Dodgers Place Mookie Betts On Injured List With Oblique Strain
The Dodgers announced this morning that they’ve placed veteran star Mookie Betts on the 10-day injured list. Jack Harris of the California Post relays that, according to manager Dave Roberts, Betts has suffered an oblique strain. Utility man Hyeseong Kim was recalled from the minors in a corresponding move. Maddie Lee of the LA Times first reported that the club was likely to recall Kim earlier this morning, though she noted that they intended to check in with Betts about the status of his back before doing so.
It’s hard to know how long Betts will be sidelined until the Dodgers give a more firm timeline, but oblique strains are notoriously finicky for position players due to the rotational nature of hitting. Even the most minor of oblique strains can require weeks on the shelf thanks to the risk of re-injury, so it’s entirely possible that the Dodgers will be without their star shortstop until sometime in May. A more significant oblique strain could take significantly longer, and a rehab assignment would further push Betts’s timeline back. The good news, however, is that The Athletic’s Katie Woo writes that Roberts didn’t put an immediate timeline on the veteran’s recovery window but that the team is hopeful he could be back before the standard 4-6 week recovery timeline.
Regardless of how long it takes for Betts to return, it goes without saying that losing him is a real blow. The 33-year-old is coming off a down 2025 season where he posted a wRC+ of just 104, but he’s managed to make himself into a solid defensive shortstop and certainly has the ability needed to return to form offensively this year if his health permits it. The loss of Betts’s bat is something the club can paper over in the short-term thanks to the other stars in the lineup and a strong early-season performance from Andy Pages, but it’s going to be harder to stomach his absence from a defensive perspective.
In the past, Miguel Rojas has been tapped to handle shortstop for the Dodgers when Betts has been injured. That still appears to be the case for now, as Rojas is slated to fill in at shortstop during today’s game against lefty Foster Griffin. With that said, Rojas has played the position with less and less frequency over the past few years and is now 37 years old. If the Dodgers find that he’s lost a step defensively at the position, perhaps Kim could be another option given his experience at shortstop for the club last year. MLB.com’s Sonja Chen reports that Kim and Rojas are expected to share shortstop, with prospect Alex Freeland continuing to mostly handle second base. Freeland has more than 3000 innings of experience at the position in the minors but has yet to play the position in the majors.
As for Kim, the 27-year-old has hit a robust .346/.438/.385 in six games at Triple-A since the Dodgers’ surprising decision to option him to the minors for the start of the season, and his 95 wRC+ in 71 games for L.A. last year was more than acceptable for a utility player. Given that the Dodgers have shown a preference for playing both Rojas and Santiago Espinal against primarily left-handed pitching, that paves the way for Kim to get frequent reps against right-handed pitching while Betts is on the shelf as the team’s shortstop next to Freeland at second base. Against lefties, Rojas at shortstop and Espinal at second base seems to be the likely lineup of choice, though the Dodgers could also consider giving Max Muncy a breather to get Freeland (or Kim) in the lineup against a southpaw or two. While Freeland has been protected from lefties to this point in his young MLB career, he is a switch-hitter whose development could benefit from taking extra reps on his weaker side at the big league level.
Mookie Betts Leaves Game Due To Back Injury, Will Undergo MRI
Mookie Betts exited today’s 10-5 Dodgers win over the Nationals in the middle of the first inning due to what the team announced as pain in the shortstop’s right lower back area. In the top of the first, Betts walked and later scored on Freddie Freeman‘s two-run double, but the run around the basepaths apparently aggravated something in his back. Miguel Rojas took over at shortstop for the bottom of the frame.
Postgame, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Katie Woo) that Betts would undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. Regardless of the test results, Betts will miss at least the next couple of games to recover, and Roberts said they’ll have another player on hand in Washington for tomorrow’s game just in case Betts is placed on the injured list.
While more will be known once the MRI is completed, Roberts described Betts’ issue as “more moderate than significant.” It therefore seems possible that Betts might be back in action after just a few days off. The Dodgers don’t play on Thursday, so the team could potentially hold Betts out until Friday to fully evaluate his situation, though clubs can only backdate an IL placement by as many as three days. An IL stint might be in the offing just to be cautious, as Los Angeles’ priority is obviously to keep the eight-time All-Star as healthy as possible for the full season and what the Dodgers expect to be another trip to the World Series.
