Season at a Glance Archives

5/2/26
Dodgers’ Shohei Plan Includes Rest — And a Silver Bullet
It may be time to ease off the panic over whether the Dodgers are somehow running Shohei Ohtani into the ground.
For a few days, the concern had a little oxygen. Ohtani looked a touch off at the plate, there was the usual handwringing over the demands of being a two-way player at age 31, and the armchair workload experts began drawing up emergency plans. Then Ohtani did what Ohtani tends to do when the alarm bells start ringing — he went 7-for-11 over his last three games, scored six runs, drove in two more, and reminded everyone how quickly perceived crisis can become overreaction.
More importantly, if you listen closely to what the Dodgers have been saying publicly, it is fairly clear the organization has been thinking through this long before outside concern caught up.
The premise itself was always a little curious. The idea that the Dodgers, of all teams, would casually stumble into overworking the most valuable player in the sport never made much sense. Andrew Friedman all but confirmed as much when he acknowledged rest is not some abstract future consideration but part of an active, ongoing conversation.
As Friedman put it, “It doesn’t make sense for him to go wire to wire — pitch or hit or play every day, pitching every week. That’s hard, and so we do need to mix some rest in there.”
That hardly sounds like a club ignoring warning signs.
If anything, Friedman offered something more revealing than concern — he offered a framework. Maybe the rest comes on Ohtani’s pitching day. Maybe it comes before. Maybe after. Maybe, Friedman noted with a line too good not to keep, Ohtani becomes the “silver bullet” off the bench in the ninth inning of a tight game.
That was not the language of a front office scrambling. That was the language of a front office gaming out options.
And maybe that’s where the Superman comparison comes in.
Even Superman needed the Fortress of Solitude.
Not because he was weak, but because even the
strongest figure needed a place to reset,
recalibrate and recharge.
It was sanctuary as much as strategy.
For Ohtani, maybe that fortress looks less
dramatic than ice crystals in the Arctic and
more like sitting out a Wednesday day game
before a travel day to St. Louis. Maybe it
means occasional starts where he pitches
but doesn’t hit. Maybe it means calculated
breathers sprinkled through six months.
Whatever form it takes, the Dodgers are clearly building one.
Dave Roberts reinforced that idea when he made clear Ohtani would pitch Tuesday but not hit, the second time in three starts the Dodgers have eased the two-way burden. That is not accidental load management. That is managed intention.
And Roberts, like Friedman, sounded far less concerned than deliberate.
“We don’t have to just be beholden to the off-day,” Roberts said. “We talked to Shohei. He feels good.”
That may be the most overlooked part of all this. Ohtani is not a passive subject in this equation. He is part of it.
He made that plain himself.
“I’ll always let the manager make that final decision,” Ohtani said, “but if it makes sense as a team to occasionally put a guy in as a DH or hit later, that’s fine as well.”
There is flexibility there. Cooperation. Trial and error, as Friedman called it.
And there almost has to be, because as Friedman admitted, there is no baseball playbook for this. 
“We have no experience dealing with this,” he said.
Exactly.
That may be the most honest assessment anyone has offered. There is no historical comp for a player trying to be an ace and a middle-of-the-order force while navigating a modern workload model. Which makes rigid opinions about what the Dodgers should be doing feel a little premature.
Especially when the player in question enters Tuesday 2-0 with a 0.38 ERA, has struck out 25 in four starts, and, after all the noise about a tired bat, just ripped through a three-game stretch looking very much like himself.
The irony may be that the concern about Ohtani’s rest has surfaced just as the Dodgers appear to be implementing it.
Quietly.
Thoughtfully.
Without announcing some grand preservation plan.
Maybe that disappoints those looking for a dramatic intervention. But it suggests the Dodgers are already two steps ahead of the conversation.
And maybe that’s the takeaway.
Yes, even Superman needs a Fortress of Solitude.
But the Dodgers seem to understand that.
And they already have the Silver Bullet ready.

4/17/26
Shohei, Yama… and a Cy Young Problem

14–4. Best record in baseball. The NL isn’t exactly shaking in its boots yet, but it probably should be. The pitching depth has held together, the offense occasionally takes a few innings off like it’s on union break, and Roki Sasaki’s role still reads like a mystery novel missing the last chapter.

