Dodgers favored to be MLB’s first repeat champ

Miguel Rojas gladly gave up his No. 11 to Roki Sasaki and went back to 72, his jersey as a Los Angeles Dodgers rookie in 2014.

“I’m not asking for anything. I have everything that I want in life,” the 35-year-old infielder said. “All I ask for him is trying to get us another championship.”

He’s in the right spot. Spring training workouts start Sunday with the Dodgers trying to become the first repeat champion since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000.

Coming off their second title in five seasons, the Dodgers added Sasaki, the prized 23-year-old right-hander from Japan, and left-hander Blake Snell to a pitching staff expecting two-way star Shohei Ohtani to return to the mound in April or May after recovering from elbow surgery.

“Kudos to them. They’re doing everything right,” said Toronto pitcher Max Scherzer, who pitched for the Dodgers briefly in 2021. “They have a well-oiled machine.”

Los Angeles opens the season in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs with a two-game series starting March 18. The Cubs are the first team to start practice, on Sunday in Mesa, Arizona, and all clubs will be on the field by Thursday.

Chicago manager Craig Counsell also is switching numbers, to 11, yielding No. 30 to Kyle Tucker, the All-Star outfielder acquired from Houston. Counsell chose 11 in honor of Jim Leyland, one of his early big league skippers. When Leyland led the Florida Marlins to the 1997 World Series title, he reminded players they needed 11 postseason wins for the title, matching the number on his back.

“I’m hoping to use that speech a little bit later in the month of September,” Counsell said.

Chicago’s other team, the White Sox, is coming off a 121-loss season, the most in the major leagues post-1900,

“I hope our fans at some point understand that this is going to pay off long-term and us being very committed and disciplined is going to serve us well in the future,” general manager Chris Getz said.

Hooray for Hollywood

Los Angeles committed $452 million to eight players during the offseason. The Dodgers kept utilityman Tommy Edman with a $74 million, five-year contract, outfielder Teoscar Hernández with a $66 million, three-year deal and right-hander Blake Treinen for $22 million over two years.

In addition to Sasaki ($6.5 million signing bonus) and Snell ($182 million for five years), the Dodgers added reliever Tanner Scott ($72 million for four years), outfielder Michael Conforto‘ ($17 million for one season) and second baseman Hyeseong Kim ($12.5 million for three years).

Tyler Glasnow is projected for the rotation after finishing last season on the injured list. Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw is expected to re-sign and return after he recovers from knee and toe operations.

“The Dodgers are a really well-run, successful organization,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Everything that they do and have done is consistent with our rules. They’re trying to give their fans the best possible product. Those are all positives. I recognize, however, and my emails certainly reflect that there are fans in other markets who are concerned about their team’s ability to compete. And we always have to be concerned when our fans are concerned about something. But pinning it on the Dodgers, I’m not in that camp.”

Mets also paying top dollar

In search of the team’s first World Series title since 1986, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen gave a record $765 million, 15-year contract to outfielder Juan Soto, luring him from the rival Yankees, part of a $925 million splurge on eight free agents.

“If you want something that’s amazing, it’s going to be uncomfortable. It’s never going to be comfortable,” Cohen said. “And so I always stretch a little bit because I know that’s what it takes to get it done.”

Following an NL Championship Series loss to the Dodgers, the Mets also added right-handers Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes and Griffin Canning along with left-hander A.J. Minter, and re-signed first baseman Peter Alonso, left-hander Sean Manaea, right-hander Ryne Stanek and outfielder Jesse Winker. They acquired outfielder Jose Siri in a trade with Tampa Bay.

Searching for the ruby slippers

Tampa Bay and the Athletics will be preparing for vagabond seasons in minor league ballparks. After 57 years in Oakland, the A’s will play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for at least three seasons before moving to a planned ballpark in Las Vegas. The Rays will play at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the Yankees, for 2025 because of damage at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg caused by Hurricane Milton.

A pair of rules changes

MLB increased the penalty for a violation of the shift rule requiring two infielders to be on the infield dirt on each side of second base when a pitch is thrown. A batter will now reach on an error, with a manager having the option of taking the result of the play. During the 2023 and ‘24 seasons, the penalty was a ball being added to the count or the manager taking the result of the play. There were just four violations of the shift rule in 2023 and two last year.

If a baserunner runs through second or third base on a potential force play and doesn’t try to hold the base or advance, he will be called out for abandonment. If a lead runner crosses the plate, a video review would determine whether he touched the plate before the trailing runner’s second foot touched the ground on the other side of the base. The intent is to discourage baserunners from going through second and third with no attempt to hold the base in order to allow a lead runner to score.