In a social media post Tuesday the team wrote it “look[s] forward to visiting the White House and celebrating our title.”
In keeping with long-standing baseball tradition, President Trump has invited the 2024 World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House when they play in Washington D.C. on April 7. The Dodgers look forward to visiting the White House and celebrating our title.
Select players and personnel will visit Capitol Hill the following day on April 8.
Franchise shortstop Mookie Betts told reporters Tuesday he was undecided if he would visit the White House with the team and needed to talk it over with his family first.
Betts did not visit the White House in 2019 with the Boston Red Sox following their World Series victory during Trump’s first term. He did join the Dodgers on their 2021 White House visit while Joe Biden was president.
The visit will coincide with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.
The New York Rangers couldn’t salvage an opportunity to gain ground in the playoff picture as they lost 3-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
Through the first 20 minutes of play, the Kings dominated possession time and the Rangers only recorded two shots, but the score remained 0-0.
J.T. Miller opened up the scoring in the second period to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Blueshirts, they did not take advantage of that lead.
The Rangers committed three penalties in the second frame, resulting in two goals for Los Angeles.
The Kings won the special teams battle and that’s what ultimately led to the Rangers’ downfall.
Igor Shesterkin displayed yet another valiant effort, recording 30 saves on 32 shots, which is why his teammates feel like they let him down in a way.
“He was spectacular, kept us in the game,” Vincent Trocheck said of Shesterkin. “It almost goes unappreciated since you almost expect every night out of him, but he’s obviously a world-class goalie and shows it night in and night out.”
The Rangers feel like they did enough to win the game. However, there’s a sense of frustration with the losses continuing to pile up, especially at this point of the year when every point is critical.
“It gets tiring because I feel like over the last few weeks we’ve been playing some good hockey, but we are still losing,” Mika Zibanejad said. “Find a way to lose. It’s hard to look at the positives.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
Mookie Betts throws during batting practice Tuesday. (Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press)
Mookie Betts’ trademark smile is back. As he walked off the field on his way back to the Dodgers clubhouse, he was in good spirits after his pregame warmup, exclaiming, “I feel great. Awesome. Normal.”
For Betts, Tuesday marked a return to normalcy, with the star shortstop back in the lineup against the Angels. Betts was slated to get “three at-bats, play four or five innings of defense,” according to manager Dave Roberts.
Coming back from his stomach ailment, Betts played into the sixth inning of the Dodgers' 4-1 victory over the Angels. He finished 0-for-3 with a couple of groundouts and a foul out to first base.
Betts emphasized that his main focus is simply “to play baseball.” He added, “I still don’t know how long, how many days it’s been — just to play baseball and try to get back into a rhythm."
It's been nearly two weeks since Betts last took the field, and while he acknowledges there's not much time to get back into game shape, he's undoubtedly confident he'll be ready for the home opener against the Detroit Tigers.
"Yeah, I played in the game," Betts said with a chuckle. "Once I step foot on the dirt, I'm ready to go."
Betts has been battling a stomach illness since the Dodgers’ trip to Tokyo, where he was sent home early. He reassured everyone that his only physical issue was his stomach and the weight he lost, remaining strong as ever.
The medication prescribed by the team doctors has been effective in the days since he started taking it, and he has also identified what foods to avoid — though he kept those details private, saying, "I'll keep that in house."
Since then, he has worked to regain weight — a process Roberts said has progressed in recent days, as Betts has been able to hold down food and manage his dehydration from the weight loss.
“All signs point toward we’ve turned a corner, and we feel good about where he’s at for tonight,” Roberts said before the game.
There was consideration of shutting Betts down, according to Roberts, but the team is taking a day-to-day approach. After discussions with Betts, the training and coaching staff agreed that "the right thing for him to do is to take good at-bats rather than not play."
His return to the lineup just days before the home opener is a positive sign that he’s on the mend. The team will evaluate his condition Wednesday to determine if he’ll play against the Detroit Tigers.
“I know Mookie’s expectation is to be in there on opening day,” Roberts said.
Dustin May's final spring training start
It has been nearly two years since Dustin May started at the big league level. A battle with injuries — and a near-death experience — has cost him a substantial portion of his career.
The typically fiery pitcher kept his composure in his final spring training outing, tossing five innings while giving up just one run on one hit and striking out six Angels batters, effectively using his breaking ball. He even took a line drive to the backside from a Tim Anderson line-up drive in the fourth and finished the inning.
