batting

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Looks like the Dodgers found a new closer for Christmas.

The new closer

Well, the Dodgers did what many did not expect: give another long-term, big-money deal to a closer. They have agreed to a deal with former Mets closer Edwin Díaz on a three-year, $69-million deal. There will be $4.5 million deferred each year and the value of the contract as tabulated for luxury tax purposes will be $21 million per year. It’s a record for annual value for a reliever, breaking the record held by….. Díaz.

Díaz was considered by most to be the top reliever on the market. Last season with the Mets, he was 6-3 with a 1.63 ERA and 28 saves. In 66.1 innings, he gave up 37 hits and walked 21 while striking out 98. He turns 32 in March. He had three blown saves and allowed six of 15 inherited runners to score.

If there is a red flag here, it is that his fastball velocity has dropped from an average of 99 mph in 2023 to 97 mph last season. Which is still pretty fast of course.

You’ll forgive me for not doing somersaults over the deal yet. It could turn out to be an amazing signing. However, as we saw last season with Tanner Scott, relievers are like a box of chocolates: You never know what you are going to get. Díaz has a much better record of success than Scott did. But we’ve seen over the last few seasons what can happen with a signing (Scott, Kirby Yates), decline in form (Blake Treinen) or injuries (Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, Brusdar Graterol).

But the Dodgers did need bullpen help, and they signed the best reliever on the market, so it’s hard to find fault in that.

You can read more on the signing in this story by Jack Harris.

And an analysis, which includes discussion of a possible salary cap, from Bill Shaikin here.

Fernando misses the Hall

The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for the Baseball Hall of Fame met Sunday. It was a 16-member committee, and there were eight candidates to consider: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela.

The only person elected: Kent, wh was named on 14 ballots (you had to be on 12 for election).

The others:

Nine votes
Carlos Delgado

Six
Don Mattingly
Dale Murphy

Fewer than five
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Gary Sheffield
Fernando Valenzuela

The committee made a big mistake in not electing Fernando, and really embarrassed itself by not giving him even five votes.

When you look at the numbers, Fernando is at best a borderline candidate. He won a Cy Young and Rookie of the Year award, but won only 173 games in his career.

However, when you consider what he meant for the sport in addition to his accomplishments as a player, he qualifies. The three players who created more baseball fans than any other are Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Fernando. The fact the Dodgers have a massive Latino following can be traced back to Fernando. He created fans in other cities. He opened MLB to an almost entirely untapped market.

But, some people look only at the numbers. Fernando should be in the Hall. So should Maury Wills. Unfortunately, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that either will make it.

And congratulation to Jeff Kent, who played for the Dodgers but will go into the Hall as a Giant. So, not that big of a congratulations. His election enhances the candidacy of another former Dodger: Chase Utley.

New book

Last week I told you about a new book by Ross Porter, the longtime Dodger announcer who used to do the “Ask Ross Porter” feature in this newsletter. The book, “The Ross Porter Chronicles — Volume 1: The Dodger Years,” is a compendium of interviews he has done over the years with Dodgers, including Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, Ron Cey and Sandy Koufax.

Reaction was overwhelming, and as a result, they sold out of signed books. However, if you still want a signed copy to give to someone as a Christmas present (it would make a great gift for a Dodger fan), you have an alternative. You can order the book at Amazon. Make sure you have it shipped to you before Dec. 21. Ross will be signing books in person on Dec. 21 from 1-3 p.m. at Northridge Sports & Memorabilia, 9514 Reseda Blvd,, Unit 14.

Anyone who buys the book on Amazon can bring it to the signing, and Ross will sign it for free. He’ll also sign any Dodger items you bring.

It’s a great chance for you to meet a Dodger icon. Ross is 87. The icons from our Dodger childhood won’t be there forever. If you have a chance to go out there, I highly recommend it.

In case you missed it

Analysis: Could Dodgers’ Edwin Díaz signing portend more big moves later this offseason?

Starz picks up drama on gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter

Shaikin: Dodgers signing of Edwin Díaz shows they aren’t going to worry about a potential salary cap

Dodgers and Edwin Díaz agree to terms in blockbuster move to shore up bullpen

Former Dodgers, Giants slugger and noted curmudgeon Jeff Kent voted into the Hall of Fame

Fernando Valenzuela falls short of induction into National Baseball Hall of Fame

Metro votes to approve Dodger Stadium gondola project despite protests

And finally

Fernando Valenzuela pitches a no-hitter. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. The glow from back-to-back titles hasn’t quite faded, but we must turn our attention to the 2026 Dodgers.

