Dodgers Territory - Dodgers Baseball is BACK! Spring Training Sights and Sounds, Offseason Grades, Q&A and More!

Episode Date: February 9, 2026

Katie Woo and Clint Pasillas discuss the latest news and notes, plus spring training sights and sounds for the Los Angeles Dodgers! The hosts discuss the meaning of "truck day" for the Dodgers and fans (2:08). They also dive into the latest sights and sounds out of Camelback Ranch with Yoshinobu Yamamoto joining Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, and others a few days before the official report date. In Dodgers news, the club announced it had claimed catcher Ben Rortvedt off waivers (9:59). In a corresponding move, veteran reliever Anthony Banda was designated for assignment. Why was Banda the odd man out and what is the plan with Rortvedt and Dalton Rushing with the backup catcher role? Katie grades the LA offseason as the hosts take questions from the live chat (17:10). Plus reactions to the stacked promotional calendar for the Dodgers in 2026 (31:49). Quit overspending on wireless with 50% off Unlimited premium wireless. Plans start at $15/month at MintMobile.com/Territory Check out DT merch at dodgersterritoryshop.comSupport Guidry's Guardian at guidrysguardian.orgFind Clint on YouTube at youtube.com/@alldodgersFollow Katie's work at The Athletic nytimes.com/athletic/author/katie-woo/ Subscribe to Dodgers Territory on YouTubeRate and review our podcast on Apple and SpotifySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green, co-host at the podcast The Away End, with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Then she says, have you seen a photo of my son? And I'm like, who is this person? Welcome to the Boys and Girls podcast. Arranged Marriage is basically a reality show and you're auditioning for your soulmate. And who's judging? Only your entire family? I sacrificed myself to this ancient tradition,

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at our 2026 IHard Country Festival presented by Capital One. Tickets are on sale now. Get yours before they sell out at Ticketmaster.com. That's Ticketmaster.com. This is that what I'm talking about.

I'm going to go to spring and I'm going to have to ask about this and I'm kind of excited to do so because what the heck even is that? What is going on, everybody? Welcome to a fresh Monday edition, post-Super Bowl edition. of Dodgers Territory. Dodger Baseball

is back this week edition of Dodgers Territory. I am Clint. But see us. That is Katie Wu. Alana Rizzo is out today. Shall we back with us on Wednesday? Get your questions in for us. We're going to have an honest to God Q&A segment later on in the show, but that

will only be based on you guys getting us good questions into the chat. Rate the show, like the show, give us five stars, all of that kind of stuff. Help us reach that 20,000 subscriber mark here. on the Dodgers territory YouTube channel helps us out a whole bunch a lot of things to dive into uh katie of first any thoughts before we get into the big ticket any any super bowl thoughts

um really disappointed with my timeliness to getting to the super bowl my brother was hosting and i was watching the olympics he doesn't live that far away from me and i got so emotional watching the medal ceremony and next thing i knew it was like three o'clock and i totally missed like the anthem and the kickoff and most importantly it gave my brother an opportunity to say once again you were late so that just can't happen i have to be better other than that i don't usually get to watch the super bowl back in my florida spring training lifestyle rip we always left on super bowl sunday for spring training so it was nice to actually like sit down and watch the game and eat like 800 000 calories that was a pretty cool sunday just like yeah that's the most important part is

making sure you get yourself you know uh spring training best shape of your life all that kind of stuff Just eat as much as you can, drink as much. Yeah. If you see me this, sorry. Living your best life. All right, let's get into the big ticket, guys. We got some Dodger stuff to talk about. Katie Wu, it was Truck Day out of Dodger Stadium on yesterday, on Sunday.

That was my favorite part of yesterday. I love it when I get to see baseball equipment being put into a trailer. And, well, apparently here, a semi-truck being pulled up to the back. back of it and that truck driving the X amount of miles it is to Glendale, Arizona. What does this do to get the excitement going? Yeah, load it up. Next stop, the ranch. That's what I'm calling it, at least. It's a stark reminder that I really need to get my life together. I have zero things packed, zero things done. But we're going to just roll into my first Dodgers spring. It's honestly, like pretty unfamiliar obviously. So we're going in with an open mind. I don't want to say low expectations

because obviously that's not true. But I think the ability to be flexible will be my friend in my first week. But I'm pumped up. I mean, I feel like it's been forever. I've known about this job change for a few months now. It went public in December. And I just feel like I've been kind of half in, half out, because it's really hard to cover a team when the team is at meeting every day. And I'm excited to just go to spring training, go to pitchers and catchers and start doing the job, like boots, on the ground, capital J journalism. I think that'll be something that is going to be super fun. I haven't.