Betts won his third ring with L.A. (and the fourth of his career) in 2025, though his offensive contributions were much more muted than normal. Betts posted a career-low 104 wRC+ while hitting .258/.326/.406 with 20 homers over 663 plate appearances, though he made up for this relatively modest production with spectacular defense in his first full year as the Dodgers’ shortstop.
A flu-like virus in the early part of the season and then a minor toe fracture in May (that didn’t require an IL stint) may have contributed to Betts’ lack of hitting in 2025, though the limited offense has carried into the early part of the 2026 season. Through today’s game with the Nats, Betts is hitting .179/.281/.429 with two home runs in 32 PA.
Even with Betts not heating up yet, the Dodgers are still 6-2 and look well on their way to another playoff appearance. While Betts is out (for any length of time), Rojas and Alex Freeland will fill in at shortstop. Hyeseong Kim is the likeliest candidate to be called up from Triple-A in the event of a Betts IL placement, as Kim would join Santiago Espinal as the utility infield options.
Dodgers Claim Grant Holman From D-Backs
The Dodgers announced they’ve claimed reliever Grant Holman off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Arizona designated the righty for assignment on Opening Day when they needed a roster spot for a trio of minor league signees who broke camp. Los Angeles moved Gavin Stone from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Holman spent six weeks in the Arizona organization. The D-Backs had claimed him off waivers from the A’s at the beginning of camp. The UC Berkeley product has pitched parts of two seasons in green and gold. Holman combined for 40 appearances from 2024-25, turning in a 4.66 earned run average over 38 2/3 innings. He struck out 18.8% of opponents against a 10.2% walk percentage.
The 25-year-old Holman has missed more bats in the minors, fanning 27.3% of batters faced while allowing exactly three earned runs per nine over five seasons. That includes a 0.70 ERA over 38 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level despite pitching in the Pacific Coast League. Holman has a 94-95 mph fastball and leans mostly on a split as his best secondary offering. He also occasionally mixes in a slider against right-handed hitters.
It’s the second depth acquisition of the day for the Dodgers. They brought in lefty Jake Eder in a cash trade this morning. Both pitchers have a minor league option year and can head to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the time being.
Stone opened the season on the 15-day injured list after experiencing shoulder inflammation at the start of camp. He has avoided any structural damage but didn’t pitch again during Spring Training. Stone missed the entire 2025 season following a labrum and rotator cuff repair on that shoulder in October ’24. The Dodgers will approach the situation with caution.
Manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Stone recently restarted his throwing program (via the MLB.com injury tracker). He’s essentially beginning a new Spring Training build from scratch and is weeks away from a minor league rehab assignment. Stone’s 60-day clock backdates to Opening Day. He’ll be eligible for reinstatement on May 24.
Poll: What Can The Dodgers Expect From Roki Sasaki This Year?
Entering 2025, no addition to the Dodgers was more hyped than young right-hander Roki Sasaki, who signed with the club in international free agency after a protracted recruitment process that involved nearly every team in baseball making an effort to land the talented righty after he was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines.
If you had told baseball fans ahead of the 2025 campaign that the Dodgers would win the World Series, nearly all of them would’ve thought Sasaki would play a much bigger role in that success than he ended up with in reality. That’s not to say Sasaki didn’t contribute, of course. He was a key piece of the Dodgers bullpen during the postseason and pitched to a lights-out 0.84 ERA while collecting three saves in nine appearances during October. Before that, though, he had spent most of the season on the injured list after struggling badly early in the year with a 4.72 ERA and a 6.19 FIP across eight starts where he walked (22) nearly as many batters as he struck out (24).
Given Sasaki’s deep struggles in the rotation last year and his success when pitching out of the bullpen, it would’ve been understandable for fans to expect Sasaki to stay in the bullpen for 2026 while leaving the work in the rotation to more proven starters. That’s not the route the Dodgers ended up going, however, and Sasaki has been installed in the L.A. rotation even after a brutal Spring Training where he was tagged for 15 runs in four starts while walking 28.8% of his opponents and striking out just 23.1%. Spring Training results must be taken with a grain of salt, of course, but results that disastrous brought on by severe control issues can’t be ignored entirely.
