Dodgers Territory - Dodgers Shock with Kim Move; 9 Things to Watch in March and April

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

The Dodgers made a surprising announcement over the weekend, optioning Hyeseong Kim to Triple-A and handing the final roster spot to Alex Freeland. Alanna Rizzo and Clint Pasillas react to the decision and explain why, despite being unpopular, it may be the right call (1:31) Is Yoshinobu Yamamoto an ace? One MLB columnist says no... the hosts argue otherwise (12:12). Katie Woo joins us in time to discuss the 9 things we're watching over the first month-plus of the season (21:06). Use our code TERRITORY10 for 10% off your next SeatGeek order* seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/TERRITORY10 Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Plans start at $15/month at MintMobile.com/Territory Check out DT merch at https://dodgersterritoryshop.com Support Guidry's Guardian at https://guidrysguardian.org Find Clint on YouTube at https://youtube.com/@alldodgers Follow Katie's work at The Athletic https://www.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.

Marsh Madness is here, and if you're trying to keep up with everything happening on and off the court, we've got you covered on the podcast, Flagrant and Funny. Do you want to start with the first measures for the Big Ten coach of the year? Oh, whatever. Would you like to? Yes. So you're a Spartan, is that what I'm getting? On Flagrant and Funny, we're giving our unfiltered takes on the biggest moments, the conversations everyone's having.

So whether your bracket is busted or you just want the latest on the tournament, we got you. Listen to Flacrant and Funny with Kerry Champion and Jamel Hill on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Let's go! Our I Heart Radio Music Awards are coming back. Thursday, March 26th, live on Fox. Watch as we honor the biggest stars from all genres of music

that you loved listening to all year long on your favorite IHart Radio Station and the IHart Radio app. Hosted by Ludacris. Icon Award recipient, John Mellencamp, Innovator Award recipient, Mylie Cyrus, with performances by Alex Warren, Kailani, Laini Wilson, Chris, Ray, TLC, salt and pepper, and invoke. Taylor Swift makes her first award show appearance this year.

Nicole Scherzinger, Nikki Glazer, Sombor, Weiser, and more. Watch live on Fox, Thursday, March 26th, at 87 Central. And listen on IHeart Radio Stations Across America and the free IHeart app. Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of Motor Racing's coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the under-explored pockets of F1, including the story of the woman who last participated in a Formula One race weekend, the recent uptick in F-1 romance novels, and plenty of mishap scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful,

decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to No Grip on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. But I think the reason this is so shocking is we are told, we are told all the time. It's a meritocracy. If you play well, you're going to going to earn your way to more playing time. Welcome to the Monday episode of Dodgers territory. I am Alana Rizzo. That is Clint Paseous. Katie Wu will be joining us momentarily as we are finally in the first week of the regular

season. It begins this week. We will no longer Clint have a weekend without baseball until November. What say you? I am very excited. It's crazy. I want to watch real baseball, meaningful baseball. You kind of got a little bit of a taste of it last night.

Dodgers playing in a big league stadium, if that's still what we want to call Angel Stadium. It's fun. And if they can do more of the damage they did last night, 10 runs in the third inning against Anaheim, it's a lot of fun. But Riz Thursday cannot get here soon enough. I agree. We are happy that you guys are here.

Please stick with us all season long. We are entering our third season of Dodgers Territory. Please read us five stars. Like and subscribe to the Dodgers Territory podcast on Apple. Spotify. Wherever you get your pods, we're trying to get to 20,000 subs. Again, Katie's going to be joining us momentarily, but before we get to her, let's get to the big ticket. Wow, I didn't see this coming, to be honest with you. We knew it was going to be Alex Freeland, Haishon Kim, and it looks like Kim is going to start the season in AAA. What is your biggest

takeaway from that? The Los Angeles Dodgers, of course, tweeting this, that they have optioned him in-fielder, outfielder, of course, Kim to AAA, Oklahoma City to give him more reps all over the place, Clint. Yeah, that's the big thing. And I think that's important for everybody to kind of understand. This is about getting reps for Hesong Kim more than about Alex Freeland, earning the roster spot, had himself an okay spring training, did Freeland playing, you know, solid enough defense and earning his walks, you know, Dave's kind of thing was he puts together some really good at bats. But more so, this is about Kim needing consistent.

playing time, and he's probably not going to get that at the major league level. We talked about this a week ago. Of the three questions we had, one of them was what a second base looked like, and my argument was, if Kim's going to make the roster, play him every day because you need to see what you have. Well, they're going to play him every day. It's going to be at AAA, and now I put the same kind of focus on Alex Freeland. Maybe you're not playing him every day. I think we're going to see more Miguel Rojas in there. But with Alex Freeland, If he's up here, you got to see what you have in Alex Friedland. Is he going to be a bona fide major league talent?