It's a luxury, I think, to be able to do your first spring again after five springs with the Cardinals to be able to come in with a completely new organization, clean slate, lots of fun stories to tell. I'm excited to like actually get going and do the job. Fire me up, Clint. Yeah, I mean, I think Dodgers fans, somebody who loves the work that people like you, you people do. I'm very interested, very excited to see.

your take, a different viewpoint of, you know, Doc and the gang, everybody there at Camelback Ranch. CBR is what we call it when you're there a whole bunch. The ranch also works. But, yeah, what stories you're going to come up with and things you'll be able to chase? I think it's going to be a lot of fun, a lot of fun for you. Get there early, though, for Doc scrums, because, you know, you're going to have to weasel your way to the front with all of the coverage there is now, especially, as you know already, a show hay scrum, any sort of availability. Oh, it's an absolute madhouse there at Camelback.

But that gets me excited, that absolutely, because that means we're that much closer to real baseball, ladies and gentlemen. It is fun. We do already have, we talked about it last week. A bunch of players are already at Camelback Ranch. We have a Yoshinobu Yamamoto signing, a siting that is your World Series MVP. And we got a javelin. Are you going to get some javelin questions in?

This is my first time seeing this footage. pitchers crack me up like clearly this is helping you how I don't know but this is that what I'm going to go to spring and I'm going to have to ask about this and I'm kind of excited to do so because what the heck even is that it also looks like really good form apparently I don't yeah yeah I mean he's a pro at it for sure you know you get the long toss look at that look at that placement right there I would love to see yama playing some darts in a like a little shitty dive bar somewhere because I'm pretty sure he's an absolute beast. There's also

this, there's also the show Hey, Otani kid I've heard a lot about. He's out there. He's throwing a medicine ball against the wall working out as well, getting his throws in. I just, we talked about it again last week. David says in the chat, it's encouraging to see so many of these guys showing up early. Obviously, they don't need to be there yet. What do you think this means

like, or what does this mean to you and being around different teams and organizations, all that? To know that, I don't even know it's an excitement thing for them, but them being there earlier because they are chomping at the bit that much to want to get back to work. How special is that? How important is that for a club? I think it just goes to show the level of commitment going into a season. And for this Dodgers team that has played the latest of any team two years in a row, formerly expecting to compete very late

into October again this year, there's a reason they report date, which is technically the 13th. So this Friday is a bit later than every other teams. It's to give them that a couple of days back because two or three days in the scheme of a 200 plus day season really actually does kind of take a little bit of the pressure off to start the year. But those guys are like, no, we have work to do. Let's get out there. I want to be with this group of guys. They have their site set on a 3P. They've talked about it essentially since winning their last World Series last year.

So to be able to have, and it's not just a couple of guys, right? It's your main guys. It's the big guys. You see Otani there. You see Yamamoto there. That sets a precedent for this team coming in. And yes, the Dodgers have already have a pretty large precedent set. But to be able to come in and just simplify things on February 9th,

go in and get your work done and get out of there. It sets a good tone to start the season, and we're going to see more and more guys roll up as reporters start to as well this week. Yeah, everybody should be showing up. You already mentioned you're heading out there on Wednesday, getting yourself settled in and a lay of the land there. Another guy, Roki Sasaki, there at Camelback. We love to see that.

There was a video over the weekend, MLB Japan, showing Roki, you know, getting a bullpen in, an actual mound session here, but not at Camelback Ranch, which I thought it was a little weird. You're reading anything into that or am I, just my, you know, editor creationism here, sensationalism trying to make something. I think he's, where is he pitching at? I don't even know where that's at, but him not at Camelback when everybody else is there. Is there a story here? What's going on? Is Rokey mad at the Dodgers? See, this is where I'm here to pump the brakes.

