The deadline to add players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft was today, and surprisingly the Dodgers only added left-handed pitcher Ronan Kopp despite having two open spots.
The Dodgers added LHP Ronan Kopp to the 40-man roster.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (Bot is Back!) (@dodgersbot.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 3:24 PM
The 23-year-old lefty reliever was a 12th-rounder in the 2021 draft and spent 2025 at both AA and AAA, where he posted a 3.43 ERA in 57.2 innings, running an impressive 36% strikeout rate but walking 17% of those he faced.
Ronan Kopp clip since Twitter embed is fucked right now.
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 5:29 PM
A lefty reliever being added to the 40-man seems like Jack Dreyer from last year, but they are not similar pitchers.
Kopp is a pure relief prospect, but he could be a good one. The lefty works with two pitches: a mid-90s fastball with an average of 18.4 inches of induced vertical break and a hard slider in the high 80s. Together, those offerings helped him punch out 91 hitters in 57.2 innings between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. He needs to find the strike zone more often, as shown by his 16.6% walk rate, but the stuff is good enough to protect and develop.
Previously, Ryan Ward was added to prevent him from becoming a minor-league free agent. The 40-man stands at 39.
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Not that there was any real doubt, but Roki Sasaki will be back starting, as confirmed by Andrew Friedman.
“I think for us, it was about trying to get his delivery back. I feel like we made a lot of progress on that,” Friedman said. “So for us, we’re definitely viewing him as a starter and a really good one, and we’ll continue to work this offseason and put him in the best position to be ready in spring training to help us win again.”
He was much better as a reliever in the playoffs, though the results started to get uneven again as the book got out on him and/or his stuff faltered a bit after being used in the new role.
If he can consistently get back to the form he showed in the NLWCS and NLDS, Roki can make an impact in the rotation next year.
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As we probably expected, Tommy Edman will undergo ankle surgery to repair an issue that sent him to the DL twice this season and prevented him from playing outfield if the Dodgers could help it.
While the hope is that Edman will be ready around the beginning of Spring Training, the Dodgers don’t see his recovery timeline as set in stone until he actually has the procedure and begins his rehab process. That opens some questions around his primary positions, second base and center field.
Speaking of the banged up team, Enrique Hernandez had surgery on his elbow.
Hernández first injured the elbow sliding headfirst into home plate in late May while he was still a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. That damage to the muscles responsible for extending his left arm was severe enough that Hernández thought he might need surgery then, but instead, he went on the injured list on July 5 and returned on August 26. Continuing to play through it, Hernández said, resulted in the muscle being detached from the bone.
Confirmed.
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) November 15, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Enrique Hernandez’s daughter, Penelope, is helping him rehab with a makeover. instagram.com/kikehndez/
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) November 17, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Also coming back? River Ryan and Gavin Stone, who are on pace for the start of the season.
Pitchers River Ryan and Gavin Stone, who are both returning from surgery, are expected to be ready for spring training and a “normal” buildup, Gomes said. “We expect them to have a pretty normal year, whatever a normal year is coming off surgery.” …
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In terms of now-retired Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw turned down an offer from Andrew Friedman to join the front office.
In the waning days of Kershaw’s career, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman approached him with an offer to stick around as a member of the baseball operations department. Kershaw was flattered by the offer. “I don’t think I have any full-time jobs in my future,” he said. “Except full-time dad.”
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Freddie Freeman is killing me.
Freddie peer pressured into doing the worm at Lux’s wedding with his walk-up music playing, lmao. He is gonna be on the IL until August at this rate. pic.twitter.com/tcdYDDkSW6
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) November 16, 2025
A second video has hit the socials.
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) November 17, 2025 at 6:44 PM
