A quick Spring Training update due to the amount of injury updates and notable highlights generated by the Dodgers. There are some legitimate concerns, but there’s also a lot of optimistic results as of late.
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Speaking of optimism, while there’s valid concern about Shohei Ohtani‘s shoulder and Freddie Freeman‘s ankle, they at least look relatively normal so far.
In case you somehow missed it, Shohei Ohtani’s first AB of ST. (?: @dodgers.com)
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Freddie Freeman returns. Homers. Ho-hum. (?: @dodgers.com)
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) March 1, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Meanwhile, Dustin May‘s velocity ticked back up, though he did scuffle with command after he sat down between innings. Really seems like a pen role might be best.
Thought Dustin May looked good, actually. Velo was up. The fact that the up-down was the problem only solidifies my pen pick, tho. (?: Dodgers Daily)
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 6:25 PM
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The Dodgers have begun to hint that Hyeseong Kim will start in the minors, which makes sense as he’s being tasked with revamping his swing. He did flash some of his surprising power today, though obviously a lot to work on…
Hyeseong Kim with kinda surprising oppo power for his first non-infield hit. (?: @dodgers.com)
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) March 1, 2025 at 7:55 PM
…like this kind of stuff.
Homer in the middle of a swing revamp is good, but even defensively, I think Kim could use time to adjust in the minors.
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) March 1, 2025 at 8:15 PM
On the plus side, the prospects are showing out a bit. Dalton Rushing looks very comfortable at the plate and might be ready now, Jackson Ferris flashed some nasty stuff in his debut, and Nick Frasso continues to show plus stuff.
Dalton Rushing looks absolutely elated to have hit a Spring Training walk-off. (?: @dodgers.com)
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Jackson Ferris made his debut on the main field. Ferris has all the “its” in terms of confidence, the way he carries himself, and in the way he pitches.
Speaking of trades, Ferris came over with Zyhir Hope for Michael Busch and Yency Almonte, and, as good as Michael Busch is,… pic.twitter.com/Bier1pNWCZ
— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) March 1, 2025
The Dodgers got Nick Frasso for Mitch White and River Ryan for Matt Beaty. That is All! #dodgers pic.twitter.com/mzQTWCGTod
— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) March 1, 2025
Nick Frasso continues to impress this Spring after missing all of the 2024 season due to injury
It wasn’t an effective outing, but he did show off why he was recently a highly touted prospect. His fastball generates a lot of movement and his changeup’s arm-side run is bonkers! pic.twitter.com/zd1O6K8COx
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) March 1, 2025
Two others who look surprisingly unfazed against quality competition are Zyhir Hope and Josue De Paula.
Zyhir Hope and Josue De Paula single, the latter with the bases loaded and should’ve given the Dodgers the lead, but Hope tripped over third, lol.
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) March 1, 2025 at 8:26 PM
It is Spring Training, but still.
Also, with some competition in the pen either injured or struggling and a spot on the 40-man already, Jack Dreyer is certainly looking like more of a possibility.
Jack Dreyer threw a scoreless inning and struck out ALL 3 hitters. In other news, LA is on the West Coast! #dodgers pic.twitter.com/E6asypsfx4
— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) March 1, 2025
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On the injury front, Will Smith has been dealing with is a bone bruise in his ankle that he suffered last May.
“It’s a bone bruise that’s deep, clearly, and (nine) months hasn’t helped the pain go away,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So it’s just one of those things that it is what it is and he’s just going to have to deal with it.”
They believe that impacted his swing even if Smith doesn’t.
“I think last year there were a lot of pitches that he was missing,” Roberts said. “I do believe the foot was kind of impeding the swing.”“I think there’s been some nagging stuff that has crept up and led to some bad habits here and there,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said.
The worrying thing is this is becoming a regular phenomenon with him, and a bone bruise lasting damn near a year feels like they might be missing something.
Speaking of lingering injuries, we got details on what exactly Freddie had done to his ankle.
In early December, with his ankle still aching more than a month into the offseason, Freeman had an MRI exam that revealed the need for a debridement surgery; cleaning up loose bodies and chipped cartilage that had matriculated to his Achilles’ tendon.
Sounds bad!
He’ll be rehabbing it as he’s playing, I guess.
“It’s good enough,” Freeman quipped when asked if his ankle was 100% yet. “I wish it felt like my left one does.”That might not happen for a while. Freeman said he will probably have to tape his ankle in games until some point around the All-Star break. He will be a familiar presence in the training room, and might even agree to take an occasional off day early in the campaign — something he has been loath to do during his 15-year career.“Lower-body injuries are hard to rehab, especially the ankle,” Freeman said. “So I do believe it’s gonna be a lot more treatment-wise than I would like.”
While he could just start on the IL, Freddie might kill Dave Roberts if he tried to enforce that.
Speaking of bad, gotta feel for Gavin Stone‘s shoulder, which died to get the pitching staff through the 2024 season.
I asked if it was more similar to the shoulder surgery that Brusdar Graterol had or the one Kershaw had + he said it was “literally a mixture of both.”
Good news: he starts throwing in about a month + said he hasn’t had any setbacks
Full interview coming soon on @DodgerBlue1958
— Jeff Spiegel (@JeffSpiegel) February 28, 2025
Also, more positive signs for Bobby Miller, who seems to be back after his concussion scare.
Bobby Miller is alive. (?: @dodgers.com)
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— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 5:45 PM
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While the games will soon start to get less exciting as regulars get more playing time to prepare for the season — we know what most of them can do already — at least there’s Roki Sasaki to keep things fresh.
Dave Roberts said Roki Sasaki’s Cactus League debut will come on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds … but he won’t be the starter
Instead, Sasaki is going to piggyback with Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Both are expected to pitch 3-4 innings
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) February 28, 2025