Calm down, everybody to take a deep breath. No, and you know that's true. He's just working out. Just going out there, getting some, I mean, the fact that he's off the mound right now, it's super fun to see, you know, that Roki after his rookie year last year, some highs, a lot of lows,

not a lot of availability that he would have liked. But I think this upcoming season, it represents, I think, Roki Sasaki 2.0 because the Dodgers have a better understanding of who he is as a pitcher. He has a better understanding of who the Dodgers are as an organization, and I do not want to underscore just how difficult it is to come internationally to the major leagues, have so much pressure on you as a big signing, and then come out and be hurt.

So I think the level of understanding between the organization and the front office and the player and his health should be at a much better vantage point this year. I'm excited to see what Sasaki opens this spring. We've talked a lot about the Arsenal. I think Andrew Friedman on our show a couple weeks ago was under the impression that the Arsenal doesn't necessarily need to be adjusted. It just needs to be more effective. Well, what does that look like?

That's what we're going to see as we search for early spring storylines. A good thing about the Dodgers I'm learning is that no matter what, there seem to have plenty of storylines. So I'm excited to dive into the Sasaki one especially, but we'll have a lot more once we get down there. Yeah, more storyline is what does that bullpen that was supposed to be great last year? What does it look like this year? If we're getting back into video.

And shout out again, Messiah Kotani, who covers the team for, I think it's full count, full count, does a great job. Getting great video for us here, but you see, Edgaro, Henriquez, of course, one of those kind of outlier arms, we can sort of call him in the bullpen. He's got elite stuff, 100 mile an hour fastball,

absolutely disgusting slider. Can he put it all together? Can he get a little bit better? And then regular bullpen dogs, as we all know. We got Blake Trinan, we got Alex Vessia doing their wall work, their weighted ballwork as it were. One guy, we haven't talked about it here on the show since it has happened because it happened Friday and we were last live with Mark Pryor on Thursday.

Check that out if you guys missed it. But there was a move. There was a transaction. We are down one bullpen dog as Alex Vesia. Sorry, not Alex Vescia. His teammate, Anthony Bonda, was DFA'd and the Dodgers. You're not even in the scene, so I nailed that one. You know what? We're trying our best.

Anthony Bonda, DFA'd, and Ben Wartvet claimed off of waivers. What's kind of the initial thought about that decision, that transaction? And I guess really focus on the Bonda part. I was surprised to see Bonda up there. You think over the last two years, especially, he's been one of the most reliable relievers for the Dodgers in that bullpen. I mean, in 2025, I know there was some inconsistency from him in the postseason, what reliever can you not say that about in last year's postseason, especially those early

rounds? But the regular season, Bonda was so reliable, so durable. He took the ball 71 times, had an ERA under 3-2 from the left side. Any organization in baseball is going to take that because durability as a reliever is relatively rare. I mean, 71 appearances is a lot. And this is a guy that was always down for the assignment, down for the innings, down for whatever the situation was on the basis. He always was willing to take the ball. So I was not surprised to see who the Dodgers picked, and we'll get to that. But I was very surprised to see the corresponding roster move in Bonda. It just comes down to space. And there's a ton of lefty relievers competing for spots in this bullpen, creating someone of a log jam. And I think the Dodgers have to make some difficult

decisions. You go through what their 40 men looks like and their lefties there. I mean, we've talked about this pretty much all offseason with their depth in the rotation. It all also applies to the bullpen. You just go down the list. There's a ton of lefties that are going to be competing. So unfortunately for Bonda, a fan favorite, one of the best entrance songs in baseball, he gets the cut. Again, not a name I was expecting to see,

but when you look at where the roster stands, it does make sense. Yeah, roster and the fact that you mentioned, they have all those lefty relievers, and you don't, he does not have options this year. He is out of options. So baseball at times is a numbers game. He leaves L.A. as a two-time World Series champion. And he will get himself a job somewhere, a big league job,

and hopefully have an opportunity to, you know, bring some of that veteran leadership and some of that Dodgers Moxie to another club in need. The other part of that, though, is the return or the re-return, I'm going to call it here of Ben RoartVett, who, of course, was with the Dodgers. He was the backup catcher for their World Series run. They came to a, like, one, $1.6 million deal or something like that.

early in the off season, then he was claimed off waivers by the Reds. And then the Reds said, we don't want you after all. The Dodgers pick him back up here. I know right away people, the first concern, the first question is, could RoortVet end up being the backup catcher? Is this a situation where they're maybe trying to get him and pass them through waivers again, keep him in the organization as AAA depth? Or is he somebody that maybe could, you know, play his way,

to a backup role in Dalton rushing going back to AAA to get some more seasoning. What do you think? I think of all three of those options presented, the second one makes the most sense. And it would, you know, the Dodgers pick last, my understanding, through waivers. And that order does not change till opening day. So they could if they feel the need to or feel forced to try to see if they can pass them through waivers again since he made it to them the last time. Dalton rushing is fascinating for me and so many fans for so many different reasons because you have Will Smith. and he's going to get the bulk of the time behind the plate. We know this.