It would’ve been easy to expect Sasaki’s rough stint in the rotation last year and his struggles during Spring Training to leave him floundering at the start of the season, but he only added to the enigma surrounding himself when he turned in a strong outing against the Guardians. Sasaki’s first MLB start this year saw him throw four innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts against two walks. An 11.1% walk rate and just four innings of work isn’t exactly what one would hope for from an arm as talented as Sasaki, but it’s undoubtedly a big step in the right direction. If he can keep the walks to a minimum and pitch a bit deeper into games, it’s not hard to imagine the right-hander proving to be a valuable asset to the Dodgers’ rotation mix this year.
Of course, this has all been under the assumption that he’ll stay healthy. That’s never been a safe bet for Sasaki. Prior to spending most of his rookie season in the majors on the injured list, he threw more than 100 innings just twice and topped out at just 129 1/3 frames during his time in Japan. That lack of durability raises some questions about Sasaki’s ability to make 25 to 30 starts at the big league level, even with lower pitch counts than is typically expected for MLB starters. On the other hand, one need look no further than Red Sox lefty Garrett Crochet for an example of a pitcher who struggled to stay on the field in his early years but now is coming off a season where he led the AL in innings pitched.
Even if he can stay healthy, a crowded Dodgers rotation could force him out of the starting group if he doesn’t perform. Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell are all locked into rotation spots when healthy. That leaves just two spots in a six-man rotation for a group of young starting-capable arms that includes Emmet Sheehan, Landon Knack, Gavin Stone, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, River Ryan, and Kyle Hurt in addition to Sasaki. Not all of these players are healthy now and there figure to be injuries on the Dodgers’ pitching staff all throughout the year, but if Sasaki’s results wind up in a similar range as 2025, it might be hard for the front office to view him as one of their six best starters without a significant rash of injuries.
What are MLBTR readers expecting the Dodgers will get out of Roki Sasaki this year? Will he be able to provide 100 innings or more to the pitching staff? And how effective will the innings he does provide wind up being? Have your say in the polls below:
How many innings will Roki Sasaki throw in MLB's regular season this year?
How effective will Roki Sasaki be for the Dodgers in 2026?
Dodgers Acquire Jake Eder
11:07am: The two teams have announced the trade. Los Angeles is sending cash back to Washington. Righty Jake Cousins, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, heads to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot.
10:37am: The Dodgers are set to acquire left-hander Jake Eder from the Nationals, according to Spencer Nusbaum and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Eder was designated for assignment this past weekend when Washington acquired infielder Curtis Mead from the White Sox.
A fourth-round pick by the Marlins in 2020, the now-27-year-old Eder was a touted prospect in Miami’s system before requiring Tommy John surgery at the Double-A level. He was flipped from the Marlins to the White Sox in exchange for Jake Burger at the 2023 trade deadline, but things didn’t pan out in Chicago.
Eder only briefly made the majors with the ChiSox, tossing two innings of relief and allowing one run. He was sitting on a 3.94 ERA in 29 2/3 Double-A frames with the Marlins at the time of that swap before being shelled for 22 runs in 17 1/3 innings with the White Sox’ Double-A affiliate in Birmingham. Eder made another 24 starts with Birminham in 2024 but was torched for a 6.61 ERA.
The Sox traded Eder to the Angels for cash one year ago yesterday. He pitched 18 1/3 MLB frames (4.91 ERA, 19.2 K%, 11.5 BB%) before being traded to the Nationals as part of Washington’s return for veteran relievers Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia. He pitched only seven innings in Washington’s system following that swap. Eder allowed only two earned runs in 6 2/3 spring innings with the Nats (2.70 ERA) but walked six batters in that time.
Eder has typically sat 92-94 mph with his four-seamer and complemented the pitch with a slider and changeup. His slider has graded out well in limited big league time, but opponents have teed off on that changeup, which is part of the reason righties have a .289/.407/.422 line against him in 54 plate appearances. During this spring’s small sample of work, he noticeably ramped up his slider usage and scaled back the frequency of his changeups.