“It was really, really good to get back on a big league field, feel the energy, feel the stands and just get back into an actual big league game,” May said, acknowledging the feelings on being on a major league mound.
“There was a lot of emotions going through the head… But definitely looking forward to my next one, Dodger Stadium, that one's gonna hit home a little bit more,” May said, looking toward the regular season.
Now the Dodgers' fifth starter, May is tentatively set to pitch in the team's second home series of the season against the Atlanta Braves — a moment he has been anticipating for what felt like an eternity.
“There’s gonna be a lot going through my mind because of all the time I’ve had to think about it,” May said. “I was waiting for 13 months, and then the esophagus thing happened, and that changed my perspective on a lot of things in life.”
Being added to the rotation is monumental for May, reflecting the hard work he's put in. “The last three, four years that I haven't really been able to play are kind of paying off in this moment,” he said.
His journey back to the mound in a Dodgers uniform has been a testament to his resilience, and Roberts has seen firsthand the determination that brought him to this point.
“The main thing I’ve seen from Dustin is that he’s managing his emotions better,” Roberts said before the game, praising May’s mental approach.
From a mechanical standpoint, Roberts has noticed May’s growth from a pitcher who once let things “sort of spiral” when he lost command to one who can now regroup and get the outs he needs.
May will take the mound in the final spring training game against the Angels, with Roberts saying he will pitch about five innings.
“We got to the finish line as far as spring training, and he'll gear up for the Braves," Roberts said after the game. "He's put a lot of work into this, and I’m really proud. He said he's ready to go."
Clayton Kershaw, left, reacts as President Biden holds up a jersey given to him during an event to honor the 2020 World Series-champion Dodgers in July 2021. (Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
The Dodgers will visit the White House during their trip to Washington next month to face the Nationals, the team announced Tuesday, continuing a tradition for championship teams of the United States’ major sports leagues.
“It’s certainly a huge honor to get the invitation to the White House,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Allows us to celebrate our 2024 championship.”
The visit, scheduled for April 7, will mark the Dodgers’ second trip to the White House in the last five years. In 2021, the team’s 2020 World Series title was celebrated by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
This time, the Dodgers will be welcomed by President Trump — which, given past comments some team members have made, raised questions in the wake of Tuesday’s announcement about whether anyone might decline to take part in the event.
Roberts said he would participate, despite comments he made to The Times in 2019 indicating he might not go to the White House if Trump — who was notoriously critical of Roberts’ managing on Twitter during the 2018 World Series — was president.
“I respect the position,” Roberts said Tuesday, confirming his attendance for next month’s trip. “It’s the highest office in our country certainly, in the world. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Kiké Hernández also said he was planning to go, something he said in 2018 he was unsure he would have done had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Hernández, who was not with the Dodgers for their 2021 White House visit after signing with the Boston Red Sox the previous offseason, noted this year might be his last chance to experience a White House trip.
Mookie Betts, on the other hand, said he was undecided if he would make this year’s White House visit, and that he needed to talk it over with his family first.
After winning his first World Series title with the Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term, along with Boston manager Alex Cora and All-Star teammate pitcher David Price. Betts did take part in the Dodgers’ visit in 2021 with President Biden.
During Trump’s first term, several sports teams, including the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia Eagles, did not make White House visits amid a threat of boycotts from their players.
Leading up to Tuesday’s announcement, however, Roberts said there “wasn't a formal conversation that we had as a ballclub” about whether the Dodgers would make a White House visit this year.
The team’s statement noted it was “keeping with long-standing baseball tradition” by visiting the White House. Baseball teams have made White House visits as far back as the 19th century, and championship winners in all sports began receiving regular invitations during Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s.
Roberts was asked Tuesday about a recent baseball-related controversy involving the Trump administration. Last week, the Department of Defense removed — before later republishing — an article from its website detailing Jackie Robinson’s history of military service in what appeared to be part of the administration’s stance against diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives.
Roberts said he was “happy that the page went back up” but didn’t offer any further opinions.
“I have my strong opinions on DEI and all that stuff,” he said, “but that's another scrum."
In addition to their White House visit on April 7, Dodgers team members also will visit Capitol Hill on April 8.
Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo drop a supersized 2025 season preview episode of The Mets Pod presented by Tri-State Cadillac, as special guest Gary Cohen stops by the show!
The guys chat with SNY’s Mets play-by-play broadcaster about Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, the situation at second base, the state of the starting rotation, high expectations for the team, and what he’s looking forward to most in what will be the 20th year of Mets baseball on SNY!