What does this mean for Dalton rushing? How are the Dodgers going to use him? What does it mean for his long-term development? This was their top prospects for a super long time. I don't think that much has really changed for how the Dodgers view him. It's just more of a can he take those steps forward? What is he going to show in spring? And then L.A. can make a decision from there.

But I don't think this is necessarily putting his spot in the roster at risk. Just trying to get as much depth as possible in a position where you know, you always need a third string catcher. You always need catching depth there. So why not bring him back when the Dodgers were pretty confident they'd be able to do so? He has had a pretty topsy, turvy winter, but not nearly as much as our beloved king, Michael Ciani, who is back with the organization after like 16 different releases. This is a pro-Myke Siani podcast just to let the viewers know.

So look, it might be hard for our pal Ben out there, but Mike Siami hasn't beat. Yeah, I definitely love the. idea of having another grown-up, like, catching option. I'm not, I don't think he, I agree with you, I don't think he ends up kind of usurping that backup role from Dalton rushing, unless Dalton just really has an absolutely abysmal spring training. That job belongs to Dalton rushing. But there's an opportunity. There's absolutely space for Ben Roortvet to either be a backup catcher or the everyday catcher at AAA. And, you know, having somebody with the experience Ben Roortvett has, having him kind of.

you know, pilot that minor league staff and there's some important arms down there at AAA Oklahoma City, having him still in the organization and what he can bring, like the intangibles he brings to the table, World Series champion now, it's worth pointing that out. I really, I love that for him. I love the organization. I'm sure he would prefer a big league opportunity. I'm sure he will try to take it if it does come his way. But if he does end up being, you know, the first guy, you know, breaking case of a.

emergency, Will Smith gets hurt or Dalton rushing has an injury at the big league level during the season, he will be the first guy that organization calls and having a familiar face goes a long way for this organization. We got a lot more Dodgers territory to come. First, we're going to tell you, our friends at Fowell Territory are going to tell you about Mint Mobile. Hey, sometimes we do a little game on Fowel Territory called Role Play. It's not what you think. We're just picking up our phones and we're talking as if we're somebody in baseball. But if you'd like that phone to be a little bit cheaper for making phone calls, who should you call, Kratz? MintMobil, because you get all the same speed with a tiny little price.

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initial plan term only, over 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy, capable device required, availability, speed and coverage varies. See mintmobile.com. Save money. Get after at FtFam. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault in Our Stars, and now, I guess also as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast.

I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game, and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup.

For us, soccer... Football is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important.

Listen to the away end with Daniel Auer Kohn and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I love that front end. Welcome back to Dodger Territory Monday edition, the question and answers segment of the show. And look, I'm going to pop this up on the screen right there. Get your Dodgers questions in. We'll be here for a little bit talking to the folks, talking to the fam here.

We do have some folks who already have some thoughts lined up in the chat. And Craig, I mean, this just piggybacks off with the conversation we're just having. Craig asking, what are the percentages of Dalton rushing winning that backup job? to me it feels like almost a lock unless again there's an injury or he just has the worst spring training what do you got it at katie yeah i'm i'm right there with you clint i mean this is a guy the dodgers have a luxury in terms of they just have so much talent and don't rushing fits that bill so you don't give up on a guy this early you're going to give him a ton of run in spring again we talked about will smith having that starting catching job we know he's not going anywhere but i would

be very surprised unless the wheels just completely fall off this spring if we see see Dalton rushing status in the org continue like if we see Dalton rushing's status of the fall wow that's such a Monday today it's got I mean again a Super Bowl we're all hammered still high on food as well like give us some grace here people showtime L.A in the chat asking odds that Evan Phillips resigns when the 60 day injured list opens up of course this something we're trying to figure out still you're trying to figure out when does that 60 day IL open up because we assume there will be a Kikea resigning pretty soon. But this is another guy. Evan Phillips. We've heard a little bit of maybe some other teams,

