Dodgers roster needs position player depth, too
LA’s 40-man roster currently contains only 15 position players. A few minor leaguers could hit their way onto the roster in 2025, but at the moment the group is light on depth relative to recent years
LOS ANGELES — It’s a busy week for the Dodgers on the pitching side of the roster, with Roki Sasaki officially signing on Wednesday and left-hander Tanner Scott on Thursday. But the other part of the roster also deserves some attention.
On the position player side of things, the Dodgers only have 15 position players on the 40-man roster, a number I believe has to and will go up before the season. Last season, for instance, the Dodgers carried either 17 or 18 available position players (i.e. not on the 60-day injured list) on the roster for all but eight games.
If anything, more is needed for depth purposes, as the active roster requires at least 13 position players at all times. As currently constructed, that leaves only two players on the 40-man roster in the minors should the need arise (if we’re handicapping now, my guess would be catcher Hunter Feduccia and James Outman in Triple-A).
There’s also catcher/outfielder Dalton Rushing and shortstop Alex Freeland, both of whom have already reached Triple-A who each are considered top-100 prospects in the sport by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. Neither are currently on the 40-man roster, but could play their way into a call-up this season.
“We do have guys that are coming up that are going to be right there, knocking on the door. We’ll still get a couple weeks trying to figure out how to balance out the final pieces and make sure we’re covered. It’s an incredible, versatile roster,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said Wednesday. “You can fit pieces around in different ways, which is helpful when there’s not a ton of position players on the roster.”
With a full 40-man roster, any addition would require a corresponding move to clear space. If the Dodgers wait until spring training camp opens on February 10, they can begin using the 60-day injured list to create said space, especially with five pitchers expected to miss all or most of the 2025 season.
There are also different types of additions. Last March the Dodgers acquired infielder Andre Lipcius, who was potentially optionable depth. He was designated for assignment when the team finalized the opening day roster, but remained available in the organization if needed, playing in Triple-A Oklahoma City all year. David Bote, a veteran non-roster invitee this year, could serve that role even if he starts the year in the minors, depending on when his opt-out dates are.
Adding a sure major leaguer but at the expense of, for example, jettisoning Chris Taylor in the final year of his contract, might upgrade the active roster but does nothing to increase the actual position-player depth. Bringing in a semi-regular and keeping Taylor would likely mean one of Andy Pages or Hyeseong Kim gets optioned if everyone is healthy.
Last year the Dodgers didn’t sign Kiké Hernández until February 26, more than two weeks after camp started, for instance. He ended up starting the final 13 postseason games and was a key October contributor. Maybe the Dodgers find another position player like that, perhaps even Hernández himself, who is still a free agent.
“There’s still a lot of very good players out there, so we’re kind of understanding what it all looks like,” Gomes said. “Hopefully in the next week or so, we can sit back and say, ‘Okay, here’s what we look like.”
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