Cody Snavely
After a long winter, we are back with the latest edition of Dodgers Notes for the 2025 New Year, and believe me, there is much to discuss.
While the Dodgers remain steadfast in pursuing 23-year-old international amateur free agent Rōki Sasaki, we also have plenty of updates on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, recently signed Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim, and much more.
40-Man Roster Update
As of January 16th, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 40-man roster has thirty-nine players, including twenty-four pitchers and fifteen position players. The roster is heavily populated with pitching.
So, if the Dodgers add any players via trade or free agency, they will have one open roster spot for that player. The Dodgers, while heavily involved in Sasaki, have also been rumored to have interested in the relief pitching market, such as lefty Tanner Scott. If they unfortunately miss out on Sasaki, they could jump on right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty‘s market, with rumblings of him accepting a short-term deal.
Over the last month, the Dodgers have had to make a few tough roster decisions, such as trading former 2019 Baseball America Player of the Year Award winner Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds and moving on from 23-year-old Diego Cartaya, who was DFA’d to make room for Hyeseong Kim.
When the team breaks for camp next month, the 40-man roster will change, with multiple players being transferred to the 60-day injured list when that opens. This also will open the door for the inevitable reunion with veteran left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has hinted at his return to the organization for months.
The Dodgers could also look to trade some depth from their pitching staff for the right price, but the players on the roster now will likely be the ones we see at Camelback Ranch in a few weeks.
Rōki Sasaki Pursuit
It is no secret that the Los Angeles Dodgers are this deep in the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes as they’ve scouted the young Japanese righty for years. It was reported earlier this week that Sasaki had narrowed down his decision to three teams: The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Sasaki and his agent, Joel Wolfe, have had their second round of meetings over the past week and are set to make his decision possibly as early as today, with the official signing window open from January 15th until the 23rd.
On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported that Sasaki and the Dodgers were set to meet for the second time. Since then, neither team’s camp has released much information.
While videos have been circulating on social media of Sasaki wearing Padres gear and working out at Petco Park, these pitch meetings with players are nothing unusual.
However, what is interesting is the report from Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times that the Dodgers have been exploring trades to acquire more international bonus pool money, which clearly indicates they feel good about their chances of landing Sasaki.
Clubs are permitted to trade from their bonus pools in increments of $250 thousand, and teams are allowed to add to their pre-existing pools by as much as 60 percent of their original number.
The Dodgers’ 2025 pool was reduced by $1 million due to their signing of Shohei Ohtani last winter. Ohtani rejected the Angels’ qualifying offer, and the Dodgers were a luxury-tax-paying team in 2023. This left Los Angeles with $5,146,200 to work with for this year’s international class.
If the Dodgers were able to maximize their pool money with trades, the maximum amount they could offer Sasaki would be approximately $8,223,920, while Toronto and San Diego could offer him $10,018,560.
Most notably, the Dodgers have lost several international prospects over the last few days as they look to hold off on any deals until they get an answer from Sasaki. This is a gamble for sure for the Dodgers and the two other teams involved because, with the new period to sign these players open, they could risk missing Sasaki and having most of the top players off the market.
According to multiple reports, the Dodgers feel confident about their chances to sign Sasaki, but we have also seen similar reports coming out of the Padres camp.
Either way, the Sasaki saga is set to end in the next few days, with the winner set to receive one of the best international prospects of all time and the loser set to recover whatever they can from this year’s international free agent class.
Hyeseong Kim Role
The newest Los Angeles Dodgers, Hyeseong Kim, arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, this past week to prepare for spring training, which is less than a month away, with the first Dodgers full-squad workout set for February 15th.
However, Kim spoke in an interview with multiple Korean media outlets before his arrival to the United States, sharing key information about his role for the team come next month.
Kim stated that his mindset and goal for the next two months is to make the Opening Day roster, which is not a given as Kim does not have a refusal for a minor league option in his contract, and to prepare for a utility role that the Dodgers have described to him.
Kim, 25, has had experience playing all over the baseball field, but over the last two seasons, he was primarily a second baseman. Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Brandon Gomes stated during the Teoscar Hernández press conference last month that Kim would be a utility player filling in all over the infield and possibly outfield.
However, as mentioned earlier, a full-time second base spot did open with the trade of Gavin Lux, but the Dodgers will likely go with a platoon option there with a combination of Miguel Rojas, Tommy Edman, Kim, and even Mookie Betts.
The position player side of the Dodgers roster seems to be set with the last moves eyed in the starting rotation with Sasaki and the bullpen with Tanner Scott or another arm.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