maybe somebody like Boston exploring him while he recovers from Tommy John surgery. What have you heard about Phillips? And what are the chances he ends up back in L.A.? Yeah, I think when you're thinking about the 60-day IL, there are two guys that you're looking for the Dodgers to bring back and you said it, Clint. It's Kike and it's Evan Phillips. Kikey Hernandez coming off of tennis elbow of surgery, I believe. And I'm not sure the timetable when he's going to be ready, but we do know, unfortunately, he will not be playing in the World Baseball Classic will not be representing team Puerto Rico this year. But it just kind of always made sense. And I don't think it'd be any big surprise for him to come to the Dodgers or resign with the Dodgers when that 60 day IL

opens because he's probably not going to be ready to start the season. Same with Evan Phillips coming back from Tommy John surgery. We're looking at what, June, maybe to start throwing the ball again, be ready around July, August. So there's no need for the Dodgers to bring him back. right now and that's part of the reason why they non-tendered him back in november was because they needed those 40 man spots even the dodgers have their need to be uh you know uh what's the word i'm looking for frugal there we go uh with save a buck with you yeah yeah um so when this and i believe the 60-day aisle opens up sometime this week when that officially happens and players or teams are able to store injured players there and free up some 40 man spots i imagine we'll see a keke

signing at the minimum, but definitely keep your eyes open for Evan Phillips because I know that's someone that they had a lot of interest in bringing back. Yeah, I mean, E-Filly, high leverage honeybun, as we call them here on the show. It's been just absolutely phenomenal when healthy, been phenomenal for this team. Obviously, would not be the closer for the organization anymore. I picked up a number of saves over the last couple of years, but still, somebody that you know you can plug into any sort of situation and he's going to get you the out. He's likely to get you out the three outs, whatever you need.

So hopefully he ends up back a very important piece. He's been a very important piece of that bullpen. Kind of on this thought, you know, we could all pretty much pocket the idea that Kike Hernandez will be back with the team. The offseason is essentially over. How would you grade this offseason for the Boys in Blue? Great question. The Dodgers really kind of downplayed their need for any kind of additions. in the early part of the off season.

And I guess that's the only team that can get away with doing that is a team that has won back-to-back World Series champions. But that's just not how a blockbuster team operates. So Andrew Friedman, Brandon Goams were strategic. They said, you know, we like our core. Obviously, there's a lot to like. They identified two areas of the roster. They could improve for the right fit.

You're talking the bullpen and you're talking the outfield. So what did the Dodgers do? They sign the best available player at each position. Edwin Diaz is their closer. Kyle Tucker is their newest outfielder. He'll be hitting second or third for the Dodgers this year. If you're going to make two real major additions to your roster, you might as well do it with the best possible names you can get.

And the Dodgers did exactly that. So I think that makes them clear winners in my books. Honestly, they could have done nothing. And they probably still would have been the favorites to win the World Series again. That they got Diaz and that they got Tucker just skyrocketed those odds. So Dodgers fans looking for a repeat. I think you should be pretty happy with how your team looks heading into pitchers and catchers on Friday.

Yeah, when you enter the offseason with a clear outfield need and you sign the best available free agent and you also enter the offseason with a clear back end of the bullpen need and you sign the top available free agent, I would give that a strong A plus plus plus. That's an S tier kind of off season. And I love the slide of hand from the front office all offseason. If something happens, cool. If not, you know, we're fine. And then meanwhile, it's like, hey, get your ass over here.

we want to win three in a row. And they are set up. They are absolutely set up. They are prime two. I love this one. I'm just going to put it up there even though it's not really a question. Michael asking or bring it up Katie's kitchen. Where are we at?

Are we in the kitchen? I forget we've talked about this. Is it the laundry room? Where are we at again? It's a makeshift kitchen slash laundry room because my washer and dryer are also in here. It just cut me some slack. Okay. By the time, here's my promise DT fan.

By the time, opening day starts, I will actually have set at my desk. I'll also get rid of the wine bottles in the back. That's a great look. That's awesome. No, no. You need to have the wine. We do. Thank you. It's past 12. I could start if I wanted to. But the next three and a half weeks, four weeks, that's right. Don't expect anything better. The reviews are going to be my sad, sad Phoenix hotel room.