Later, Connor and Joe take the temperature of the starting rotation, bullpen, lineup, and defense of the Mets heading into the regular season, drop their 2025 season predictions that always will be fun to review in the future, and answer Mailbag questions about prospects, Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña, future live shows, and the health of Brandon Nimmo.
Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Yankees played one last exhibition game ahead of the 2025 regular season, falling to the Miami Marlins, 4-2, at loanDepot park on Tuesday afternoon.
Here are the takeaways…
-The Yankees rolled out a lineup that will likely be very similar, if not identical, to what they’ll use on Opening Day against Milwaukee. Here’s a look:
Aaron Boone has already announced that Austin Wells will hit leadoff to start the season, and if there is one potential change for Thursday, it could be Ben Rice or J.C. Escarra serving as the DH, with Aaron Judge in center.
-Cody Bellinger was hitting behind Judge in the order, as will likely be the case for most of the season, and Bellinger got the offense started with a solo home run to center field in the first inning.
Bellinger finished his spring with four home runs and a 1.214 OPS.
-Speaking of Judge, the slugger ended what was a spring to forget by going 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Judge hit .121 this spring with a .510 OPS.
-Will Warren’s final start before the regular season didn’t exactly go as planned. The young righty, who will start the fourth game of the season against Arizona, allowed four earned runs on five hits over 3.2 innings, striking out six and walking two while giving up a pair of home runs.
Warren, now a key member of the rotation following injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt, finished his spring with a 5.09 ERA
-Left-handed reliever Ryan Yarbrough, recently signed by the Yanks, pitched a clean inning in his team debut.
Who was the game MVP?
Bellinger, who had two more hits to finish his spring with a .423 batting average.
SAN FRANCISCO — This offseason, as Lou Trivino went over his options with family members and his agents, the Giants always looked like a great fit. Trivino came up with the Athletics and spent parts of five seasons across the Bay, where he was in the same dugout as Bob Melvin, Matt Chapman, Ryan Christenson and Matt Williams.
The Giants made a lot of sense as a spring training home, but Trivino didn’t quite realize what he was signing up for.
The battle to make the pitching staff was a heated one, with Sean Hjelle, Tristan Beck and Kyle Harrison among those who ended up in Triple-A. The final spots in the bullpen came down to Trivino, Spencer Bivens, Randy Rodriguez and newcomer Joel Peguero, who throws an easy 101 mph and had just about a perfect spring. It appears Rodriguez will get a spot, with Peguero going to Triple-A.
“To be perfectly honest, I didn’t realize how talented this bullpen was until I got here,” Trivino said Tuesday. “Then I got here and I was like, ‘Jeez, this is going to be a tough task.'”
It all worked out in Trivino’s favor, and on Tuesday he was added to the Giants’ 40-man roster and the big league bullpen. The 33-year-old will pitch in the big leagues for the first time since 2022. The next year, he suffered an elbow strain and ultimately had Tommy John surgery, which cost him the first four months of 2024, too.
Trivino said he was not surprised to make the Opening Day roster. The goal was to get back to the big leagues, but it still was gratifying news given what he has been through the last two seasons.
“When it does happen, it’s pretty special,” he said.
Trivino returned to the mound last August as a New York Yankees minor leaguer but said he never felt right. It was a grind, but this spring he felt like his old self. As a rookie for Melvin in 2018, he posted a 2.92 ERA in 69 appearances. There were ups and downs after that, but he was AL Reliever of the Month in June of 2021 and the next year he had a 1.66 ERA after a midseason trade to the Yankees.
Trivino sat at 97-98 mph in those early years in Oakland and topped out in triple-digits. He always has thrown five different pitches and at times has gone beyond that, but this spring he was at his best when narrowing his focus. He threw 95-mph sinkers, a hard cutter and a sweeper on Monday, pitching a scoreless inning in what ended up being his final appearance before officially going back on a roster.
Trivino always seemed like a strong bet in the race for bullpen spots, but Melvin said his past history didn’t sway the decision. The Athletics connections helped get him to San Francisco. The rest was done on the mound this spring.
“Nothing was given to him,” Melvin said. “We had to send some guys down here recently that were part of this team last year. He had to earn it.”
The Other Side
To clear the 40-man roster spot for Trivino, the Giants DFA’d infielder David Villar, who played 109 games in the big leagues the last three seasons. Villar was once the frontrunner at third base, but he couldn’t hold that job and Chapman now has it locked down for years to come. Villar also plays first, but he was behind Wilmer Flores and Jerar Encarnacion all spring.