Who will be on the team?

Will the 2026 Dodgers look different than the 2025 Dodgers? Probably, but it likely won’t be a huge difference. Let’s take a look at the status of the players this offseason:

Under contract
Mookie Betts (signed througn 2032)
Tommy Edman (signed through 2029)
Freddie Freeman (signed through 2027)
Tyler Glasnow (signed through 2027)
Teoscar Hernández (signed through 2027)
Hyeseong Kim (signed through 2027)
Max Muncy (signed through 2026)
Shohei Ohtani (signed through 2033)
Miguel Rojas (signed through 2026)
Tanner Scott (signed through 2028)
Blake Snell (signed through 2029)
Will Smith (signed through 2033)
Blake Treinen (signed through 2026)
Alex Vesia (signed through 2026)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (signed through 2035)

Note: Some of the above players have option years at the end of their contract, but I didn’t want to get too technical so we can focus on next year.

Arbitration eligible
Anthony Banda
Alex Call
Brusdar Graterol
Brock Stewart

Under team control, not eligible for arbitration
Ben Casparius
Jack Dreyer
Alex Freeland
Edgardo Henriquez
Kyle Hurt
Will Klein
Landon Knack
Bobby Miller
Andy Pages
Esteury Ruiz
Dalton Rushing
River Ryan
Roki Sasaki
Emmet Sheehan
Gavin Stone
Justin Wrobleski

The players not eligible for arbitration could theoretically have their contract renewed at the league minimum, which will be around $780,000 next season.

Free agents
Michael Conforto
Tony Gonsolin
Michael Grove
Kiké Hernández
Michael Kopech
Evan Phillips
Kirby Yates

Retired
Clayton Kershaw

Already with a new team
Justin Dean (San Francisco)
Ben Rortvedt (Cincinnati)

So, as you can see, most of the players are set to come back. Rojas was a free agent, but he agreed to a one-year, $5.5-million deal on Wednesday for what he has said before will be his final season. Of the free agents, it’s possible that Hernández and Phillips could return. However, Hernández had surgery on his left elbow (an injury he sustained in May, explaining in part his poor hitting last year) and won’t be able to play until June at the earliest. Phillips is recovering from Tommy John surgery and won’t be back until after the All-Star break. It’s possible the Dodgers don’t re-sign the two of them until after the season begins, unless some other team swoops in with an offer.

The Dodgers could use another outfielder, and the free agents linked with them the most are Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger. Tucker has been a very good hitter since 2019, is a good fielding right fielder, but will probably get a contract for around 10 years and $400 million. Will the Dodgers want to pay that much? Seems unlikely. Bellinger resurrected his career after leaving the Dodgers and would be cheaper, but the Yankees apparently want him back and a reunion with L.A. seems unlikely.

It seems the best bet is they sign a guy to a one-year contract and hope it goes better than it did with Conforto (hey, it worked well with Teoscar), or they trade for someone such as Steven Kwan of Cleveland. The Dodgers have a lot of prospects who aren’t going to get much playing time that they could send in a trade for an outfielder (or a reliever, their other need).

In short, expect a couple of additions to the team. But it’s hard to guess what Andrew Friedman will do. Not many were predicting the signing of Teoscar and Conforto, but they happened. There are many rumors floating out there, but that’s all they are, rumors. When you want to know what’s really happening, check out latimes.com/sports/dodgers.

Jack Harris takes a closer look at all this here.

A couple of roster notes

Not long after the World Series, the Dodgers picked up the $10-million option on Max Muncy‘s contract and the $3.65-million option on Alex Vesia‘s contract.

They also designated Justin Dean for assignment and he was signed by the Giants. Dean’s Dodger career ends with some unusual numbers: 31 games, two at-bats, two runs scored, two stolen bases, one time throwing his hands in the air to signify a dead ball and perhaps saving a World Series victory.