So we're going to go down before we get up. Yeah. Listen, it's a long season, guys. It's not about how you start. It's about how you finish. Justin, there was a couple of comments in here asking, and we've talked about it a little bit. I think more so you, me, Alana, have spoken about it before shows, but how you like in the SoCal winter versus, you know, St. Louis and more so the eastern side of the states. I am surprised I haven't been, like, kicked out of my group chat back in St. Louis because I live in Manhattan Beach and I walk every day, bring back Hawk Girl walks in 2026, and I send a picture of the ocean every day. and my friends respond with pain and suffering because they're like iced out in Missouri.

A bunch of them just left for Florida though, so my leverage, my power in the situation has dwindled rapidly. But yeah, this is insane. I cannot believe people willingly choose to live in Igloos, essentially. Could never be me again. No way. Yeah, I already noticing that on your Instagram,

by the way, since recently following you, I'm seeing the ocean views. It's looking real nice. But now it's going to be backfields times. so that's also a great amount of fun give her follow or don't i don't know follow her on on twitter it's our twitter x it's a lot better for sure uh david lee uh said that that he would watch uh dart competition from mlb pitchers uh i i could definitely see that becoming a racket i could see people gambling a whole bunch a bunch on that shout out uh kalshi sponsor your boy

i don't even know what that is i think i know what it is i don't know it's not it's like a very bring back special k i think it's still around i don't know i'm a chrios boy when i'm trying to eat my healthy cereal you can tell it goes a long way aaron has a question about edgaro henrique somebody already put some eyes on uh here at at camelback ranch already not here but there um you know is this kind of the season is it not i wouldn't call it a make or break but for the the sake of a question here on the spot is this a make or break kind of season for edgaro henrique as he enters his third year with big league time. What do you think?

It's hard to say because he has such potential, right? He has all the tools. He has the makeup. It's just about the execution. The daughters, however, are a very competitive team. I don't have Enrique's options off the top of my head here. I'm learning. Give me time.

Yeah, he has options this year. So we got that working for him. There's no rush. Right? There's no rush for him to figure it out. It would obviously be nice, too. But there's no pressure like a bond of situation where the options essentially force a decision here.

When you have that much talent and the Dodgers do a fantastic job at developing talent in the minor leagues, try to hone in. So, no, not necessarily make or break a year. I would imagine he's one of those guys that kind of rides the Dodgers, Oklahoma City shuttle plane. I don't know. A lot of frequent flyer miles. Yeah. Yeah, get that Southwest card. Don't get me started on Southwestern policies, by the way.

That's a tangent we don't have time for. But no, it's not a make or break season. I don't think because he has those options and because the Dodgers have to be. a lot of depth. He's just going to be a key depth piece in that bullpen. If he can figure it out, though, that's a lights out weapon for some middle innings. Yeah. And we know over the course of 162, how important it is to have, you know, that next man up mentality. They talk about it every year in that Dodgers Clubhouse. It's not just the 26 dudes you see here in this room. It's about the 40 men. It's about the organization beyond just the 40 man. And, you know, if Henriquez doesn't

answer the bell or he doesn't get that call for the opening day roster, that's, opening day roster, it's like, it doesn't mean all of that much. It's about what you do to help an organization over the course of a long season. So again, if he doesn't get that call for opening day, he will help, he will contribute to this team at some point in some way, shape, or form. And that's what's most important for them. They got a lot of other really, really good options. And I love the competition for this club. A little bit more on the competition. We have a few people asking about Kyle Hurd, and we'll make this last question before moving on to last Licks.

Appreciate you guys jumping into the chat with us here. But Yonge Y, Showtime, L.A., a few people asking about kind of more of the final roster spot sort of dudes. Yongy was asking about Kyle Hurt, Justin Reblesky, do we think they would make the bullpen if there's no injury? And then also Showtime L.A. asking about Will Klein? Will he make that opening day bullpen? I was a little surprised when we spoke with Mark Pryor last week.

You know, he kind of brought up Will Cline on his own. I haven't personally been as high on Will Cline just because, you know, he's not, he had a heroic moment there. Absolutely. They don't win that World Series, most likely without him and what he did in game three. But he's not Edwin Diaz or Alex Vessia or Blake Trinandine. He doesn't have all of the accolades. So I see him as somebody kind of on the outside looking in along with Ed Gardo.