Is he somebody who can actually get on base, get some hits? Or is he going to be somebody that can collect a lot of frequent fire miles going from AAA and the big leagues? But Dave had said, you know, the biggest driver of this decision, Heson Kim getting that opportunity to play every day. And more importantly, defensive reps, Alana. him playing some center field, some left field, all that kind of stuff. That is key in this decision. Still, this is a move, though, that rocked the Dodgers sphere. That's what I was going to ask you.

Why do you think the social media landscape was so up in arms about this decision? Was it the surprise factor? Or do they feel that Kim is more deserving based on whether it's performance or contract or age or future or whatever? Why do you think this was rocking the Dodgers Twitterverse so much? Well, you know, we're sold often from the organization. Now, I will preempt this by saying, I don't think it's a bad move, and I believe in anything and everything this organization tells us. I think they know what they're doing, and they've earned that much from us.

But I think the reason this is so shocking is I'll put these numbers back up here that Katie had posted. They actually got a little bit worse, but Alex Freeland is hitting a buck 11. I think this spring, as opposed to the 407 that Heson Kim is currently sporting. And, you know, we are told, we are told all the time that it's a meritocracy. If you play well, you're going to earn your way to more playing time. We saw it last year. That wasn't necessarily the case with Ryan Ward. They have their issues, their trepidation when it comes to somebody like Ryan Ward,

who was tearing the cover off the ball at AAA, did not get a major league opportunity. In this case, again, I'll say. I think this was more about wanting more playing time for Kim at AAA rather than Freeland earning it. But yeah, I think that's the biggest thing. When you're saying that somebody down who's hitting 400, it's a bit of a shocker. Yeah, I'm trying to see how many at bats. I mean, Freeland had, I mean, he had 45 at bats. One home run, seven RBIs.

You mentioned the 11 average. So 45 at bats for Freeland in the spring. 13 walks. That's big. Yeah, that's good. that's what you want um yeah seven rbi i okay that's fun i'm trying to figure out how many at bats this was in for uh high sun kim over well he did miss a number i know because of because of the wbc but he had 27 at bats um yeah but a 407 average six rb i's the one home run so the home runs

were the same the rbis were about the same six five stolen bases though uh for for kim that's uh i like that i like that um yeah all right well Well, I mean, this is, listen, it's not going to be forever, I don't think, before we see Kim in the big leagues. We'll see. It's going to, we've talked about this at length. It's going to take more certainly than the 26-man roster that, you know, they're going to start this season with so many things that can change. I mean, Doc says, look, he's going to benefit from our playing time. Time will tell.

But you think it's the right call. I think it's a fine call. I would be fine either way, honestly. but I am happy that Miguel Rojas is going to be out there a lot early on in the season to get things going to establish a baseline. But you wanted last week when we talked about it on Thursday, I think it was. You said you wanted to run him out there and see what this guy was truly made of. Now we're going to have to see that in AAA and he's going to have to put the numbers up there quite a bit before he gets to the big leagues. Yeah, again, this is not end all be all for him.

This is just it's a different opportunity. And I've seen a lot of people, again, this is a lot of people, again, this is a lot of people, spilled a lot of cyber ink about this. Heson Kim was not one of those guys when he was signed that was expected to be a Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman in the lineup or somebody with just like insane amounts of bat to ball talent. We knew he was going to be a little bit of a work in progress. And that's what you're getting here.

You're getting this guy going to AAA, continuing to learn the game, continuing to learn how to be a utility player, which is going to be the biggest role, the best role that he can have for this club. I said last night on my All-Dodger show, look at him as the Korean Chris Taylor. That's kind of what they're looking for. Somebody you can play everywhere. He bats from the left side rather than the right side. But I'm really hoping that ultimately this is better for him.