Eder has a minor league option remaining, so the Dodgers don’t have to plug him right onto the big league roster. He can head to Oklahoma City and serve as Triple-A depth. Los Angeles currently has four lefties in its major league bullpen — Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer, Justin Wrobleski — but Eder can provide some length, should the need arise. Of course, it also shouldn’t come as a surprise if the Dodgers try to quickly run Eder through waivers themselves the next time they need a 40-man roster spot, hoping that they can pass hum through unclaimed and retain him as non-roster depth.
Mets To Hire J.D. Martinez As Special Advisor
The Mets are going to hire J.D. Martinez as a special advisor to baseball operations, reports Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. Though there’s no mention of retirement, Martinez is now 38 years old and hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2024, so this seems to signal that he is moving into his post-playing days.
Martinez had a long stretch as one of the best hitters in the majors but it didn’t always seem like it would play out that way. He was drafted by the Astros with a 20th-round pick back in 2009. He made it to the big leagues in 2011 but didn’t immediately flourish. By the end of the 2013 season, he had taken 975 trips to the plate but had produced a tepid .251/.300/.387 line. That resulted in an 87 wRC+, indicating he was 13% worse than league average. Martinez was a corner outfielder without much speed, so it was hard for him to provide value when he wasn’t hitting. The Astros gave up, releasing Martinez in March of 2014.
He was scooped up by the Tigers, who signed him to a minor league deal. That allowed Detroit to benefit from Martinez breaking out offensively. He hit ten home runs in 17 Triple-A games to begin the season and was up in the majors three weeks into April. He hit 23 more home runs in the big leagues that year, slashing .315/.358/.553. He added two more long balls in the postseason, though the Tigers were eliminated by the Orioles in the ALDS.
The Tigers’ competitive window closed, though Martinez continued to perform. He hit another 38 home runs in 2015 while putting up a .282/.344/.535 line. He was selected to his first All-Star team that summer and went on to win a Silver Slugger award. In 2016, he missed time due to an elbow injury and only got into 120 games but still hit another 22 home runs and slashed .307/.373/.535.
In 2017, Martinez was an impending free agent and the Tigers were in rough shape, as they would eventually lose 95 games that year. That made Martinez a logical summer trade chip, so he was flipped to the Diamondbacks for Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcántara and Jose King.
It was a tremendous pick-up for the Snakes, as Martinez went on a torrid power binge. He hit 29 home runs in just 67 games for Arizona down the stretch, including a four-homer game on September 4th, the 18th instance of a four-homer game in major league history. He helped the Snakes win 93 games and make the playoffs, though they were ultimately knocked out by the Dodgers in the NLDS.
He finished the season with 45 home runs overall and a combined .303/.376/.690 line, giving him a fantastic platform for free agency. The midseason trade also helped, as it meant he was ineligible to receive a qualifying offer. The Red Sox gave him a $110MM deal over five years to get him to Fenway, with opt-outs after the second, third and fourth years.
The deal paid immediate dividends for Boston. Martinez hit 43 home runs for them in 2018, helping mount a strong .330/.402/.629 line. The team won 108 games and then cruised through the postseason, never losing more than one game in a series. Martinez added three playoff home runs with a .300/.403/.520 line as the Sox won the World Series for the fourth time in the 15-year span which started in 2004.
Martinez continued hitting over the course of his deal, except in the shortened 2020 season, but never used his opt-outs. He played out the entirety of the five-year pact with Boston, launching 130 home runs with a .292/.363/.526 batting line.
He returned to free agency but was limited to short-term offers ahead of his age-35 season. He signed a one-year, $10MM deal with the Dodgers for 2023. He hit 33 home runs but saw his strikeout rate jump to 31.1%, four points above his previous career high. The Dodgers won 100 games but were defeated by the Diamondbacks in the NLDS.
Martinez then joined the Mets for the 2024 season via a one-year deal, signed late in March. That was technically worth $12MM but with notable deferrals. Martinez lowered his strikeout rate by a few ticks relative to the prior season but saw his home run total essentially halved to 16, in roughly the same number of plate appearances. The Mets won 89 games and progressed as far as the NLCS before losing to the Dodgers.