So, but what do you think sort of of these names that obviously understandably you're kind of getting to know a little bit more? What do you think of some of these guys sort of rounding out that bullpen early in the season with, you know, younger dudes like Hurt and Rebleski and all of that? These are great questions and they're very similar to what the Dodgers brass is asking. And a lot of this will depend on how the Dodgers plan to use their starting rotation early in the season. We talked with Dave Roberts. He said this since the winter meetings. He's contemplating maybe open the year with a six-man rotation or hybrid, using the off days. The Dodgers have a few in April to kind of give his starters some leeway, some breathing room in April.

We know about the usage already impacting guys like Blake Snell, who's going to be a little delayed in spring. Otani is going to be used as a full-time starter, but likely not or definitely not on a regular five-day consistent schedule. So if the Dodgers want to get creative and spot start some guys, that's going to impact how. how they use their bullpen. So it's really hard to say right now, but I will go down out and make this prediction. It's not going to be just based on performance. The Dodgers, specifically their bullpen,

is not going to roll out for opening day based on the guys that had 100% the best camp. It's going to be guys that are versatile that can spot star. You're looking at Emmett Sheen, he's going to get a lot of consideration for that role. You're looking at guys that can take multiple innings, two, maybe three, just depending on what the starting rotation needs. Once Los Angeles can kind of define what its starting rotation is going to look like,

the workload for guys like Otani, like Yamamoto, like Sasaki, like Snell, then they can kind of piece together the bullpen. But I think these things are so closely tied together that it's really hard for me to visualize the Dodgers putting out a traditional eight-man bullpen, especially if they're already contemplating a potential hybrid rotation. So that's something monitoring as we see the spring goes on. But I don't think we're going to have answers to those questions really until the latter half when we see how these starters are really taking shape,

you know, notching three, four, five innings that obviously doesn't happen until mid-March. What I'm really looking forward to is the panic we're going to have when we are two, two and a half weeks into the season and they're throwing out their first bullpen game. People are like, what are we doing here? But anyways, that's his baseball, baby. That's baseball. I appreciate you guys hanging out with us so far. We got one more thing we want to talk about because the Dodgers did drop their

bobblehead list, or at least their first edition of the bobblehead list. A lot of really cool bobbleheads coming up. We'll talk about that in the second, but first, we've got to tell you about a doggo in Last Lakes. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and our stars, and now I guess also is the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game, and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team.

Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, it's hope, it's heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I heart and TikTok have come together to create something new. I love it. Where the world of TikTok meets your playlist. Three words that will change your life. IHeart TikTok Radio. The biggest hits across IHeart Radio. What's trending for you on TikTok? Tell me a sound that's better than this.

Plus TikTok's most influential creators all in one place. Search for IHard TikTok Radio. Make it a preset and stay connected all day. Alana is away, but we will still play with a good boy or girl. And this is Morgan. We've talked about her the last couple of weeks. Morgan was adopted but is being transported from, I believe Alana has said San Diego, Texas,

all the way to down the street from me in Hacienda Heights, California. And we need some help. She needs some help. Gidre's Guardian need some help with the transport cost. Obviously, it is not free to drive across half of the United States to bring a dog to somebody's home. So if you can help out, go to Gidreysgarden.org. Need any sort of donations any way you can help out. Would go a long way and helping Morgan get set up in her new home or his.

I actually don't know. Either way, in their new home. And we'll also help out Alana and Gidreys and all that kind of stuff. Check it out. Gidrigree's andorg. You see it there on the screen. Moving on quickly, bobbleheads. You get a bunch of them.

You and I were talking before the show. You've got a billion to one bobbleheads already in a garage. Dodgers, I think they lead the league in giveaway days. I don't know why you need it. You already had a good team on the field, but there are, I forget, I don't even know what the number. Do you know what the number was that was dropped in the press release? I don't have it off the top of my head, but I remember going through the release like how many bobbleheads can a team give out in one year there are so many and they're all

like bobbleheads that i would want like they're they're legit this is like one of the best promo schedules i've seen i saw an ice cube bobblehead yes time me up there there's an ice cube there's a shekeel o'neal bobblehead ice cube by the way he's going to be in that that catalack he drove uh last year on opening day there's a dave roberts bobblehead but this is the cool one they have dropped out here uh they have the collection i think there's also going to add a Max Muncie Homer to this game's World Series game seven collection but Yamamoto with the seventh, sorry, getting the final outs of course of that game seven. We got that bobblehead. You got Will Smith's game winning bobblehead. Uh, show a. Otani not there. Sorry,

Mookie Betts, that's the guy's name. Mookie Betts with his double play to end the game. And of course, Mickey Roe with his very unlikely heroic game tying ninth inning homer. That collection is insane over the course of the season, March 28th is Will Smith Homer Day, May 8th for Mickey Row, Yamamoto, May 27th, and Mookie on June 29th. Like that is a collection that I think I need to have. And I hate going to Bumblehead days because it's an absolute shit show at Dodger Stadium. But my God, those are cool. And the whole collection, the whole series of Bumbleheads this year is going to be awesome.