He continues to kind of integrate and build the good habits that they are trying to get in with the swing revamp they worked in in the offseason. And then again, more reps in center field. We know he can handle it at second base. That's easy for him. But in the outfield, that's going to be. going to be a big key for him getting more playing time in the future. It's being better in the outfield. My biggest thing is where is he going to be in terms of numbers when Tommy Edmund comes back? It'll be interesting to see how they how they shift things around when Edmund comes

back, whether, you know, obviously stuff in the outfield, second base, those types of things. Another question coming in as we are having it all answered now, Clint, is starting rotation will be a five man with a sixth dude. What do you mean by that? Yeah, so we had on Thursday. It was three questions left. Well, we got two of them answered. It's going to be a five-man rotation, but kind of with that six guy in there. KD was one of the people who had tweeted yesterday. Yamamoto, unshockingly, the ace, we'll talk about that later. But Yamamoto, Glasnows, Sasaki, Shian, and Otani in the rotation, not necessarily in that order. And Justin Robleski will be the piggyback guy, maybe in the first week or two. You could see him

start or open a game, but more likely you could see him piggyback Shohei Otani, who we kind of estimate he starts tomorrow, maybe he gets built up to around 90 pitches or so for his first start of the season, which should come the following Monday, the first Monday of the regular season. But you're going to need somebody to piggyback him, or maybe even somebody like Emmachian, who was a little behind the eight ball to start spring training, was dealing with an illness. So Rebleski, somebody I never wanted starting, so I'm glad he's not technically officially starting. I think he's absolutely lights out in a relief role.

you know, if it's a bulk relief role, somebody who's coming in to give him two, three, maybe four innings. That's, that's awesome. That is a great spot for him. And it's just going to be for the first couple of weeks to a month of the season. And then, we hope Blake Snell is back or River Ryan, if you need to deploy, you know, pull that lever, you will have River Ryan pitching a starters workload at AAA. So you're in a good spot.

They're in a really good spot with this move. I don't mind it at all. In fact, I like it. Everybody has to have their role, and that is Justin Robleski's role for right now. You know, whether it's piggybacking off of Shohei Otani or being a long man or a swing man in the bullpen or whatever it's going to be. Eventually, maybe he does have to be an opener in certain situations. That's the thing anymore. It's not a concrete plan anymore.

It's not a, this is exactly how we're going to roll this out every single game of the season. The game has completely changed. The game has changed. And I'm sure that there's purists out there that are fighting it at every turn that they can. but the doctors have a way of figuring out how to make things work based on who's healthy at the time, the roster at the time, you know, necessity moving down the line. Snell's not ready yet. He will be at a certain point. I have great faith in what this organization obviously has done in the past and we'll continue to do. This was so funny. Are we doing those two to see? Okay. We're going to throw a break really quick. Much more to come here on Fair Territory as we get ready to welcome in Katie Wu and talk about. Ace or not an ace.

That's coming up right after this. Well, we got to tell people, guys, you know, opening days this week where we're proud to tell you about today's show sponsor, Seat Geek opening day. I did have a friend, Alana, that was asking me, hey, what's the best way to get tickets? So I told them, of course, about Seat Geek, and it's not just because they're a sponsor. I use Seat Geek. I really like Seat Geek. I got used Seat Geek to get myself some tickets for an upcoming game.

I am going to. They have over 35 million download. Seat Creek is that number one rated ticketing app. You can get tickets to games, concerts, festivals, and every ticket is, of course, backed by their buyer guarantee. Why don't you tell them more? And that's what I love about it, too, because there's so many sites that you're not, once you buy, it's like buyer beware, right? Because you don't know what you're getting into.

But Seatkeek, they do have your back. Each ticket is rated on a scale of one to ten. So you know that you're getting a good deal. Look for the green dots, you guys. Green means good. Red means bad. just kind of like, you know, don't run a red light. That means bad.

Green means good. That means go. So, of course, we have a code for you guys. You can use code Territory 10 for 10% off your next set of tickets at Seatgeek. That's 10% off any tickets with promo code Territory 10. Make sure you click the link in the description to download the app and have the code automatically added to your account so you can use it later. I'm Luke Wilson.

