until January and has plus stuff but needs to work on his command.

Hope has the highest ceiling among this group. He’s at least two years away from the major leagues, but he reached Double A at the end of the season and has above-average on-base skills to go along with a power-and-speed combination at the plate and a strong glove in center field.

Another idea would be to substitute Tyler Glasnow for Sheehan in the deal. This would give the Tigers a top-of-the-rotation starter to replace Skubal and they would control Glasnow for three more years. Glasnow does not have a no-trade clause with the Dodgers and has $94 million remaining on his contract if the team-half of the 2028 mutual option is exercised.

I didn't realize Glasnow doesn't have a no-trade clause.

2025 World Series Games 6 and 7, From A Blue Jays Fan

We've been passing this youtube thread around some of the Sons in the last week. It's an excellent recap of Games 6 and 7 from the perspective of a Blue Jays fan.

I have to admit, watching these highlights now, even knowing the outcome--it is still so stressful to watch. And that's as a Dodgers fan! But it's worth the 22 minutes; Ross Rheaume did a great job compiling this piece.

Enjoy!

Miguel Rojas' Game 7 Heroics, Revisited (Part 1)

Two weeks later, and I'm still watchiing highlights. But I just wanted to post this one by Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday, when Miguel Rojas hit his game-tying, ninth-inning home run in World Series Game 7. This was such a shock home run, I still get chills!

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Shohei Ohtani Wins Fourth MVP Award; 4x Unanimous Vote Winner

As amazing as Shohei Ohtani has been with the Dodgers in his first two seasons, it begs the question why he didn't reach these heights with the Angels' organization. I still can't figure that one out.

But let's not lose the opportunity to celebrate Ohtani's fourth career MVP award:

Ohtani has won four MVPs over the past five years, all of them in unanimous fashion. Only Barry Bonds has more with seven.

"It's definitely special," Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, said on a conference call. "It makes it special because it was unanimous, and I would like to thank all the writers for voting for me."

Ohtani, 31, had already joined Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players to win MVP in both leagues and the only player among the four major American professional sports with more than one unanimous MVP. Now he is the first player in MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL history to win both an MVP and a championship in each of his first two seasons with a team, according to ESPN Research.

In true Ohtani fashion, he prioritized this year's World Series team victory over his own individual accomplishment:

“The biggest thing,” Ohtani said through an interpreter of this 2025 win, “is obviously being able to win the World Series. That's first and foremost. You know, it's icing on the cake to be able to get an individual award, being crowned MVP, but I just really appreciate the support from all my teammates, everybody around me, my supporting staff.”

The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya also has a nice piece, which ends with this:

In Game 3 of the World Series against the Blue Jays, Ohtani showed the world something else they’d never seen. He’d pounded Toronto through his first four at-bats, slugging a pair of doubles and two home runs to will the Dodgers to a 5-5 tie. Toronto manager John Schneider saw enough and put him on with intentional walks each of the next four times he went to the plate in an eventual 18-inning marathon. When Ohtani came up a ninth time on the night, he was walked on four pitches. It marked the first time in any game since 1942 that a batter had reached safely nine times, and no one had ever reached more than six times in a World Series game.

“We’re still running out of words to describe a once-in-a-ten-generational player,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said.

Now, Ohtani has even more hardware.

Congratulations, Shohei Ohtani!

Dodgers Considering Signing More Guys Following Bad Years

Michael Conforto, walking back to the dugout after one of his 121 Ks in 2025.

I know the Dodgers need to fill some gaps, but I'm pretty concerned about the rumors that we're chasing injury-prone Kyle Tucker and largely-ineffective reliever Devin Williams.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic had the news on Williams:

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes affirmed Tuesday that the Dodgers could sign a reliever as they ramp up for a potential three-peat. Candidates include at least one familiar target already clear at this week’s annual general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas, sources said: two-time All-Star reliever Devin Williams.

The Dodgers had been in the mix to trade for Williams last winter before the Milwaukee Brewers shipped him to the New York Yankees. Williams even said in his introductory news conference with New York, “I kind of thought I’d be going to L.A.”

His Yankees campaign fell off the rails as Williams posted a 4.79 ERA and lost his closer role by the end of the season (though his 2.68 FIP and 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings suggest he was still productive).

Now, there appears to be mutual interest between the two sides early in Williams’ first foray into free agency.