At the start of camp, Melvin said he hoped Villar viewed it as a way to audition for other clubs if he didn’t crack the Opening Day roster. He is out of options, so the Giants couldn’t send him back to Triple-A.
“I hope he gets a big league job and I hope a change of scenery is good for him,” Melvin said. “There’s still talent there, there’s a tremendous amount of power, he can play first and third.”
The Giants still are finalizing their bench, but they have prioritized players who can handle middle infield and outfield spots.
Trainer’s Room
Encarnacion was supposed to have surgery on his fractured finger on Monday, but a travel issue caused a delay. The Giants are hopeful he’ll get it repaired later this week in Los Angeles, and they’ll have a more accurate timetable for his return after the procedure.
Jung Hoo Lee (back tightness) was in the lineup for a third straight game, clearing a path to start in Cincinnati on Thursday. Elsewhere on the back injury front, catcher Tom Murphy is seeking another opinion after having two epidural shots. He’s in a holding pattern and is a candidate to start the year on the 60-day IL.
WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals left-hander DJ Herz was placed on the 15-day major league injured list because of a sprained ligament in his pitching elbow.
Herz was optioned down to Triple-A Rochester, one of the final cuts from camp.
He was 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA this spring in four appearances, three starts.
Herz is a 24-year-old starting pitcher who made his big league debut last June and went 4-9 with a 4.16 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings across 19 appearances in 2024.
Washington will need to set its roster ahead of its opening game against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Figuring out a cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries among pitchers is easy.
Finding a solution could prove much more challenging.
Major League Baseball issued a 62-page report in December that showed how the focus on throwing with increased velocity and using maximum effort on every pitch was a likely reason for the increase in injuries. The study provided numerical data backing a thesis already supported by conventional wisdom.
“It makes sense,” Cleveland Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee said. “You do anything at a max capacity, you’re going to be at more risk for injury. If you try to squat your absolute max, you’re going to get hurt more often than if you’re squatting a plate and a bar. It’s just kind of the nature of anything you do in life.”
The study showed that major league pitcher injured list placements increased from 212 in 2005 to 485 in 2024. Days on the IL rose from 13,666 to 32,257.
Tommy John surgeries for major and minor league players increased from 104 in 2010 to a peak of 314 in 2020, though they slipped to 281 last year.
The study recommended “ considering rule changes at the professional level that shift the incentives for clubs and pitchers to prioritize health and longevity.” Instituting those types of rule changes could prove challenging when pitchers of all ages understand how much MLB organizations are emphasizing velocity.
“I don’t know if rules are the right way to go about it,” said Chicago Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023. “You can’t tell someone to throw softer. But I was a guy in college that threw high 80s. I would randomly throw a hard number, but I didn’t know how to do it consistently right. But I got outs. But I knew that some wise people ahead of me told me outs are going to get you to the big leagues, velocity’s going to get you drafted. So therein lies the problem.”
Perhaps most concerning were the statistics involving younger pitchers.
Prospects who threw 95 mph or higher at the Perfect Game National Showcase for top high school players increased from three in 2018 to 36 in 2024. Thirty-five players selected in the top 10 rounds of last year’s amateur draft had Tommy John surgery, up from four in 2005.
The evidence of increasing injuries isn’t limited to this study. An Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine study showed there were five times as many injuries among Pac-12 baseball players in 2021 as in 2016, though that applied to all players and not just pitchers.
Problems are starting early in the pipeline
Those numbers help explain why one school of thought suggests any changes need to start at the youth level. That idea has the support of Eric Cressey, who trains more than 100 pro baseball players though his Cressey Sports Performance facilities in Florida and Massachusetts.
Cressey also is the New York Yankees’ director of player health and performance, but he was speaking only on his own behalf and wasn’t representing the Yankees on this issue.
“I’ve long maintained that everything begins with fixing what’s happening at the younger levels, and there will eventually be a trickle-up to the big leagues,” Cressey said.
Cressey noted the problems at the youth level by citing the videos he sees of young pitchers with “arms and legs flying everywhere” as they enter throwing programs when their bodies aren’t prepared to handle it. He believes that young pitchers throwing max-effort showcases in the offseason and disregarding basic warmup guidance has contributed to significant injuries.
