One week into Major League Baseball’s offseason, the Dodgers are still in the process of finalizing their plans for this upcoming winter.
They’re admittedly playing “a little bit of catch-up going on right now,” as general manager Brandon Gomes put it — but are happy to be after spending the last month winning the World Series.
“Very good problem for us to have,” Gomes said Wednesday. “Happily trade that every year.”
Still, the Dodgers’ offseason did begin to come into focus at this week’s general manager meetings at the JW Marriott outside of San Antonio.
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And with the hot stove set to fully heat up over the rest of this month, here are a few takeaways on where the team stands.
Mookie Betts back to infield
The big news from Gomes’ media session on Wednesday: Mookie Betts is likely heading back to the infield in 2025.
Betts, of course, started this season as the Dodgers’ everyday shortstop after playing the infield part time (mostly at second base) in 2023. He moved back to his traditional spot in right field after recovering from a broken hand in August, with both him and the team deciding it was what best fit their roster.
Now, however, the club’s “assumption,” as Gomes put it, is that Betts will return to the dirt next season, though exactly how that will look is not yet “set in stone.”
“I know the toll on the body is less in the infield for him,” Gomes said of Betts, a 32-year-old veteran with six career Gold Gloves in right field. “But the beauty of Mookie is [he’s] the most selfless superstar we’ve ever been around. And that permeates through the team.”
Betts’ expected move, which he and the team have discussed in recent weeks, will further emphasize one of the Dodgers’ biggest needs this winter: corner outfielders.
The easiest way to address that would be by re-signing Teoscar Hernández, who had a resurgent season with the Dodgers in 2024 and enters free agency looking for a longer-term deal than the one-year, $23.5-million contract he signed to come to Los Angeles last offseason.
The move could also make the Dodgers more of a player in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, though it’s still unclear if the club will be willing to pay the $600 million or more likely to be needed…