 But let’s skip past the usual headlines for a second and talk about something a little more… complicated. Because this isn’t just media speculation — it’s already been said out loud. Both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto spoke this spring about the Cy Young being a goal. Not in a loud, billboard kind of way, but in that quiet, matter‑of‑fact tone elite players use when they’re telling you exactly what they expect from themselves.

 Shohei Ohtani. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. And a Cy Young race that might be happening in the same clubhouse. Yes, it’s April. No, we don’t care.

 Yamamoto: The Quiet Ace Build 

2026 (through April 14): • 2–1, 2.50 ERA • 0.89 WHIP • 18.0 IP, 14 H, 2 BB, 14 K

 Yamamoto isn’t lighting up the leaderboard — yet — but everything under the surface says this is very real: • Command is elite • WHIP is outstanding (and sustainable) • He’s pitching deep, clean innings • Strikeouts feel like they’re coming, not missing

He doesn’t look like the best pitcher in baseball right now, but he does look like the kind of No. 1 you win a title with.

Ohtani: Subtlety Not Included

2026: • 2–0, 0.50 ERA • 0.72 WHIP • 18.0 IP, 1 ER • 18 K, 6 BB

Ohtani isn’t easing back into pitching; he looks like someone who took a year off and came back annoyed about it. A 0.50 ERA and sub‑0.75 WHIP isn’t just “good start” territory — that’s early Cy Young pacing. And the 10‑strikeout outing against the Mets didn’t feel fluky. It felt like a preview.

So… Here’s the Problem

If both of these trajectories hold — or even improve — you don’t just have a Cy Young candidate. You have two. On the same team. At the same time.

“That’s Not How This Works”

The Cy Young is awarded to the best pitcher, not the best pitching‑staff internal competition. But it’s not completely unprecedented. In 1969, the award was shared between Denny McLain and Mike Cuellar — same league, same year. So yes, it’s rare. Yes, it’s unlikely. But it’s not impossible.

And That’s What Makes It Interesting

Because this isn’t just about numbers. It’s about two elite competitors pushing each other inside the same rotation — each outing raising the bar for the other. That kind of internal race doesn’t show up in the standings, but you feel it.

Final Thought

Is a shared Cy Young between Ohtani and Yamamoto going to happen? Probably not. Is it fun to think about? Absolutely. And sometimes, early in a season like this, that’s more than enough.

4/9/26
12 Games In
6 at Home, 6 on the Road
Early Breakdown​

Coming From Behind

Admittedly, it’s a small sample
size,12 games isn’t exactly a
lifetime in baseball terms.
We’re not sounding any alarms or carving anything in stone just yet. But it is enough to start noticing a few trends… whether the Dodgers planned them or not.​

Falling behind early is usually a problem.

For the Dodgers, it’s been more of a suggestion.

Through 12 games:

Opponent scored first: 7 times

Dodgers scored first: 5 times

And yet…

Record when allowing the first run: 5–2

So yes, more often than not, they’re playing from behind early.
And yes, more often than not, they’re still winning anyway.

At this point, spotting the opponent a run feels less like a mistake and more like part of the pregame routine.

That said, it’s probably not something Dave Roberts is drawing up on the whiteboard. You’d imagine the Dodgers wouldn’t mind flipping that script on the next homestand and trying something new — like leading.

Sasaki Chatter (Slightly Less Loud)

A funny thing happened over the last few games — the noise around Roki Sasaki got a little quieter.

Not gone. Let’s not get carried away.

But quieter.

He’s not dominating, not yet, but he’s also no longer driving the conversation in the wrong direction. Progress might be slow — very slow — but it’s there. And for now, that seems to be enough for the Dodgers to stay the course.

No detours. No sudden exits. Just a long road and a manager willing to let him figure it out.

Mookie

Injuries are part of the deal. No team escapes a full season without a few setbacks, and unfortunately, Mookie Betts became an early example.