“Thirteen-year-olds should never be blowing out ligaments,” Cressey said. “That should just not be happening. And every time it happens, it’s because someone made a terrible, terrible decision on that child’s behalf, whether it’s a coach or a parent. Just like you or I wouldn’t let our kids have candy for dinner or run with scissors or something like that, some of the things that I see in the youth space are nothing short of embarrassing.”
Cressey recommends imposing a scouting dead period for the months of October, November and December.
“It’s absurd for us to ask a still immature 17-year-old to go out and throw 95 miles an hour in November when major league players are resting during that time period,” he said.
Of course, not all MLB pitchers rest during that time.
Pro pitchers don’t rest like they used to
San Francisco Giants pitching coach J.P. Martinez says he doesn’t have a problem with major leaguers throwing throughout the year, though he acknowledges high-effort throwing year-round could make them more susceptible to injury.
“There’s quite a lot of guys that don’t shut down throwing at all nowadays,” Martinez said. “I think that gets vilified a little bit when a lot of the time they’re just keeping the arm moving and keeping the range of motion and workload at a certain level, so when they do ramp up, it’s less of a transition. You’re not going from zero to 60. You might be going from 30 to 60.”
The level of workload pitchers attempt in the offseason is notable because data shows that more injuries happen at the start of the season or in the preseason than at any other time of the year. The MLB study released in December showed that over 40% of the injured list placements due to elbow injuries from 2010-24 came in either March or April.
“That is generally because I don’t think guys are ramping up correctly,” Martinez said.
The challenge with going old school
Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis said he’d like to see an industry-wide emphasis on “turning the clock a little bit to a more old-school and traditional type of way” that relies on locating pitches and changing speeds and shapes. Willis believes that approach could allow pitchers to realize they don’t have to go full-throttle every time they release the ball.
“To prevent some of these injuries, that’s kind of the direction we have to go,” Willis said. “You can’t take away the power and the profiles that these guys can create, but you can take a little bit of the pressure off.”
That pressure can start at the youth levels, which explains why MLB has established Pitch Smart initiatives that set recommended workload limits for pitchers. The idea is to limit the likelihood they would pitch with fatigue since that increases injury risk.
The trick is making sure those recommendations get followed, particularly at a time when pitching prospects across the world believe velocity is what’s going to make an impression on scouts.
“What’s challenging right now is it’s hard to close Pandora’s box,” Cressey said. “A lot of these kids who are 25 and blowing out in the big leagues, they were kids who were doing a lot of things incorrectly in their teenage years, and now they’re just bigger, stronger and are in higher-pressure situations.”
The Mets unveiled their new blue alternate road jerseys early in the offseason, but that's not the only big change coming to their uniforms for the 2025 MLB season.
The road gray uniforms are also getting an update.
The jersey will have the same classic "NEW YORK" across the chest in blue with an orange outline, but the collar and sleeve trim will have royal blue/orange/royal blue stripes.
Meanwhile, the pants will be adding the same new royal blue/orange/royal blue stripes down the side.
Here's a look at the new jersey -- unveiled at Citi Field on Tuesday -- and a look at the what the full uniform will look like, via UniWatch:
The blue piping that had been on the middle of the road jerseys has been removed, while the blue piping that was on the side of the pants has been replaced by the royal blue/orange/royal blue stripe.
SAN FRANCISCO — Replacement grass will be nearby and at the ready when the Sutter Health Park sod begins to deteriorate this spring with regular play from both the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A team and the newcomer Athletics.
Given the unique circumstances of a major league club sharing its ballpark with a minor league affiliate from another franchise — the Sacramento River Cats — contingency plans are in place to maintain the grass quality.
Murray Cook, Major League Baseball’s field consultant and President of BrightView Sports Turf, said both longtime head groundskeepers from the Giants and A’s have been part of efforts to keep the playing surface in top form. In addition, the on-site grounds crew staff has been quadrupled in size, he said.
“We looked at the process of what it was going to take to manage two teams, it is a little bit uncharted to have a major league team, a minor league team share a field for an entire season,” Cook said in a video call.
The A’s will begin what is expected to be a three-year stint in Sacramento when they host the Chicago Cubs for a three-game series. The club hopes to move into a new ballpark in Las Vegas for the 2028 season.
Last fall it was announced the ballpark would feature natural grass instead of artificial turf as initially planned, given the extreme heat in California’s capital.
