What now?
The Los Angeles Dodgers' season is over. Their bid for history failed. Their hopes swept away on their home field as the Milwaukee Brewers celebrate their first pennant in 44 years.
Now comes an offseason of uncertainty in LA.
Put owner Mark Walter's federal investigations aside; let's ignore the (seemingly) impending lockout as the MLB owners' tense standoff with the players' union over a salary cap doesn't appear to be anywhere close to a resolution. The Dodgers have nine players set to hit free agency this winter and, given that the average age of their lineup is 30.9 years old − the oldest in the big leagues, according to Baseball Reference − the clubhouse might look a bit different come next spring training, whenever that might be.
The Dodgers are old
"When you do think about it, it is special what we have accomplished over the last couple years," Freddie Freeman told reporters before Game 4. "And we still want this to keep going. We know we have a lot left in the tank together. It's a great group of guys, been through a lot, been all over this world together."
Freeman is one of three former MVPs on the Dodgers alongside Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani. He's also 36 years old. Retirement isn't likely this offseason, but he's talked about his baseball mortality before and will enter the final year of the six-year, $162 million contract he signed in 2022. Betts, 33, and Ohtani, 31, are also on the other side of 30. In fact, the only regular fixtures in LA's lineup under 30 years old this season were Kyle Tucker, 29, and Andy Pages, 25.
Free agents
Miguel Rojas' contract expires this winter; he's strongly considering retirement but has definitively said he won't play for any other organization besides the Dodgers at this point in his career. One of the most important figures in the clubhouse, Rojas is a vocal leader and mentor to several of the younger players; when Betts was transitioning to shortstop, it was Rojas who stayed on the field with him every day to take groundballs and give advice to the Gold Glove outfielder. If Rojas does hang up his (often customized) cleats, he'll likely step into some sort of coaching or player development role within the organization.
Kiké Hernández held back tears when addressing reporters after the Dodgers' Game 3 loss on Wednesday.
"We didn’t expect to be in this situation, this position," he said, referring to their 3-0 deficit. "But this one sucks."
Hernández's biggest moments have come in October, but like Rojas, at this point in his career, his biggest contribution is his leadership. He's battled through injuries this year, including offseason elbow surgery that delayed his 2026 debut until May, but this winter Andrew Friedman will need to decide whether Hernández's clubhouse presence justifies his declining bat.
Here's the full list of Dodgers set to be free agents, according to Spotrac:
- Tarik Skubal, LHP
- Evan Phillips, RHP
- Miguel Rojas, IF
- Kiké Hernández, UTIL
- Alex Vesia, LHP
- Kris Bubic, LHP
- Blake Treinen, RHP
- Brusdar Graterol, RHP
- Eric Lauer, LHP
Where does Josue De Paula fit next season?
De Paula was thrust into the big leagues when Ohtani went on the IL in September and was an immediate spark to the Dodgers any time he stepped foot in the batter's box. The 21-year-old's impact popped out on the stat sheet with his 1.081 OPS in a small sample size of 11 games, but it also showed up in the intangibles − his poise, his confidence, and a plate discipline beyond his years.
He made enough of an impression to make the 26-man postseason roster as a lefty bench bat, where he continued to thrive. De Paula didn't register a hit this postseason, but each of his two walks in three plate appearances were in clutch situations that gave the Dodgers a fighting chance late. The moment proved not to be too big for the No. 6-ranked prospect in baseball.
That all begs the question: where does he go next season?
De Paula may have proved that his bat is MLB-ready, but his defense as a corner outfielder is still a work in progress.
"Right now, as we've talked about, we view him as a DH," Friedman said in late September. "I think the improvement that Josue had in the outfield from '24 to '25, to '26 is real and for us, it's about taking another big step going into '27. He's got the tools and the ability to do it."
Every day, both in those two weeks in September and throughout the postseason, De Paula has been spotted working at just that. He's shagging fly balls, taking pointers from manager Dave Roberts, third base coach Dino Ebel, and Betts. He was even spotted taking reps at shortstop at one point during the NLCS. Defense has been De Paula's number one priority, and he's vowed to "shut a lot of people up with my defense."
If he takes that leap by spring, he could potentially force a conversation on where he could fit in on the roster among Tucker and Teoscar Hernández.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers' disaster leaves massive questions on LA's offseason, free agents
