Cody Snavely
Entering camp, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ “super team” roster did not have much active competition, with most of the roster set on both sides of the diamond. However, like every season, a Cinderella story emerges, and for the Dodgers, that seems to be utility infielder David Bote.
Back in December, during the peak of the Major League Baseball offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers made a relatively small move by signing Dave Bote to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training as a non-roster invitee (NRI).
Bote, 31, has played his entire career with the Chicago Cubs, making his debut during the 2018 regular season, a year after the Cubs won the 2017 World Series. Bote was a mainstay on the Cubs bench during his rookie season, which was highlighted by his signature walk-off grand slam over the Washington Nationals.
Bote’s best year came the following season in 2019, when the righty hit .257/.362/.422 with a 105 wRC+, which resulted in an overall value of 1.7 fWAR. Overall, Bote has been a below-league-average hitter with a career 92 wRC+, which resulted in the Cubs optioning him to Triple-A Iowa for the entire 2023 season and most of 2024.
Despite a respectable .304/.333/.391 slash line in forty-six at-bats last season, the Cubs opted to move on from Bote, declining his one-year $7 million club option with a $1 million buyout.
Coming into spring training this season, Bote was seen as a depth piece for the Dodgers in Triple-A OKC, a role similar to Andre Lipcius‘s last spring. Like Lipcius, Bote has played extremely well, forcing his name into the conversation of a roster spot.
Since the start of Cactus League play, Bote has arguably been the best hitter for the Dodgers. Overall, Bote is 10-for-20 with a .500/.524/.900 slash line, 1.424 OPS, along with two doubles, two home runs, one walk, and eighteen total bases.
Comparing that to the competition for the final two roster spots, which is a battle between Chris Taylor, Andy Pages, James Outman, and Hyeseong Kim, they’re a combined 11-for-66 this spring with twenty-nine strikeouts.
Despite Chris Taylor’s poor play this spring and the last two seasons, he is more of a lock to make the Opening Day roster than anyone due to having no minor league options and 1-year $13 million remaining on his contract from 2021.
The trio of Outman, Pages, and Kim all have minor league options, so any of them is a guaranteed roster cut, particularly Outman, who has struggled in 2024 and has nine punchouts this spring. Kim, 26, has not fared better, with only two hits so far, and the Dodgers are flirting with the idea of a minor league stint to start the regular season.
As for Bote, he is a non-roster invite, meaning if he were to make the club’s Opening Day roster in Tokyo, Japan, or the domestic Opening Day, he’d have to be added to the 40-man roster. If neither happens, Bote does have the ability to opt out of his deal and become a free agent.
While Bote could test the market and get a Major League roster spot elsewhere, I expect he’d like to remain in the Dodgers organization after speaking highly of the coaching staff since his arrival.
“Working with RVS (Robert Van Scoyoc), (Aaron) Bates, and all the hitting guys, they’re the best in the business,” Bote said.
“Seeing it from afar and now being able to come over and access those minds, how they work over here, has been awesome. They’re the best in the business for a reason. It’s just been really cool to work on some things and see the results of it.
“It definitely takes a lot of time and work. The first thing they say is you’ll get out what you put into it. They had a couple things to work and feel, and over time you check boxes if it works on flips, works on BP, works off machines, the Trajekt, live BP. You kind of scaffold it, basically. It’s been part of the process.”
The real question is how it will all shake out at the end of the final two weeks of Cactus League play. While Bote is certainly making his case for a bench spot on the Dodgers roster, there are a few reasons that his fate has already been decided, no matter how well he plays.
One massive reason is that Bote is a right-handed hitter, and the Dodgers projection is already full of righties on the bench, including Austin Barnes, Chris Taylor, Miguel Rojas, and Kiké Hernández. The Dodgers would benefit from a lefty on the bench such as Kim.
While versatile throughout his career playing all over the diamond, Bote has primarily been a second or third baseman, which limits his ability off the bench compared to Kim, who can play second base, shortstop, and center field.
That said, I still expect Bote to get optioned to the minor leagues on the final days of roster cuts. If he stays with the organization as depth, like Andre Lipcius, who was mentioned earlier, he would be a Major League-ready talent in Triple-A; however, a lot can change between now and then.
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