Shortly after the Mets were eliminated, Martinez revealed that he thought about hanging up his spikes when he remained unsigned deep into the 2023-24 offseason.“Here I am, the team’s breaking in five days, and I don’t even have a team yet,” he said. “Your brain goes into a weird mode, where you’re like ‘Am I playing? Am I not? Am I playing? Am I not? Is this it? Am I retired?'” Going into 2025, his name popped up in some rumors but he didn’t sign anywhere and sat out the season.
Now it seems Martinez is moving into the next phase of his career. Assuming his playing days are over, he finishes his career with 6,865 plate appearances in 1,642 games played. He racked up 1,741 hits, including 331 home runs. He scored 897 runs and drove in 1,071. He made six All-Star teams, won three Silver Slugger awards and one World Series ring. FanGraphs credits him with 32.1 wins above replacement, with Baseball Reference putting him a bit lower at 30.8 WAR. B-Ref pegs his career earnings just under $154MM. He had an incredible six-year peak from 2014 to 2019 during which he slashed .307/.373/.581. His 151 wRC+ for that span was topped only by Mike Trout, among hitters with at least 2,000 plate appearances.
We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Martinez on his excellent career and wish him the best as he pivots to the next phase of his life.
Photos courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Rick Osentoski, Kim Klement, Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Dodgers, Andy Pages Haven’t Yet Discussed Contract Extension
Former top-100 prospect Andy Pages established himself as an everyday player in his second Major League season, batting .272/.313/.461 with 27 homers over 624 plate appearances for the Dodgers in 2025. Now settled in as the regular center fielder, Pages’ spot in the team’s plans has yet to truly extend into their longer-term future, as The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports that the Dodgers “have not broached any extension talks with” Pages and his reps at PRIME.
Pages is controlled through the 2030 season already, so he’ll be 30 when he is eligible for free agency in the 2030-31 offseason. There’s no rush for Los Angeles to necessarily lock Pages up already, though since he is on pace to achieve Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility, an extension would allow the Dodgers to gain some cost certainty over what might be a sharply increasing price tag through Pages’ four arb years.
Then again, money isn’t exactly a pressing concern for the big-budget Dodgers. This same willingness to spend is also a potential reason to forego an extension, as L.A. might want the flexibility to pivot to another top free agent or trade target in the outfield. For instance, the outfield wasn’t necessarily a huge area of need for the club this winter, yet the Dodgers still broke the bank for a four-year, $240MM deal with Kyle Tucker (with $30MM in deferred money and two opt-out clauses).
If Pages “only” continues his 2025 level of production going forward, that still means the Dodgers have a 4.1 fWAR player who contributes above-average (113 wRC+) offense and decent glovework in center field. That doesn’t mean Los Angeles couldn’t move Pages into a corner outfield role if a star center fielder becomes available, or if Tucker opts out or if Teoscar Hernandez isn’t retained when the guaranteed portion of his contract is up after 2027. The Dodgers also have a long list of highly-touted outfield prospects in the pipeline, so any or all of Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, Eduardo Quintero, James Tibbs III, or Mike Sirota could soon be on the radar for big-league duty.
This being said, the Dodgers haven’t been shy about locking up players they view as key roster pieces. It could be that the team wants to see one more full year of production from Pages before exploring an extension, just to give the team a little more data. Not that the Dodgers would put more weight on the small sample size of the postseason over the longer sample of regular-season play, but L.A. might also want to see how Pages rebounds from a dreadful .211 OPS over 55 playoff plate appearances in 2025.
Injury Notes: Crawford, Kerkering, Murphy, Hernández
Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford is currently on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, though he is not expected to have a lengthy absence. Indeed, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that Crawford is with the team today and participated in batting practice. He is also slated for a full infield workout, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. He will remain with the team through the weekend before starting a Triple-A rehab assignment.
The update bodes well for Mariners fans, who will be glad to have their longtime shortstop back in action after just a few weeks. Crawford has generally been healthy since the 2021 season, apart from two missed months in 2024 due to a right oblique strain and a hand fracture. Assuming his rehab goes well, he’ll be on track for another season of 140 or more games. Last year, Crawford posted a 113 wRC+ in 157 games, showing his usual plate discipline with an 11.3% walk rate and an 88th-percentile chase rate. His defense regressed somewhat, but he was viewed positively by Defensive Runs Saved as recently as 2024. Leo Rivas will continue to play short for the Mariners while Crawford recovers.