Williams was simply not good for the Yankees, who tried in vain to get him back to form using multiple unsuccessful approaches. And then, there's Tucker, whom ESPN's Jeff Passan says is interesting albeit not 10-years interesting (whew!). At least MLB Trade Rumors' Anthony Franco wisely reminds us there are other options:

The balance could be to turn to the trade market. Steven Kwan, Lars Nootbaar (recovering from heel surgeries), Brendan Donovan and Wilyer Abreu are among the outfield-capable players who might be available. The Dodgers were tied to Kwan and Donovan at last summer’s deadline. They certainly have the farm system to make a strong offer for a controllable outfielder. Rushing could be a trade chip if the Dodgers don’t feel he’d be an above-average regular in left field, for instance.

The Dodgers obviously have the spending capacity to make a run at any free agent as well. They’ve generally preferred making shorter-term commitments at huge annual rates to offering decade-long deals, though. They’ve broken that precedent for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but both were special cases. Ohtani is the best player in the world and Yamamoto was a 25-year-old ace. Tucker is an excellent player but not that kind of unique free agent. The Dodgers would probably be more amenable to a five- or six-year deal at a premium AAV if Tucker winds up going that route, but it stands to reason his camp will try to pull a ten-plus year commitment in the early part of the offseason.

Look, we saw the disaster that was The Michael Conforto Reclamation Project in 2025 (thankfully, not in the regular season). -0.7 WAR, 418 AB, .199 BA, OPS+ of 79. And then, after trotting his sorry ass out to left field all year long, we didn't even consider him in the postseason.

We can't do this again.

(photo by Getty Images, unfortunately I can't credit the specific photographer because the OC Register's stupid paywall blocks the text)

Clayton Kershaw Had Shohei Ohtani's Number

Saw this clip from the Dan Patrick show:

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Kiké Hernandez, On Brand At The Dodgers 2025 World Championship Ceremony

Leave it to Kike on Monday, to show up to the Dodgers' 2025 World Championship Ceremony like the drunken uncle who decides he wants to give an off-the-cuff speech at a wedding:

I've found this video of the uncensored version, but I am not going to spend too much time looking for any other clips. Let's keep this family friendly (at least, for a while)!

The Silence In Rogers Centre

For the last 48 hours, all I have been doing is watching highlights. I think I've got enough content to post daily for a lot of this off-season. I'm going to give it a shot.

Let's start with this one, an amazing view of Game 7's improbable ending. I can't believe that there isn't even one Dodgers fan in the crowd, but I haven't found him or her yet!

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I guess there's some Dodgers fans visible in this shot:

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2025 World Series Game 7 Post-Game Thread: BACK TO BACK WORLD CHAMPIONS!

DODGERS 5, BLUE JAYS 4 (11)
DODGERS WIN WORLD SERIES, 4-3

In the end, it wasn't about ruining baseball. It was about grit.

And the Dodgers had it--arguably, even more than the Toronto Blue Jays.

For the Dodgers to go into Rogers Centre needing to win both games, and then winning Game 7 in an extra-inning classic--amazing. This one will be remembered for all time. And what a gutty win after getting kicked in the nuts early, with Shohei Ohtani giving up a three-run HR to Bo Bichette in an extremely abbreivated start.

Ohtani didn't have it on the mound this night, but the truth is, this Dodger team is much more than even its brightest star. The 2025 Dodgers showcase a roster full of future Hall of Famers, but also honors a panoply of unsung and unlikely heroes:

Max Muncy, whose eighth-inning home run brought us within one run of a comeback.

Miguel Rojas, an unlikely savior with his game-tying home run in the ninth inning.

Andy Pages, who ran over Kiké Hernandez in the ninth inning on a deep gapper fly ball, to preserve the tie game.

Will Smith, overshadowed superstar workhorse catcher, with the game-winning solo home run in the 11th.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, winner of World Series Game 6 and 7, the latter on zero days rest.

Mookie Betts, whose clutch double play to end the 2025 World Series showed off his fully-honed defensive skills at a brand new position.

And let's not forget some of the little guys who got us here:

Justin Dean, whose headsup play to call for the deadball in Game 6 saved us the game.

Will Klein, whose Game 3 heroics earned us a victory in the 18-inning marathon.