The oblique strain isn’t ideal, and the timeline is still a bit fuzzy. The good news? The Dodgers aren’t exactly short on options. Miguel Rojas and Hyeseong Kim can hold things together just fine in the meantime.

If there’s any debate here, it’s simple — don’t rush it.

April wins are nice. October availability is better.

Pages

Andy Pages is locked in.

At the plate, in the field — doesn’t seem to matter. The production is there, the confidence is there, and the results are starting to stack up. Player of the Week honors tend to follow that sort of thing.

Which raises an important question:

Does this guy have a nickname yet?

Because if not, it might be time. Until then, we’ll just say this — Pages keeps adding to the story.

Glasnow

Not entirely sure what Tyler Glasnow did this offseason.

But whatever it was, he should probably write it down and share it.

He looks strong, sharp, and completely in control — arguably the best he’s looked since arriving in Los Angeles. For a rotation with a few question marks early, that’s not a bad thing to have.

So Far, So Good
Twelve games in, it’s still too early for sweeping conclusions. But the Dodgers currently sit with the best winning percentage in baseball, which is about the only early trend no one will argue with.​

As Tommy Lasorda used to say, “No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are, you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference.”​

So far, the Dodgers seem to be taking care of that “other third” — and then some.

And just like that, a full breakdown of the season so far…

…with not a mention of Shohei Ohtani.

Oops.

​

3/30/26
The Roki Sasaki Conversation Begins: Part 3
Control Issues, Role Questions
Before tonight’s game in Los Angeles, Dave Roberts was asked what he wanted to see from Roki Sasaki. His answer was simple: “Tonight we need to see him in compete mode… once the game starts, it’s about getting hitters out.”
He competed. Just not in the way Roberts likely intended.
Sasaki struggled with control from the start—six walks, two hit batters, and five runs allowed in just over two innings. To his credit, he struck out two and didn’t allow a hit. It’s the kind of line that makes you reread the box score, just to be sure.
As much as the Dodgers want Sasaki to develop into a full-season starter, that idea is starting to look more optimistic than practical.
Spring training is essentially over. There won’t be the option to pull him mid-inning, reset, and try again later. That disappears quickly once the games count.
I’ve said this before in these Season At A Glance pieces, and it still holds:
Roki Sasaki is not a bust.
He is also not an MLB starter.
At least not right now.
What we did learn last year is that he can be a high-leverage reliever. Electric. Unpredictable—in the right ways. The kind of arm that changes the pace of a game the moment he enters it.
If the Dodgers continue to push him into a starter’s role, they risk stretching him past what currently works.
In his postgame comments, Roberts said, “To put me in a place where there is another alternative right now… that’s not helpful.”
It may not be helpful. But it may be necessary.
Sasaki fits in the bullpen. Not as a fallback, but as a weapon. A late-inning option on a team built to shorten games.
Báilalo, Rocky.
Suéltale, Rocky.

3/23/26
The Crow-Flavored Edition

Less than twelve hours — twelve hours — after I confidently published my Opening Day roster thoughts, the Los Angeles Dodgers did what they do best:

They zagged the moment I zigged. 

Hyeseong Kim? Optioned to Triple-A.

Alex Freeland? Welcome to the big-league roster.

Me? Eating crow like it’s a team-issued postgame spread.

And as promised, I’m not hiding this. No burying it in the archives. No pretending I meant something else. No claiming I was misquoted by myself.

This one goes right on the shelf, spine out, next to “Predictions I Shouldn’t Have Made Before Breakfast.”

The Decision

Sunday morning brought the official word: Kim to Triple-A Oklahoma City, clearing the way for Freeland to make the Opening Day roster.

Freeland is expected to platoon at second base with Miguel Rojas while Tommy Edman continues rehabbing his ankle.

This is what the kids call a plot twist.

Why It Happened (The Actual Baseball Part)

For most of the spring, Kim looked like the frontrunner.

He had the speed.

He had the versatility.

He had the early swing adjustments.

He even had the Dave Roberts foot-race endorsement — which, in hindsight, I may have treated as binding law.
Then came the World Baseball Classic.