“It’s not a secret that players prefer playing on natural grass, across the board. Right, everybody knows that, players know that,” Cook said. “I think that’s what kind of pushed this thing toward natural grass. We never said it wasn’t doable, we never said it was going to be ideal versus same thing with synthetic grass. I think at the end of the day we could do both, make them both work.”
Still, high-traffic areas — such as in front of the mound, around home plate, shortstop-second base area — Cook expects will likely need some work for wear and tear by May or early June, pulling from nearby backup fields. Drones will help monitor the field conditions daily along with on-field sensors to determine areas needing to be re-sodded. A watering system has been installed under the infield clay as well to complement the daily watering.
The Giants played the River Cats at Sutter Health Park and reports were positive, “and it sounded like everyone had a great time,” according to Cook.
The existing system features a series of drain lines underneath the playing surface that have the ability to pump cool air into the field to move air through the soil base and provide a cooling system — which also can help promote root growth.
“In addition, it also has the ability to, if there’s a heavy rainstorm, you can flip the switch and you can pull the water off the field,” Cook said. “Or it can put water under the field from underneath to help the root structure to become healthier as well. So it’s got multiple options to help the grass stay healthier throughout the year.”
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez will open the season on the injured list as he recovers from lower back soreness.
Philadelphia president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said that baring any issues the left-hander could be ready to pitch at some point next month.
“I don’t think it will be long, long,” Dombrowski told reporters prior to the team’s exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays. “But we’re going to be slow. We’re not going to bring him back until he feels good. And he feels good now, but now, we’re in that stage where we have to build him up.”
With Suarez out, Taijuan Walker will be the Phillies’ fifth starter.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Dombrowski said. “It’s good to have somebody like that. I hope he pitches like he did a couple years ago. I don’t see why he can’t with what he has now.”
Suarez went 12-8 with a 3.46 ERA in 2024 and is entering his eighth major league season.
A leadoff hitter has the potential to set an immediate tone when stepping into the box for the first time.
And Jimmy Rollins certainly knows a thing or two about what it means to have your name sit at the top of a batting order … considering nearly 70 percent of his games played as a Phillie placed him first in the lineup.
Rollins, the Phillies’ all-time hits leader, who also has the most leadoff home runs in franchise history (46), sat down with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark and shared who his choice would be if he had a say in constructing the 2025 lineup.
“I would like to see (Trea Turner) lead off, get him a chance to get on base,” Rollins said on the Takeoff podcast. “Run the bases, put pressure on for the big boys, when (Bryce Harper) gets up there and (Kyle Schwarber) hitting those bombs. That’s what I would like, but I don’t make those decisions, that’s above my pay grade.”
Since the Phillies signed Turner to an 11-year, $300 million contract in December 2022, the leadoff spot has been one of the most debated topics surrounding the offense.
Schwarber, who will be a free agent at the end of the 2025 season, has been a non-conventional approach at the top of the order. Where he lacks in speed, he’s makes up for it with immediate impact. In the leadoff spot in 2024, Schwarber led the league in walks and broke an MLB record with leadoff home runs in a single season (15).
But does having that power from the jump actually help or hinder the club?
“Schwarber is a good hitter, he’s patient at the plate,” Rollins said. “But when he’s on base in front of Trea, that kind of slows Trea down for obvious reasons. Why not turn those home runs into two- and three-run home runs?
“I know they say you lead off once a game but it does change the way a pitcher and the other team sets up how they face the lineup. When you have speed at the top and power throughout, it’s different than having power in the beginning — which they have power all throughout — but there’s an attack plan from the first batter.
“I still like setting up a guy that can hit a ball in the gap, you’re still going to get more hits than home runs. You hit the ball in the gap, Trea scores. Trea hits a ball in the gap, Schwarber’s not scoring. And that’s what I like.”
It’s still up in the air who will hold the leadoff spot when the Phillies head to Washington Thursday to open the season against the Nationals. There’s also the possibility of alternating the two, depending on the opposing pitcher.
Only a few more days until hypotheticals turn into something more tangible.
Just days before Phillies Opening day, John Clark sits down with Jimmy Rollins to discuss who should lead off for the Phillies this season and if the Phils are the team to beat in the NL East. Plus, we look ahead to J-Roll being inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame this season.
00:00 – Jimmy Rollins 00:31 – Who’s leading off? 05:19 – Staying hot in the playoffs 08:14 – Who’s the team to beat? 09:50 – Phillies Wall of Fame 13:13 – Dick Allen going into the Hall of Fame
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani delivers a pitch during a spring training in Phoenix on Feb.18. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The first time Shohei Ohtani attempted to return from a Tommy John surgery, it did not initially go well.
