Cody Snavely
GLENDALE, Ariz. – The 2025 Major League Baseball regular season is closer than ever, with the Chicago Cubs set to host the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo, Japan, in a two-game series beginning on March 18th.
Both the Cubs and Dodgers have arrived in Japan after a long thirteen-hour flight from Arizona. The Cubs departed a full day before the Dodgers, as Los Angeles arrived early this morning. Both clubs are set to have a few days off to get acclimated to the time zone change and play multiple exhibition games over the weekend.
The Dodgers will have a split squad on Saturday, March 15th. Game One will be at 3 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time against the Yomiuri Giants, and Game Two will be at 8 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time against the Hanshin Tigers.
The Dodgers have yet to officially announce their thirty-one-player travel roster for the series, but Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue confirmed the names he saw on the team’s flight to Japan.
Two-way (1): Shohei Ohtani
Pitchers (16): Anthony Banda, Ben Casparius, Jack Dreyer, Nick Frasso, Luis García, Tyler Glasnow, Landon Knack, Roki Sasaki, Matt Sauer, Tanner Scott, Blake Snell, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Justin Wrobleski, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Kirby Yates
Catcher (3): Austin Barnes, Hunter Feduccia, Will Smith
Infielders (6): Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, Freddie Freeman, Kiké Hernández, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas
Outfielders (5): Michael Conforto, Teoscar Hernández, James Outman, Andy Pages, Chris Taylor
As expected, right-handed pitcher Dustin May is left off the roster despite winning the fifth spot in the starting rotation. He’ll remain in Arizona, preparing for his upcoming turn in the rotation in the States.
The Dodgers also need to add Roki Sasaki to the 40-man roster before he starts Game Two of the series. The roster is full, but the team will likely transfer Michael Grove to the 60-day Injured List to open a spot since he’ll miss the entire season due to shoulder surgery.
Lastly, the Dodges are not done with Cactus League play just yet. Tonight, they’ll play the annual Spring Breakout game, in which their top prospects within the organization will take on the Chicago Cubs’ top prospects in Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
The rosters were announced last week by MLB.com, and we have the breakdown here:
The game will be televised on MLB Network and available on the MLB at-bat app, starting at 6 p.m. PT.
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!