Justin Wrobleski, whose fourth-inning inside pitches in Game 7 fired the Dodgers back up.

And of course, Dave Roberts, who made incredible decisions all series long, a grandmaster of chess moves in this World Series.

I'm still processing this one (and, hung over), but I wanted to get something posted.

Congratulations to the 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers. What an incredible ride.

2025 World Series Game 7 Thread: Nov 1 @ Blue Jays, 5p

Shohei Ohtani vs. Max Scherzer.

Here we are, at the final game of the 2025 MLB season, on the first day of November.

Part of my process is to try and look at each game objectively beforehand. And when I look at this one, it doesn't seem like we've got much of a shot (despite fangraphs giving us a slight edge, 57.1%). Here's how I'm seeing it, in the hours before this game:

• Max Scherzer is going to be fired up. Not only does Scherzer have experience starting a World Series Game 7 (Nationals vs. Houston, 2019, in which he went five innings of seven-hit, 2 ER ball in a game the Nationals eventually won), but he also was pretty effective against the Dodgers in 2025 WS Game 3, going 4.1 IP and giving up 3 ER and getting 3 Ks in a game that was decided well after his contributions. In WS Game 3, Will Smith struck out to strand Ohtani in the first; Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernandez struck out after Teoscar Hernandez' solo shot in the second; and the third ER came when Ohtani hit a RBI double off of Mason Fluharty (who relieved Scherzer). Scherzer won't exit this game early. And I'm sure he will be on.
• We still aren't batting very well. Don't let yesterday's win fool you. We finally strung some hits together in the third inning of Game 6, but that was it for us that game; 2-for-6 with RISP, and only four hits with 12 Ks. The 12 Ks in yesterday's Game 6 continues a pretty concerning trend: 15 Ks in Game 5; 13 Ks in the marathon Game 3; 13 Ks in Game 1. So in four of the six World Series games, we are up there flailing, evidenced most clearly by albatrosses Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy (10 Ks each this World Series).
• Our defense has been atrocious. Teoscar Hernandez has already cost us runs on the basepaths this postseason as well as runs in the outfield off of horrible routes and stupid dives. Max Muncy had a misplay early in Game 6 around which Yoshinobu Yamamoto was able to work, but how can we count on those strokes of luck? And in Game 5, the missed double play opportunities rattled Blake Snell and curtailed his outing.
• We have no choices in the bullpen. I get it, all hands on deck and everything, and we'll probably see Tyler Glasnow tonight (after hurling only three pitches yesterday), not to mention possibly Blake Snell. But who else are we going to use in this pen? Roki Sasaki was shaky last night. Wrobleski is a tightrope. And if Blake Treinen enters the game, it's an automatic loss. Dave Roberts has made some deft bullpen choices this entire postseason, but I think he's out of options at this stage.
• Not to mention, we haven't gotten to the Toronto bullpen, which was supposed to be a weakness. After getting Kevin Gausman out yesterday, I thought we might tack on some insurance runs, especially against relievers we've seen before. But Mason Fluharty, Louis Varland, Seranthony Dominguez, and Chris Bassitt all shut us down.
• Rogers Centre is going to rock. The Toronto crowd has brought it all series--abating only in the split second that allowed Kiké Hernandez to hear Andres Gimenez' broken bat and realize he had the chance for a game-ending double play last night!--and it will be the most hostile (albeit polite) crowd the Dodgers have faced all year.

On the other hand...

What if Mookie's breakout yesterday works not just for him, but for the rest of this morobund lineup?

What if we get some heroic relief performances like we saw from Justin Wrobleski yesterday?

What if steady veterans like Miguel Rojas get into the starting lineup for the first time, and continue to play spectacular defense thet solidifies the infield?

What if unsung, late-season additions like Will Klein and Justin Dean suddenly hit the big stage...and totally impress with their brains and talent?

It's baseball. Strange things happen. Like this:

Or this:

Or even, this:

Crazy things happen in baseball, which is why even the best teams only win 60% of the time.

And maybe there is something to Mookie Betts' post-game prediction that Shohei Ohtani's story arc seems to have a flair for the dramatic, where he rises to the occasion.

I don't think Ohtani can do it alone, though. And Yamamoto can't save the team this time, so it is going to depend upon someone else.

The Dodgers have had a lot of lucky bounces and breaks this World Series. Let's see if we have one more in us.