In July 2020, more than 22 months removed from his first ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction as a rookie in 2018, Ohtani took the mound at Oakland Coliseum and failed to record an out, instead giving up five runs to the Athletics on three hits and three walks before being removed after 30 ineffective pitches.
A week later, in an Angels home game against the Houston Astros, the right-hander struggled again, needing 50 pitches to record five outs while giving up two more runs and issuing a staggering five walks.
Over the rest of that year’s 60-game season, Ohtani did not pitch again, getting shut down on the mound shortly after his second start when an MRI revealed a sprained flexor pronator mass in his right forearm. At no point during that pandemic-shortened campaign did Ohtani’s swing look right either, with the future three-time MVP posting MLB career-lows in batting average (.190), slugging percentage (.366) and OPS (.657).
They know Ohtani could probably be ramping up as a pitcher more quickly right now. They believe that once he returns to the mound, he will look more like the Cy Young-caliber talent he was from 2021-2023, when he rebounded from his dismal 2020 performance by going 34-16 with a 2.84 ERA over the next three years.
But for a team that possesses an otherwise deep starting pitching staff and is primarily counting on Ohtani’s bat to help spearhead its World Series title defense, the Dodgers have taken an increasingly cautious approach to the two-way star’s pitching plan.
Tuesday marks one full month since Ohtani last threw a bullpen session. And while he is scheduled to get off a mound again on Saturday — in what would be his first bullpen since Feb. 25 — there remains no hard timeline for when he might eventually join the Dodgers’ rotation.
At this stage, there doesn’t really need to be.
“Once he gets through the ‘pen on Saturday, then we’ll have a better idea of what a plan looks like,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I don’t really want to speculate too much. It’s hard to do that.”
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani warms up with pitchers and catchers during a spring training workout in Phoenix on Feb. 11. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
This all marks a shift in tone from where the Dodgers were before the start of spring training, when Roberts initially targeted May, if not sooner, for Ohtani to be pitching in big-league games again.
That timeline tracked through the first several weeks of camp, with Ohtani completing four bullpen sessions in his first month at Camelback Ranch.
However, as soon as the slugger — who is also coming back from offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left non-throwing shoulder — began playing in Cactus League games near the end of February, his bullpen sessions suddenly stopped.
Not because of an injury, the team insisted. Not because of dead arm or fatigue, either. In fact, during a news conference in Tokyo last week, Ohtani said his throwing program was going so well, he actually had the luxury to dial it back amid the logistical challenges of the team’s season-opening trip to Japan.
“This is according to plan,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “I’m actually quite pleased with how things have been going.”
So why did Ohtani slow down his pitching ramp-up? And why is his timeline to returning to the mound suddenly so unclear?
Because, he acknowledged, right now he wants “to prioritize the hitting aspect” of his game. In the Dodgers’ view, any production they get from Ohtani’s pitching this year is something of a bonus. And in order to avoid the pitfalls he experienced in 2020, and avoid any added injury risk that could impact his performance or availability as a hitter this year, both the player and team seem content with allowing him to take his time completing his throwing program.
“Because things have been going according to plan,” Ohtani said, “this is a time where I can actually get a breather.”
Shohei Ohtani takes a swing at the plate during a game against the Cubs at the Tokyo Dome on March 18. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Ohtani’s return to pitching this season always figured to be complicated. Throughout last season, Ohtani slowly increased his post-Tommy John throwing program, coming close to the point of once again facing hitters in live batting practice. But in October, he and the team decided to hold off on any live sessions until after the postseason, not wanting to risk over-stressing his body during his first career appearance in the playoffs.
When Ohtani tore his labrum sliding into second base in Game 2 of the World Series, it further delayed his timeline, requiring him to spend the early part of the winter rehabbing that injury after undergoing surgery in the first week of November.
Because of that, the long-awaited completion of Ohtani’s pitching recovery process will require some rehab gymnastics during this coming regular season.
But neither Ohtani nor the Dodgers want him to miss time as the team’s everyday designated hitter in order to go out on such a rehab stint. Thus, at some point, he will begin building up through simulated games likely to take place hours before he hits in a big-league game. His first time hitting and pitching in the same contest probably won’t come until he makes his full return as a two-way player in the big leagues.
While inevitable, it will create the kind of burdensome schedule that could invite a whole host of variables, putting the 30-year-old superstar in a situation he hasn’t experienced before in the majors.