Join me each week for Film Never Lies. Since retiring from the NFL, I've had a lot of my mind, and now I've got my own show. So if you're tired of lazy takes, if you want honest conversations, join us each week. Film Never Lies available on all TSN platforms in the IHeartRadio app. Super cool. We appreciate Seatkeek and everybody who sponsors us here on Dodgers territory. Before we move on to the nine things we're watching, I do want to address the, I guess we'll call it Andy McCullough-sized elephant in the room. had him on foul territory while you were pinch hitting for our friend Scott Braun last week. And he ruffled some feathers with a thought.

With a, I mean, it was clipped a certain way, but his opinion, along with Eric Crats, let's not forget. We're throwing crats under the bus a little bit here too. They do not define Yoshinobu Yamamoto as an ace. Let's hear the tape and then we'll come back and have some reaction. So I put together my list and I want you to break it down because I completely agree. I agree, Yamamoto's a no, because I'm black and white. He's a no.

I love your applicants. I love that. I love that he can. How is he a no? Dodgers. Dodgers, Dodgers, please. No, no, it has nothing to do with Dodgers. It has nothing to do with Dodgers.

He was the World Series MVP. How is he a no? He's the only starter for the Dodgers that pitched every time the ball was given to him, the only one on the IL. How is he not an ace? If Shohay wasn't on that list and he didn't even pitch last year, how was Yamamoto not an ace? Well, so it's not a...

Love him. It's not, Alana, it's not a talent issue. And again, he's applying. Like, he's putting in a formal application in the 2026 season. But he simply did not... And again, Yamamoto is, like, the greatest pitcher, probably in Japanese history. He won the Sawamora three times, you know, like he... You've shown what he's capable of these past couple seasons.

He's also, like, never thrown 180 innings in a big league season. And that's... You know, you kind of have to do that. Like, isn't it somebody that just dominates? Like, what, tell me again the criteria of what makes an ace. Yeah, it's kind of like the Supreme Court definition of pornography, I guess. Like, you know it when you see it. I just, no, like, I think, I think that you need to, you know, be capable of making at least 30 starts, if not more, you know,

180 innings. The more innings, the better. Going deep into games. You know, look, if Yamamoto does what he did last year, again this year, that'd be crazy because it'd be really weird to see him pitch on game six and seven of the World Series back to back. But like if he puts it together another season, yeah, he gets certified as an ace for me. All right, let's be clear. Yamamoto did make exactly 30 starts last year, right? Did he have 180 innings? No. But I mean, I will say this, though,

about Andy McCullough and the year at Cratt's conversation. There was so much more to this than just that little snippet. So I want to be fair. I don't want to throw these guys under the bus. But there were so many different categories. There were only two unanimous aces in terms of this athletic poll that they took. Terrick Scubal and Paul Skeens, well, only two. Okay. And then there were different tiers of guys. And there was, I believe in tier one, there were five guys.

And Yamamoto was in that tier. But to me, an ace is a guy that you can count on every single day to take the ball. And I misspoke there when I was trying to say he was the only Dodger starter not to go on the I.O. but I was like so upset about the whole thing. It came out wrong. And I was like, you know, smoke's coming out of my ears. But he's, to me, he is a bona fide ace. Now, again, they had a different level of criteria,

so many different things that they were considering for an ace. But he's an ace, man. He's an ace. Like, what are we doing? So I encourage you to listen to the entire interview on Foul Territory to really get the complete picture of what. what these guys were talking about because just that snippet alone is not fair, but the internet blew up because of that little piece right there.

Rightfully so. Either way, at the end of the day, Andy McCullough, the words came out of his mouth that Yoshinobu Yamamoto was not an ace. And, you know, one of the criteria he mentioned was, like you said, the 30 starts. He made 30 starts on the nose. He missed 180 innings by six and one-third innings last year. but he added another almost 40 innings in the postseason. He also put the goddamn team on his back in the postseason.