I'll tell you what. Yeah, I saw the starting pitching ones where they have each starter has a bobblehead. I mean, it goes to show, like, I'll go to some. Sometimes this press will get, like, whatever's leftover. And there are some, like, very cheaply made giveaways. But teams that have, like, as I've traveled, that have really knocked out of the park, the Padres do a nice job, the Cardinals do a nice job, giants, the Dodgers are far and above in terms of bobbleheads, because that's what the fans really want.

And merchandise, they crows. they crush it. So I'm in on the Dodgers promo schedule. Now we just need to get one of those magnet calendars and we're good to go. Oh, rest in peace. They don't have those anymore. At least I haven't seen one in a while. I still have my old ones. I have my 04 and like 06 magnet cal. No, 04 and 07 ones are the ones I for some reason have somewhere out there in the kitchen. Philip, by the way, correct. He's corrected me twice because I know it's champing at the bit. For some reason I said chomping at the bit, but also pointing out it was a 57 Chevy. Listen, I think, I think, took a shot of the dark, calling it a Cadillac. My bad. Hit that thumbs up button to tell me I'm a real piece of work. And David, bringing up a good point.

Like, they're going to eventually have, somebody else had it as well. Chrome fan, like do they add a Paez, Kiki bobblehead? Once Kiki officially resigns, I think there is no doubt. There is no doubt that shared bobblehead is going to happen, and we're all going to be very happy, happy people. And Katie's going to have a million more bobbleheads because there are 81, home games this year, so that's a lot of opportunities for bobbleheads to be added. A lot of bobbleheads, guys. I'm going to have no place to park my car.

We don't need that, you know, just put it on the street. You got anything else before we sign off? No, no, I'm excited. We got, I'm heading down to, like we said, to CBR on Wednesday. Fabian Ardaia is there as well. I saw a question in the chat on how we'll be splitting the coverage at the athletic. We're not splitting anything. We're doubling it.

So you're going to have two full-time Dodger riders. for the athletic starting on February 13th, but Cactus League Media Day officially kicks off our spring training on the 12th. We'll have Dave Roberts and someone from the Dodgers front office kicking off media availability in Scottsdale. And then back across the valley to Glendale on Friday. You guys, I'm super excited to actually be a Dodgers reporter now instead of just kind of being a virtual one.

And I'm excited to bring some insight and some explanations, hopefully, to the show. So it should be a good time. Yeah, make sure you guys give her a follow, of course. It's at KDJ Woo on the Twitter X do all of that, where she posts all of her work, all of her columns, all the stories she's working on. The link to your bylines also on The Athletic is in the description of this video. So make sure you guys, you know, give her some love.

She's here, and Dodgers territory is better for it. It's also better for everybody when you guys buy our stuff. Get yourself a sweater. It's still sweater weather somewhere, a shirt, mug, coozy, all of that. Dodger Territory Shop.com. Subscribe to the channel. We'd appreciate it. 20,000 subscribers is just around the corner, sort of,

and you guys are the only way we can get there. But either way, enough about me. Let's move on. We'll see you on Thursday. Bye. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far.

But I'm John Green, co-hosted at the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026. World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Then she says, have you seen a photo of my son? And I'm like, who is this person? Welcome to the Boys and Girls podcast. Arranged Marriage is basically a reality show and you're auditioning for your soulmate. And who's judging? Only your entire family. I sacrificed myself to this ancient tradition, hoping to find love the right way. And instead, I found chaos, comedy, and a lot of cringe. Listen to boys and girls on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Saturday, May 2nd, country's biggest stars will be in Austin, Texas at our 2026 IHeart Country Festival presented by Capital One. Tickets are on sale now. Get yours before they sell out at Ticketmaster.com. That's Ticket.

wwwatmaster.com.