The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Dodgers will present variety of lineups in `24
Dodgers pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for spring training on Feb. 8. As we count down to the opening of camp, we’re assessing the roster, position by position. Today, a look at the outfield.
2023 recap
Mookie Betts had his best season since he won the American League MVP award in 2018, posting a career-high in home runs (39) while batting .307 with a .987 OPS and 107 RBIS (a record for a leadoff hitter). He finished second to Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. in the National League MVP voting. But he did it while spending a good part of his time at second base (and some at shortstop). Jason Heyward resurrected his career with an .813 OPS as a capable platoon piece in right field. James Outman took advantage of a roster opening created by Gavin Lux’s spring injury and won a spot on the season-opening roster. He became the Dodgers’ primary center fielder, improving defensively as the year progressed and finishing third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. Outman’s offense was erratic — he won the NL Rookie of the Month award in April and August but slipped into lengthy slumps at other times. David Peralta handled most of the work in left field in another platoon situation and was a Gold Glove finalist. But his offensive contributions diminished significantly in the second half, likely due to playing with an elbow injury that required flexor tendon surgery in October. Peralta hit his last home run on July 8 and had a .578 OPS after that.
How it looks right now
One of the best right fielders in the game, Betts will be even less a part of the outfield picture in 2024 than he was last year. In fact, GM Brandon Gomes said the additions of right-handed hitting outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Manuel Margot mean that Betts will play “the vast majority” of his time at second base. Heyward returns to platoon in right field with Margot (an exceptional defender but limited as a hitter) likely to play there and also spell Outman in center field against left-handed pitching. Hernandez was signed for one year and $23.5 million as part of the Dodgers’ offseason spending spree. He will be “an everyday guy” either in left or right field, Gomes said. Chris Taylor could find it harder to get at-bats with this group, but look for the outfield alignment to change daily depending on the opposing pitcher.
The next layer
The Dodgers
shed some
of their outfield depth when they sent Jonny Deluca to Tampa Bay as part of the Tyler Glasnow trade. Replacements will have to emerge along the way in 2024. Last season was a lost year for outfield prospect Andy Pages, who played in just 34 games before undergoing shoulder surgery that is also likely to delay his 2024 debut. Jose Ramos continues to show flashes of power (19 home runs in 113 games at Double-a Tulsa last year), but he is far from major-league ready. The most exciting outfield prospect on the horizon is definitely Josue De Paula, who tore up the Dominican Summer League in 2022 (a .350 average and .970 OPS in 54 games) and then hit .284 last year for Class-a Rancho Cucamonga.
Moves they could make
Miguel Vargas was handed the second base job last spring and fumbled it away by the All-star break. Don’t be surprised if the Dodgers now try to feed Vargas more time in left field — a position he played just a handful of times after being demoted to Triple-a, but the most obvious path to big-league at-bats in 2024 if the Dodgers are going to try and salvage this top prospect’s future. If nothing else, the Dodgers need to restore Vargas’ value for potential use as a midseason trade chip.