And I think this is where I have a lot of argument about what makes an ace. And I'm one to be talking because I have a lot of strong opinions about somebody like Tyler Glasnow. And is he an ace? Do you define him as an ace? So on, so forth. He took a number of steps forward in the ace department and the ace. category because of his um heroics because of what he did in the postseason both starting and in relieving this is where you look at i had the argument last night madison bumgarner very good

regular season pitcher what makes him an ace is what he did for the giants in the postseason it's it's nuanced there are there are a bunch of gray lines um but yeah i think it's i think it also depends on what what what team that person's on is is is To me, Yamamoto is an ace on any of the 30, right? Yeah. But if you're also on a team, you know, let's say you are Tyler Glasnow and you're on a team with Paul Skeens and Terrick Scouble and Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnows not an ace. But if Tyler Glassnow is pitching for, let's say Sandy Alcantra is not with the Marlins, Tyler Glasnows their ace, he's the best, but to me, it's the best pitcher on your staff. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Anyway. Period. you did well we got katie here i'd asked asked on the side katie do you have any thoughts about this or should we just throw to bleed and blue and get to our nine things well you know what you guys had it covered i was listening behind the scenes and snaps and points for both of you uh i love the aces project that the athletic does i uh i can see both sides of the argument though i am with you quent what you do in the postseason will determine if you're an ace or not yamamoto's

coming in obviously all right all right all right Let me ask you this then. If what you do in the season, or excuse me, in the postseason, determines if you're an ace, some would argue that Clayton Kirschaw then is not an ace, because he didn't have the greatest postseason record over the course of what is a first ballot Hall of Fame career. So is Clayton Kirschaw, not right now, not today,

but is Clayton Kirschaw an ace? 100%. And that's what makes this exercise so fun or nuanced or annoying, depending on what word you want to use. Because you think about Clayton Kershaw, you think about where he wasn't his prime. Nobody was touching him in the National League. So to say that he isn't an ace because he didn't have the best postseason track record, you can count me out on that.

To say Yamamoto isn't an ace because, you know, you're only taking into consideration what he's done in the postseason. I'm also out on that. I think the Aces Project got it right for right now. The two undisputed aces in Major League Baseball are Paul. Paul Skines and Terik's Google. But Yamamoto is going to be in that tier. I think when we do this next year, like definitively, no arguments. We're not even talking about it. Yeah, that's what Andy was saying. He's applying. He's an applicant to be in 2000 and 26. And it's important.

And that's where Alana, you said, you need the full context. And that's where we, you know, tell everybody, go watch that episode of Fowel Territory that happened. I think it was Friday, maybe Thursday last week. Good stuff. Yeah, good stuff there. We do have more. We got to get to the list. I keep bearing the lead about nine things. So how about this? Let us pay the bills one more time and then we'll come back and each of us have three things we are watching in the first month plus of the season. Hey, it might be time to have a heart to heart with your phone and be like, I love you, but you cost too much. Yeah, I'm not paying this much anymore. That's it. I mean, why would I go more than $15 a month? Mitt Mobile can give that to me and I get all the same

coverage. Exactly. And you don't have to deal with the crazy bogus fees or free perks that actually end up costing more Mint Mobile plans for premium wireless start at just 15 bucks a month. And all plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at mintmobile.com slash territory. That's mintmobile.com slash T-E-R-R-I-T-O-R-I-T-R-Y. Upfront payment of $45 for three-month five-gigabyte plan required, equivalent to $15 a month, new customer offer for first three-month only, then full-price plan options

available, taxes and fees extra. See MintMobile for details. I'm Luke Wilson. Join me each week for Film Never Lies. Since retiring from the NFL, I've had a lot of my mind, and now I've got my own show. So if you're tired of lazy takes, if you want honest conversations, join us each week. Film Never Lies, available on all TSN platforms in the IHeartRadio app. All right, guys, we welcome you in to Bleeding Blue, Alana Rizzo, Katie Wu, Clint Paseas. These are nine things that we want to watch for over the first month and change of the season.

Katie, I'll give you honors. What are your first three? I'll start with Tyler Glass now, his final tune-up at Angel Stadium. Last night, I actually made my return to Dodgers Stadium back to my real job or to the Dodgers team. And he was fantastic. Dave Roberts said before the start of that game that this was the best that we've ever seen, Tyler Glass Now, and he followed it up with 11 strikeouts all on the curveball.