A few more injury updates from around the league:
- Phillies right-hander Orion Kerkering threw a scoreless inning in his first rehab appearance at Triple-A. The next step is for him to throw in back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to manager Rob Thomson (link via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). Kerkering was placed on the 15-day IL three days ago with a right hamstring strain, though he did pitch in minor league games near the end of camp. Judging by that, he should be back at some point in mid-April. Kerkering is coming off a solid 3.30 ERA in 60 relief innings in 2025, albeit with less encouraging peripherals. The late innings are covered by Jhoan Duran, Jose Alvarado, and Brad Keller, so Kerkering will take a middle relief role upon his return.
- Elsewhere in the NL East, Braves catcher Sean Murphy is participating in baseball activities and could start a rehab assignment soon, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The 31-year-old Murphy underwent hip surgery in September, and Bowman previously suggested that Murphy hoped to return some time in May. With last year’s NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin holding down the fort, the team can afford to proceed cautiously with Murphy’s rehab. That could make a late May return the goal for Atlanta. Murphy posted slightly below average offense in 2025, although his defense was excellent as usual. Baldwin, in contrast, was 25% better than average offensively last year, with -2 DRS behind the plate.
- Dodgers utilityman Enrique Hernández took batting practice on the field today. He is also progressing on defense, fielding grounders and making throws according to manager Dave Roberts (link via Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times). Roberts added that he would be “shocked” if Hernández did not return from the 60-day IL as soon as he is eligible on May 24. Hernández didn’t offer much with the bat last year, with a wRC+ of 70. His 5 Outs Above Average showed that his defense was still an asset, and he remains a fan favorite in Los Angeles thanks to his postseason heroics. He is playing on a $4.5MM salary in his 13th big-league season.
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian, Imagn Images
Dodgers Trade Damon Keith To Brewers
The Dodgers are trading minor league outfielder Damon Keith to the Brewers for cash, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The 25-year-old is expected to begin his tenure in the Milwaukee organization in Double-A.
Keith played the entire 2025 season at that level. He struggled to a .226/.296/.386 line with 11 home runs across 362 plate appearances. Keith swung and missed too often and struck out a near-31% clip. Whiffs have been an issue for the 6’3″ outfielder going back to his selection in the 18th round of the 2021 draft.
Eric Longenhagen, James Fegan and Brendan Gawlowski gave Keith an honorable mention in their writeup of the Dodgers’ farm system in December. They praised his right-handed power while unsurprisingly flagging a lack of bat control that has led to the whiffs. Keith ranked among L.A.’s top 30 prospects at Baseball America a few seasons ago but has fallen off the list as his strikeouts climbed at the higher levels.
Keith hasn’t played center field since he was in High-A during the 2023 season. He’s a corner bat who’ll look to put himself on the radar for a Milwaukee organization with a lot of outfield depth. Keith has gone unselected in the past two Rule 5 drafts. He’ll be eligible again next offseason but won’t reach minor league free agency until the end of the 2027 season if the Brewers don’t put him on the 40-man roster before then.
Dodgers Hire Clayton Kershaw As Special Assistant
Clayton Kershaw is back with the Dodgers in a non-playing role. The club hired the future Hall of Famer as a special assistant in their front office, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Kershaw retired at the end of the 2025 season, though he was included on the Team USA roster for this spring’s World Baseball Classic. That was largely symbolic, as he didn’t make an appearance and was subbed off the roster before the semifinals.
Kershaw tells Sonja Chen of MLB.com he’ll “be involved” with the organization. Special assistant roles around the league vary. Some of these hirings are ceremonial or public relations moves, while others involve working with MLB players and/or prospects during Spring Training and throughout the season.
In either case, it’s fitting that Kershaw remains a Dodger in some capacity. He spent all of his legendary career in Dodger blue, posting a 2.53 ERA in a little under 3000 innings. Kershaw won the NL MVP in 2014 and is still the most recent pitcher to do so. He won five ERA titles, three Cy Young awards, and three championships.
Kershaw is in L.A. this weekend for the season-opening series against the Diamondbacks. He was part of NBC’s broadcast team for last night’s opener. He’s back at Dodger Stadium tonight as part of the World Series ring ceremony.