The Dodgers’ three-peat talk is getting real, Betts is making moves, and Sasaki is throwing surprises—mailbag Part 2 breaks down what it all means.NL

Greetings. If you are reading this, the Los Angeles Dodgers have not broken baseball again since Part 1 of this month’s mailbag was posted at The Athletic. You can still read that here. Now, let’s get on to the rest of the questions. Thank you again to all who submitted them, some of which were edited for clarity and brevity.

What are your thoughts around how the Dodgers will manage around Mookie’s offensive decline trend? — Daniel Y.

The Dodgers are essentially banking on it being a one-year downswing caused by 1) an offseason where his usual swing work was replaced by a shortstop boot camp and 2) a stomach virus that sapped his strength right at Opening Day. The reality is, it’s hard to completely parse out blame for what happened with Betts’ 2025 season. But the hope is that a normal offseason for him (where the work at shortstop won’t have to be as extreme) will set him up for offensive improvement.

He’s turned himself into an elite defensive shortstop, which lowers what the Dodgers really need from him offensively to be a productive player – he produced more Baseball Reference WAR in 2025 than he did in 2024 – but he won’t stick at the position forever, and the team would love to get more juice out of his bat again.

How do the Dodgers avoid all the pitching injuries next year, change up staff, training methods or amenities? — Jack Z.

This is a frequent subject of these questions in the last couple of seasons. The Dodgers’ injuries appear to be a feature as much as they are a bug. They have a higher risk tolerance for players with extensive injury histories than other clubs because they have the resources to supplement those players with depth, and they’re banking on the high end of their range of outcomes hitting enough to make it all worth it.

They managed to time up the best two months of Michael Kopech’s career in 2024, for example, and were able to absorb his 2025 injuries as a result of it. The biggest indicator for future injury is past injury, and the Dodgers are more willing than most to acquire several players with past injury histories.

On the position player side, they had the oldest group in the majors last season. That will contribute to injuries.

That, to me, is a bigger explanation for injuries than anything else, and the Dodgers’ amenities are already well-regarded and freshly renovated as part of the Dodger Stadium remodel last offseason.

Josue De Paula is one of the top outfield prospects for the Dodgers.Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

After a season where the Dodgers sleepwalked through the first 120 games of the regular season because of World Series hangover and injuries before locking in down the stretch, how do you envision Dave Roberts keeping this coming year’s squad engaged through 162 games this season? — Bryan W.

This will be an intriguing question to watch play out. The party line to date has been banking on the club’s leaders and superstars, effectively saying that the example set forth by the likes of a Shohei Ohtani, a Mookie Betts, a Freddie Freeman or others behind the scenes will keep the culture in the same place of urgency to keep driving forward. It helps not to start the season overseas, as the Dodgers have each of the last two seasons. But this is one we will have to see play out.

If they don’t trade any of their top three outfield prospects, when are they realistically expected to make an impact at the major league level? — Mendeskhan

The top three should effectively be a top four of Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, Mike Sirota and Eduardo Quintero, who have separated themselves and represent some of the most intriguing names of their outfield prospect surplus.

Of those four, the quickest to the big leagues could be De Paula, who, with another leap forward, could become a real conversation in late 2026 or sometime in 2027, when he’d still be just 22 years old. It could also be Sirota, who is already 22 years old and could move quickly in 2026. Hope could line up with a similar timeline.

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But two outfield names who could appear in the bigs before any of the four both arrived in the same trade last July: James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard, who came from the Boston Red Sox for Dustin May. Keep those names on the radar, along with Ryan Ward, who could all debut.

What other bullpen moves might be in the works? — Cedric B.

I’d expect the Dodgers’ major external moves to be done in the bullpen. That doesn’t mean they’re done looking. The team could still find an intriguing arm or two via trade, and will certainly have a few interesting names in big league camp who could appear in the big leagues this year. But barring a reunion with Evan Phillips (expected back midseason) or Michael Kopech (should his market not materialize), I’d expect the majority of the Dodgers’ work to be done on that front.

What are the biggest lessons and takeaways that Roki Sasaki and the team have taken from his outstanding postseason run that they can apply to him as a starter henceforth? — Tae K.