The Dodgers also lost catcher Ben Rortvedt to the Reds after putting him on waivers. Rortvedt quickly became a fan favorite after the Dodgers acquired him for catching depth when Will Smith was injured. Rortvedt became a favorite of pitchers, had some key hits, and surpassed Dalton Rushing in the catching hierarchy, getting almost all of the playing time until Smith returned. He hit .224 in the season and .429 in the postseason. Just before the Dodgers put him on waivers, the Dodgers signed him to a one-year, $1.25-million contract, perhaps hoping that would stop a team from claiming him, but it didn’t work.

Tony Gonsolin and Michael Grove were removed from the 40-man roster and elected to become free agents. It’s possible either could be re-signed, but Gonsolin had surgery in August with a recovery time of 8-10 months, while Grove spent all of last season on the IL with a torn labrum and has a 5.48 ERA in 149 career innings.

How old is too old?

One of the concerns heading into next season is the age of the roster. The star players seem to be aging rapidly. Everyone in the starting lineup, except Pages, was at least 30

The oldest teams in baseball last season, ranked by average age of roster:

Dodgers, 31.48
San Diego, 30.74
Texas, 30.68
Toronto, 30.55
Chicago Cubs, 30.28

The youngest team was Miami at 27.41 years.

At some point, age will catch up to them. Probably not this season, but the window on this team is closing.

Ohtani wins MVP

As expected, Shohei Ohtani was named NL MVP in a unanimous vote. Two years with the Dodgers, two MVP awards. That’s pretty good. It is his fourth MVP award overall, second behind only Barry Bonds, who won seven.

Dodgers with MVP awards

3
Roy Campanella

2
Shohei Ohtani

1
Cody Bellinger
Dolph Camilli
Jake Daubert
Steve Garvey
Kirk Gibson
Clayton Kershaw
Sandy Koufax
Don Newcombe
Jackie Robinson
Dazzy Vance
Maury Wills

New book

Ross Porter, the longtime Dodger announcer who used to do the “Ask Ross Porter” feature in this newsletter, has a new book out title “The Ross Porter Chronicles — Volume 1: The Dodger Years.” It is a compendium of interviews he has done over the years with Dodgers, including Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, Ron Cey and Sandy Koufax.

It is a great trip down memory lane for Dodgers fans and well worth the price. To buy a signed copy, visit rossportersports.com. You can also find it at Amazon.com.

Best dog ever

Forgive the personal indulgence here, but not long after the Dodgers won the World Series, the best dog ever, Lucy, died. We got her for my youngest daughter, Hannah, when she was in first grade and the two of them became inseparable. I’m pretty sure that for the first month, Lucy’s feet never touched the ground because Hannah carried her everywhere. When Hannah went to school, Lucy sat on the back of the couch next to our front window and just looked outside, waiting for her return.

Hannah’s room was on the other side of the house, so sometimes my wife and I would worry about her. One night, Lucy started barking like we have never heard before. We rushed over, and a possum was outside on the fence, but Lucy could see the possum’s shadow in the room. She guarded Hannah always, and we never had to worry again.

Lucy was a little dog, a shih-tzu/maltese mix. And she didn’t consider herself a dog. She was a person trapped in a dog’s body. She was a very good girl, and we all miss her, though we are buoyed by the fact she lived a good, long life, dying when she was 19 years old. She was part of the family, and the best dog ever.

Happiness to all

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and has a wonderful upcoming holiday season. If you are feeling alone during these holidays, I’ve been there. People do care about you, and things will get better. Really. I’m living proof.

In case you missed it

World Series hero Miguel Rojas agrees to return to Dodgers on one-year deal

Plaschke: Thanks for the ride! 13 moments that defined the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series title run

Does the Metro board need to debate the Dodger Stadium gondola? No, says Metro

Shohei Ohtani to participate in World Baseball Classic, but will the Dodgers star pitch?

‘Dodgers Rule’: Graffiti artist Chaka and others draw inspiration — and murals — from World Series champs

How much did they fetch? Dodgers historic homers by Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Miguel Rojas sell at auction

Dodgers non-tender Evan Phillips, but remain interested in re-signing the reliever

Dodgers need an outfielder. Cody Bellinger is a free agent. Could a reunion be possible?

Why Dodgers are already thinking about endurance test that awaits in 2026 three-peat bid

And finally

A recap of the 2025 World Series. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.