“We don’t really have a template or road map or even experience, really, dealing with a guy with a two-way situation,” pitching coach Mark Prior said earlier this month. “So we’re leaning on him, on how he’s feeling.”
Even though Ohtani has declared he feels good — so much so, he began re-incorporating a wind-up back into his delivery during his spring bullpens — the risk of ramping up too quickly, or routinely hitting pitching velocities his surgically repaired elbow might not yet be fully ready to handle, continues to outweigh the rewards of having him back on the mound sooner.
Remember, the Dodgers’ pitching staff should be good even without Ohtani. The team returns last year’s co-aces, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow. They added two more potential aces, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, in free agency this offseason. And they have ample depth behind them, from Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin (who are coming back from their own elbow surgeries), to Landon Knack, Bobby Miller and, at some point, Clayton Kershaw (who is also expected to miss the first couple months of the season while recovering from offseason toe and knee surgeries).
What the Dodgers really want is to have Ohtani available as a potential impact pitching option come the stretch run of the season.
And though Roberts said the team “would bank that right now” when asked about the potential of Ohtani making 18-20 starts this season, it would not be a surprise if he only makes roughly half that amount during the next six months.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani puts on his elbow pads next to catcher Will Smith during a preseason game against the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“This is a long-term play for Shohei’s well-being, so [we’re] making sure that we’re as cautious and careful as we possibly can be,” Roberts said. “For 2025, the most important piece of this is having him be able to do both through the end of the season, and through October.”
That might come as a disappointment to Dodgers fans who have yet to experience Ohtani’s pitching talents. It’s a sacrifice Ohtani himself will have to accept, marking the first time in his MLB career he hasn’t rushed back to full-time two-way duties as quickly as possible.
But if it means he and the Dodgers can avoid the kind of struggles he endured in 2020, it’s a trade-off everyone involved appears happy to make.
“The main thing is, we always [want to] have the guys at the end of the season,” Prior reiterated. “There are a lot of variables that are unique to his situation. So I think it’s just about having an open mind and trying to be cautiously optimistic and take the right approach.”
Here are Mets and Yankees predictions from SNY staff and contributors for final records, team MVP, and more for the 2025 MLB season...
Andy Martino, SNY MLB Insider
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.40 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Luisangel Acuña Where will Mets finish in NL East? First What will Mets' final record be? 93-69
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What willMax Fried's ERA be? 3.00 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 88-74
Todd Zeile, SNY Mets Analyst
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs forPete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 2.79 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Luisangel Acuña Where will Mets finish in NL East? First What will Mets' final record be? 93-69
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.05 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 97-65
Jim Duquette, SNY Mets Analyst
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.75 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 90-72
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.25 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 92-70
Terry Collins, SNY Mets Analyst
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.25 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Luisangel Acuña Where will Mets finish in NL East? First What will Mets' final record be? 97-65
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Paul Goldschmidt Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.72 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 93-69
Our SNY staff and contributors all have the Mets winning at least 89 games this season ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/14FtvDpoaI
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.86 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? First What will Mets' final record be? 97-65
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Cody Bellinger Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.89 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 89-73
John Harper, SNY Contributor
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 2.98 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Third What will Mets' final record be? 91-71
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.18 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Third What will Yankees' final record be? 90-72
Anthony McCarron, SNY Contributor
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.65 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Third What will Mets' final record be? 89-73
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.15 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Third What will Yankees' final record be? 88-74
Dani Wexelman, SNY Contributor
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.50 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Luisangel Acuña Where will Mets finish in NL East? Third What will Mets' final record be? 89-73
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.20 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 89-73
Hannah Keyser, SNY Contributor
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Under Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.83 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 89-73
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Max Fried Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.49 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 89-73
Will the Mets, Braves or Phillies win the NL East in 2025?
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Under Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.70 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 91-71
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.96 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 85-77
Joe DeMayo, The Mets Pod Co-host
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Under Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.33 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 95-67
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.18 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 98-64
Danny Abriano, SNY Manager of Editorial Production
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS forJuan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs forPete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.49 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 94-68
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.38 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Third What will Yankees' final record be? 91-71
Alex Smith, SNY Editorial Producer
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.89 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Nolan McLean Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 92-70
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Cody Bellinger Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.04 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Third What will Yankees' final record be? 88-74
Phillip Martinez, SNY Editorial Producer
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Under Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.95 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Third What will Mets' final record be? 90-72
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.86 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 93-69