Kim’s swing didn’t just regress — it packed its bags, left the country, and forgot to leave a forwarding address. He went 1-for-12 with six strikeouts, and upon returning, Roberts described his swing as “out of sync,” which is manager-speak for this is not ideal.

Meanwhile, Freeland — despite hitting .116 in Cactus League play — quietly made his case. Eleven walks, eleven strikeouts, and a late-spring home run that, apparently, carried more weight than I gave it credit for.

Roberts even said, “The numbers aren’t there, but it’s still spring training,” which in retrospect was the baseball equivalent of a spoiler alert.

What It Really Means

This move says less about Freeland winning the job and more about what the Dodgers still want Kim to become.

Kim’s rookie season was a tale of two halves:

.383 over his first 37 games

.175 the rest of the way

Pitchers adjusted. The holes showed up. And this spring, some of those same issues resurfaced — eight strikeouts, one walk, and more than a few swings at pitches that had no business being swung at.

Triple-A gives him something Los Angeles can’t right now:

regular at-bats and the space to fix the foundation.

And Now… the Part Where I Admit I Was Wrong

I said Kim would make the roster.

I said Freeland was the long shot.

I said the Dodgers valued Kim’s speed and versatility too much to send him down.

I even said — and this is the one that lingers — “my gut tells me Kim has that last spot.”

Well… my gut was wrong.

My gut is now suspended for the remainder of spring training.

My gut will be undergoing its own swing-mechanics review in Oklahoma City.

But that’s baseball. It humbles everyone eventually — players, coaches, analysts…

…and yes, the guy writing My Season at a Glance.

Final Thought

Freeland earned his opportunity.
Kim will be back.

And I’ll continue making predictions with the confidence of a man who knows full well the Dodgers are standing just around the corner holding a frying pan labeled “plot twist.”

Crow consumed.

Receipt saved.

Season at a Glance updated.

​

03/22/26
Second Base, Sorted (Sort Of): Espinal Is In,
Miggy Is Forever, and Kim Has the Edge

If you stare at the Dodgers’ second base situation long enough, it starts to look less like a depth chart and more like one of those sliding puzzles where you keep moving pieces around, convinced it will eventually make sense.

​Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers seem perfectly content letting the rest of us squint at it while they sip coffee and insist everything is under control.

​Let’s start with what is clear: Santiago Espinal is in. Not “maybe.” Not “if things break right.” He’s in the way Kiké Hernández is in. The way Chris Taylor had been in for years. He’s the latest version of the Dodgers’ favorite archetype — the Swiss Army knife who makes a 26-man roster feel like it has a few extra compartments.

​Espinal is the guy you turn to when the baseball gods get restless and start testing your depth. He’s the human version of duct tape — reliable, flexible, and always where you need him. That alone gets him on the plane.

​Now to Miguel Rojas, who isn’t just making this team — he might as well already be leaning on the dugout railing. There is no version of this roster without him. What he did in Game 7 last year probably secured that, but even beyond the moments, Rojas brings something the Dodgers value just as much: presence.

​It doesn’t show up in the box score. It doesn’t need to. Everyone in that room understands what it means.

​That said, Miggy is 37. The mileage is real. Last season, there were days where the best thing he could do was not play. Expect him to be used with intention — starting against lefties, getting breathers against tough right-handers, and generally treated like something you want in peak condition come October.

​Which brings us to the real question: Hyeseong Kim or Alex Freeland?

​Two left-handed bats. Two different profiles. One spot.

​Freeland has the switch-hitting, the pop, the upside — the “maybe there’s more here” appeal. But he doesn’t bring speed. Not the kind that changes a game. Not the kind that makes pitchers rush or infielders think twice.

​Kim does.

​Kim has that burst — the kind that makes coaches lean forward and pitchers pay attention. And Dave Roberts has always had an appreciation for that style of play. He even challenged Kim to a foot race last year. Yes, Roberts ended up sprawled somewhere near second base, but the point still stands: he notices him.

​Managers don’t do that for players they don’t believe in.

​I’m not breaking news here. I’m just reading the room. And right now, the room says this: with only a few games left before Opening Day, Kim feels like the guy.

​Could it change? Of course. This is baseball. But unless something unexpected happens, the final spot appears to be leaning his way.

