The Dodgers told me I'd have a great opportunity here to compete, and as soon as I got here, they welcomed me with open arms. Espinal is coming off a down season with a 58 wRC+, but his ability to avoid strikeouts at a high level provides a good baseline. He has kept his strikeout percentage below 15% since 2021, including a career best 11.6% last season in 328 plate appearances.
I've already seen the confidence in Will versus last year when we traded for him and he was unsure of himself. Where now, I think that he has the respect of his teammates and and he's also done it in the highest of leverage.
This game is a business. Sometimes you learn that the hard way. Sometimes you learn that the easy way. I think it's important to understand that. It does put a little bit of a chip on your shoulder. All 30 teams had a chance to grab me. Luckily, the Dodgers held on to me to this point.
Signs of things to come began in 2020 with the 12-year, $365 million contract awarded to Mookie Betts, but even this was a unique situation. Friedman might have been more willing to make this deal not only because of Betts' talent, but also because he had surrendered assets to acquire him and didn't want to make it a one-year rental.
Dating back to the addition of Hideo Nomo, through the time of Hiroki Kuroda as a starting pitcher, to the emergence of fan favorite Kenta Maeda, the Dodgers carry a rich Japanese history that has been developing for more than two decades. However, things have really taken off over the past few years, with the addition of bona fide Japanese star Shohei Ohtani, then subsequently Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Availability has been a major issue for Graterol over the past two seasons, with just 7.1 innings pitched in that time due to injury. It is an unfortunate reality for him and the Dodgers, considering he was one of their best relievers in 2023. He enters 2026 returning from right shoulder surgery that forced him to miss the entire 2025 season.
With Tommy Edman officially slated to begin the 2026 season on the injured list, the Opening Day second base job is open for competition. And it's more of a competition than it might appear to be at first glance. I wrote about the Dodgers' potential "problem" at second base about six weeks ago, but that was with an eye on the Dodgers being interested in Bo Bichette.
On February 18, 1960, then-Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley finalized the purchase of land that would be used for the construction of Dodger Stadium. O'Malley paid a reported $494,000 for the property at Chavez Ravine, which was believed to be worth $92,000 at the time. The process took over a year and a half as O'Malley initially received approval from L.A. voters to purchase the land on June 3, 1958.
"I think this is who we are. This is what we expect," he said. "And I see that in the work each day. Guys are excited to obviously see each other, which every camp is the same way. "But I think for me, I would expect us to go about each day the same. And I think we're as good as anyone at doing that while keeping the long-term goal in mind."
