LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts sounded relaxed in Orlando, but not sleepy. As the winter meetings rolled along, the Dodgers’ manager talked about a quieter offseason, the chase for a three-peat, and how this roster still gives him a lot of confidence. He fielded questions about the bullpen, Teoscar Hernández, the kids on the way, and even his recent comments about a salary cap. The answers were classic Roberts: steady, honest, and focused on 2026.
Asked how he feels about the roster after a relatively tame start to the winter, Roberts said he likes where things stand. “I was actually just talking to Andrew [Friedman] and Gomer [Brandon Gomes] recently,” he said, “and we’re very confident with where the roster is at right now, on the pitching side, the position player side.” He added that the front office will always listen on upgrades, but he is not sitting around waiting for a blockbuster. “Obviously there’s opportunities and potential opportunities to upgrade the roster and we’re always kind of looking to do that,” he said, “but there’s really no big splash we feel needs to be made, because this team is still focused, and you know, there’s some talk about a three-repeat, so this is a focused team.”
If there is one area that keeps coming up, it is the late-inning mix. Roberts was asked if the bullpen might be a spot to add. “If you’re talking about a place where we could improve, I still feel that last year was an outlier year for Tanner Scott,” he said. He made it clear he still believes in his left-hander while also keeping the door open for help. “Not to say that he needs to be a dedicated closer, but I feel that he’s going to be much improved next year. There are some things physically that he was dealing with, some that were talked about, some that weren’t. But yeah, I think that getting a high-leverage reliever is never a bad thing.”
Pressed on why he is so confident in Tanner Scott, Roberts pointed to both health and history. “There were just some things that he kept under wraps about his body,” Roberts said. “The transition to L.A., he just kind of, things just, anything that could go wrong went wrong. I just feel he works his tail off, he’s too talented, and his track record was nothing like last year, so I just think it was an outlier of a season.” He added that Scott “never felt right all year,” even if he never used that as an excuse. “There were moments where it looked right, he felt okay, but he just never felt comfortable,” Roberts said. “To have a regular offseason to prepare for ’26, he’s going to be on a mission next year.”
Teoscar Hernández’s name has floated in trade rumors, but Roberts still sees a fit. “Teo certainly fits,” he said. “He’s helped us win two championships. He’s one of my favorites.” Positionally, nothing is set in stone. “Could he move to left potentially?,” Roberts said. “But I will say, from my eye test, the last game in Colorado, the last time we were in Denver, from that point on, his right-field defense was at least average. For me, that was sufficient with the bat potential. So we’ll have conversations, but again, with the versatility potential and how we potentially shape this roster, there are some options, but right now he’s our right fielder.”
On the rotation and the World Baseball Classic, Roberts said there is still some planning to do with his Japanese stars. On Yoshinobu Yamamoto and possible pitch limits in the tournament, he said, “There’s no more clarity for us. Obviously it’s something that they both are excited about potentially. Obviously the country of Japan [is] excited. We have to have that conversation, but I would like to think it’s going to be a dialogue as far as restrictions and limitations, just trying to give them the opportunity but also understand they’ve come off some long seasons, and certainly with Yamamoto, looking out for 2026.”
Shohei Ohtani’s return to full-season starter in 2026 will come with a plan. “I think the thought is to have Sho being used as a regular starter,” Roberts said, “but it’s not going to be a regular five-man rotation.” He does not want to label it a strict six-man setup either. “I just think that giving him six, seven, eight days off to allow him to stay rested and build up, that’s something that’s in our process,” he said. As for the WBC, Roberts joked a little but did not hide his preference. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m hoping he doesn’t, but I don’t know. Sho is very in tune with his body. I would say probably the thought is he’s probably just going to hit, but I really don’t know. I haven’t talked to Sho.”
He admitted the WBC decisions for his Japanese players are not simple. “It’s very delicate,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to be dismissive of what it means to them, representing their country. I know the organization doesn’t. I do think the conversations need to be had and will be had as far as what each individual is taking on and what potential costs there might be. At that point, whatever is going to happen is going to happen. You can’t debate the emotion, what a player might feel of this potential opportunity.”