The biggest thing, along with health, the Dodgers can hope to bank on from Roki Sasaki’s midseason transformation is his mechanics. The cues they implemented to get him to use his lower half more were what was needed to get his velocity back to a place where his fastball couldn’t get crushed in the strike zone. That allowed Sasaki to be in the strike zone more often, which helped out his unique splitter.

If the velocity is close to where it needs to be, then Sasaki at least has the building blocks for an effective starter, even if his new cutter doesn’t wind up being a viable pitch.

Assuming he does not get traded, what is the long-term plan for Alex Freeland? Max Muncy’s successor at third? Miguel Rojas’ successor as infield utility? Pure trade bait? — Debra B.

I think much of it depends on where Alex Freeland shows his ceiling to be. He’s a switch-hitter, but the Dodgers appeared to only trust him as a left-handed hitter against big league pitching in his first stint in the big leagues. Freeland’s minor league numbers backed that up, with an .840 OPS hitting left-handed and a .676 OPS hitting right-handed.

He’s seen as a good defender at second and third base, but not as an everyday shortstop at this point. His chance at regular playing time this season largely depends on whether an injury opens up a spot, as the roster is currently constructed.

Freeland’s still clearly a development success story, especially if his gains at making contact in the strike zone stick once again in 2025. If he can do that more regularly against big league pitching — his contact rate was 72.2 percent in the bigs last year, as opposed to 78.8 percent in the minors — then maybe his offensive profile plays a little bit better.

Do you think we will see more of Hyeseong Kim? — Mark S.

This will be a big spring for Hyeseong Kim, who must continue to retool his swing to show he can stick as a big league regular. While the surface numbers were certainly good for Kim in the majors last year, he showed some clear flaws that teams looked to expose as he got more reps. Kim chases too much below the zone, with not enough contact in the strike zone to make up for it. Tough lefties make life difficult for him.

While the other aspects of his game, such as his speed and defense, are big league ready, there are continued adjustments he needs to make with his bat. The Dodgers rave about Kim’s work behind the scenes and willingness to adjust, which is a point in his favor. It’s just a matter of whether those tweaks click into place.

Apparently Arizona is looking to trade Ketel Marte. Is there any chance the Dodgers are interested? If not, why not? — Mark S.

The Dodgers surely would love to add a player like Ketel Marte, who has been a thorn in their side. But do you know the last time the Diamondbacks traded a big leaguer with the Dodgers? The Jon Garland trade in 2009. Some franchises, like, say, the Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels (who last completed a big league trade with the Dodgers for Andrew Heaney in 2014), Colorado Rockies (Juan Nicasio, 2014), etc., are less than willing to deal with a division (or regional) rival.

Maybe, in the Rockies’ case, that could shift. After all, former Dodgers front office member Josh Byrnes is Colorado’s general manager.

Dalton Rushing needs a development lane. Has there been any discussion of either load managing Will Smith or even running a two-catcher system as they do in ATL? — Jay O.

First, the Dodgers need to get Dalton Rushing’s swing back to a functional place that doesn’t require everyday at-bats. As of now, it appears that Rushing is set for a similar role as the one he was supposed to have last season. It’s likely not ideal for his development at the plate, but the team is prioritizing continuing his progress in handling a pitching staff first.

That doesn’t mean they won’t look for more at-bats for Rushing. General manager Brandon Gomes floated the idea of more days off at first base for Freddie Freeman, which is one avenue.

Thanks for doing this. With the recent hiring of Rocco Baldelli and his experience in the front office and on the field, what type of projects do you think he will be involved with? Is this a one-year relationship, or do you see it expanding beyond the 2026 season? — Paul D.

The term “special assistant” is usually vague, and that’s because the role tends to be just that. It can mean a lot of things depending on who it is. Jose Vizcaino and Ron Roenicke, for example, are a regular presence at Dodger Stadium, almost as an additional member of the coaching staff.

Chris Archer spent his first few days in the front office in the suite at the Winter Meetings alongside Gomes, getting a feel for planning meetings as much as dealing with player development staffing decisions. Raúl Ibañez will pop in and out of the ballpark and is a more regular presence around the postseason, but is someone whom Andy Pages bounced ideas off of in his breakout year. You’ll see Tyson Ross observing bullpen sessions in spring training.

I’d expect Rocco Baldelli to be around this season. I also would not be shocked whatsoever if he’s interviewing for managerial openings next October.