​Freeland will get his opportunity. But today? Speed matters. Fit matters. And Kim checks a box that’s hard to ignore.

​That’s how it looks from here — slightly amused, slightly skeptical, and fully expecting the Dodgers to wait until the last possible moment before telling anyone what they’ve decided.

​

03/04/26
The Roki Sasaki Conversation Begins Part 2
Roki Sasaki’s start Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians may have created more questions than answers.

​The first inning unraveled in a hurry: walk, single, walk — bases loaded, no outs. Kyle Manzardo then turned a 97-mph fastball into a grand slam, and just like that the Dodgers were staring at a 4–0 deficit. Another walk followed, and Dave Roberts went to the bullpen.

​But spring training has its quirks. Roberts reinserted Sasaki to begin the second inning — and what followed only deepened the discussion.

​After throwing 23 pitches and allowing four runs in the first, Sasaki needed just 22 pitches over the next two innings, striking out two and shutting Cleveland down. Two versions of the same pitcher in the span of 30 minutes.

​Sasaki attributed the rocky start to mechanical issues, saying his upper body fell out of sync. That may be true. But there’s another angle worth considering.

​It has long been my belief that Sasaki may ultimately be better suited for a relief role. Yes, he technically started the game. But once removed and reinserted, he essentially worked in relief — and he looked dominant.

​I understand that’s a stretch. Still, the contrast is hard to ignore.

​There is something different about the mindset of a starter — the rhythm, the pacing, the responsibility of setting the tone. At this stage, Sasaki appears far more comfortable attacking in shorter bursts.

​The Dodgers’ rotation picture only complicates the matter. With Gavin Stone managing shoulder inflammation and Blake Snell unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, Los Angeles would prefer Sasaki to seize a starting role.

​They will give him every opportunity to do so.

​But I’ll stick to my position: the electric arm plays best in high-leverage relief. Whether that’s now or later remains to be seen.

​The arm is electric. The learning curve is real. And what the Dodgers decide to do with Roki Sasaki next may become one of the most fascinating storylines of the spring.

​

2/25/26
The Roki Sasaki Conversation Begins

As stated when this page was first introduced, Season At A Glance is designed to go beyond the box score. As the season begins to take shape, this space will focus on effort, execution, and decision-making — the details that don’t always appear in the stat line, but often determine who wins in October. When something stands out, whether it deserves praise or scrutiny, it will be addressed here.

Spring training is only a handful of games old, and overreaction is always a danger this time of year. Still, certain performances spark larger questions. That was the case following Roki Sasaki’s first appearance of the year against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it’s worth beginning the conversation now rather than waiting for the regular season to force the issue.

Let me say this clearly right out of the gate so there is no misunderstanding. Edwin Díaz is the Dodgers’ closer. He is worth every dollar of his three-year, $69 million contract, and he has been one of the premier closers in baseball over the past several seasons. Barring something unforeseen, he is the man who will be finishing games for the **Los Angeles Dodgers. Period.

That said, Sasaki’s outing against Arizona brought back memories of last season. Early in the year, his debut as a starter was inconsistent. His velocity fluctuated, command came and went, and eventually injuries disrupted his progress. But when he returned, something changed. In a high-leverage bullpen role late in the season, he became one of the Dodgers’ most dominant weapons — often at the moments when the team needed him most.

For reasons that are understandable, the Dodgers remain committed to developing Sasaki as a starter. Coaches have talked about a new pitch he’s working on this year. They don’t even have a definitive label for it yet. Pitch-tracking systems sometimes classify it as a slider and other times as a splitter. Whether that pitch becomes a difference-maker remains to be seen.

But new pitch or not, the question still lingers: is that the best use of his talent for this roster, right now?

Personally, I believe Sasaki could become one of the most dangerous late-inning weapons in baseball. Imagine him entering in the seventh or eighth inning, shutting down the heart of an opposing lineup for an inning or two before handing the ball to Díaz to finish the job. Last season, when the bullpen door opened and Sasaki’s walkout music "Bailalo Rocky" filled Dodger Stadium, the energy in the building changed. More often than not, hitters had little chance.