Roberts also circled back to the starting depth that carried the Dodgers through the last three seasons. “It’s exciting,” he said, when asked about young arms like Gavin Stone and River Ryan. “It’s easy to talk about the guys that we have slotted in as starters, but guys like River, Gavin, two years ago Gavin threw the most innings for us as a pitcher for a championship team. River is very talented.” He then layered in some of the other names. “Now you layer in what Robo [Justin Wrobleski] did for us and Emmet Sheehan, and so we’ve got guys that are on the come, guys that have done it,” Roberts said. “It just speaks to how well equipped we are for not only this year but beyond. I’m excited for River, excited for Gavin, because to see your teammates celebrate and go through what we went through and not be able to participate, those are things that we’re all betting on for that extra hunger.”
Getting younger on the position-player side is also on the radar. “I think that’s absolutely a great thought,” Roberts said. “It’s something that we do think about as an organization. Certainly if you look at our farm system, we’re certainly top three, and a lot of that is weighted by position players in our system.” He pointed to a few by name. “I do think that Dalton Rushing, for us to move on from Ben Rortvedt, speaks to Dalton’s opportunity and what we think of Dalton,” Roberts said. “I think Andy is just scratching the surface. I think Alex Freeland is a guy that cut his teeth last year, that is very versatile, can do some things for our club. And I still feel Will Smith is right where he needs to be.”
Rushing could help in more than one spot. “We ran him out there a little bit at first base,” Roberts said. “Freddie’s a guy that wants to be out there every day, but if there’s opportunities to get Freddie off his feet, I can see Dalton playing a little bit of first base to spell Freddie.” Behind the plate, Roberts liked what he saw in a small sample. “With Will Smith last year, you saw we cut back a little bit on his playing time and I felt that he stayed strong throughout the entire season,” he said. “I think there could be some more of that, to give Dalton a little bit of runway and some opportunities. I thought he did a great job with the pitching staff, and I think there’s a lot more bat in there that he’ll show in 2026.”
Roberts’ recent comments about a salary cap and floor also came up. He did not back away from what he said, but he put it in context. “Here’s the thing,” he said. “I’m entitled to an opinion, as we all are. That’s one man’s opinion, and fortunately, unfortunately, I don’t have a vote.” He stressed that he still loves the current sport. “I still think the game is in a great spot and everyone’s winning,” he said. “It’s the greatest game and it’s a lot of fun. I’m focused on 2026. I was asked a question and I answered it honestly, but again, my opinion shouldn’t move the needle.”
Would a cap change much for the Dodgers? Roberts smiled and backed his group. “Honestly, I think that we have an organization that, whatever rules or regulation constructs are put in front of us, we’re going to dominate,” he said. “Just give us the rules, let us know the landscape, and then I’ll bet on our organization. I don’t make these decisions. I coach a baseball team, and that’s it.” As for how players view him, Roberts said, “Each player knows how much I care about them, their well-being, so I’m not concerned with that at all.”
On a personal level, he said this offseason has been about traveling and detaching a bit. “I kind of stopped worrying about what people thought,” Roberts said. “In our world, you can’t win anyway. People are waiting for you to fall. They’re waiting for controversy. I’m happy with what we’ve accomplished. I’m very secure with who I am as a man, and I’m going to keep trying to do the best I can for as long as I can.”
Finally, he confirmed what most Dodger fans expected: Mookie Betts will be back at shortstop. “Mookie Betts back at short,” Roberts said. “He was right there in that Gold Glove race, and I think the only person that could have felt he had that in him was Mookie this year.” He pointed to the last play of the World Series as an example of how far Betts has come. “He worked on that play a lot,” Roberts said. “On the run, field it, runner bearing down on you, then throw it on the run and make it a strike to Freddie. That’s just a little snippet of his growth.”
Roberts was honest about Mookie’s struggles at the plate. “He had a tough offensive year. He did. He’s human,” he said. “But it’s easy to bet on a bounce-back year for Mookie on the offensive side, for sure.”
Quiet winter or not, the picture Roberts painted in Orlando was clear. The Dodgers like their core, trust their kids, and see room for a few smart tweaks. The manager sounds comfortable with the noise around him and locked in on the chance to chase another banner with a group he still believes in.
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