That thing was nasty. Just simply dominated that Angels lineup. And when we talk about this rotation, there's a lot of concern over Roki Sasaki. The Dodgers need some length. And Tyler Glassnow, they're going to need him in April to be that length. And he has just looked so mechanically sound.

The sequencing has looked really good. whole arsenal's working. I'm really excited to see what Tyler Glass now can do. Are we going straight into the next two things? Yep. Yep. Go ahead. Number two, I'm big on Teoscar Hernandez's bounce back ear. He heard the noise. He heard the noise. You know, Dodgers could have wanted to trade him. He came in, trimmed down, new position, moves to left field, and he had a baller spring. He looks really good, really confident, four homers, and I think up to eight extra base hits. I think with Tosker being in the kind of the seventh, six, seventh area of that, I didn't mean to do that, of the starting lineup, he brings a different kind of power to what the Dodgers can, I mean,

you don't need a lot of power, right, when you're the Dodgers and you have the first five in that lineup. But if Tiosker Hernandez is sitting seventh for you and he's a motivated Tiosker Hernandez, he wasn't oblivious to the noise, I'm all in. So those are two positives. My last one, I don't want say it's a negative and I honestly don't even think I'm that concerned. It's just worth monitoring MHGN's VILO. A little down in spring, but spring numbers are exactly that. We know I don't pay a lot of stock into those. But when you look at this, this is a really helpful graphic actually. That wall right there in the fifth where the VILO starts to drop is going to be worth monitoring over its first at least two starts in a regular season. Because spring training, the only thing you

want to do is get your arsenal in and make sure you leave healthy. So I'm not too concerned over the below in spring. But if that trend continues into the regular season, then I think we're having a different conversation. Yeah. It's worth noting again, he's somebody who started a little behind the eight ball. He was dealing with an illness and all that. But, you know, Katie, we talked before about Robleski. He's somebody who could piggyback off of Schend and maybe just get him through, you know, four innings or whatever. As long as he has a long, I guess, you know, has enough time to build up. Hopefully this doesn't mean anything, but I love that. Fully agree. So something we need to be watching over the first month and change of the season.

Alana, you want me to go next? I do. All right. This is what I got. I'm cheating to start us out here. I'm going with a twofer, and it's going to be Blake Trinen and Tanner Scott. Tanner Scott. We got the full Tanner Scott experience in Anaheim last night. Did, for the most part, have a very good, very consistent spring training, but then, you know, gets tagged for four runs, three-run Homer to Jorge Soler. And hopefully that's something where he is in the season of putting things behind him. He needs to put that behind him and be ready for opening day. Get it out of the way. Get all the bad stuff out of your system now. In the same token, we saw a lot of inconsistency from Blake Trine in last year. We

know how important these guys are going to be on the trust tree. So who are these guys going to be in 2026? I think we're going to learn a lot in the first month. That's what I'm watching. because the Dodgers are not three-peeding without at least one of those guys being somebody that Dave Roberts can trust in October. It's just the way it needs to go. Moving on. So there's my one and my two. We'll make the third one simple, something we've talked already, a whole bunch about. I almost wanted to make this list, Sands, Roki Sasaki.

But we got to talk about Roki Sasaki as something you're watching because there's been so much cyber ink spilled about him. And I'm watching that thing I keep talking about with the arm slot, with the delivery, and that pro-nation, will they scrap the two seamers? That's going to be the biggest thing I'm watching because it's affecting his fastball and his forkball splitter. Those are the three biggest things I'm watching, along with Tayasker kicking some ass. I would love to see Tay Oscar kicking some left field ass. All right, for me it's Mooky Betts, the health, the strength that his body is going to have again,

because he is healthy, because he's not worried about gaining that weight back. He's not sick. And also, he has a whole year of being a shortstop under his belt. So that is something I'm really looking forward to. Could this guy be the best number three hitter in all of baseball? If you go by the way that Mukhi Betz handles everything, why not? Everything he does, it's like Midas, it turns to gold because he has the work ethic, the competitive spirit. I love that about him. And now he's adding in that new training. He's taking a page out of Yoshinobu, Yamaha. Momamoto's book, The Javelin throwing, the shot put throwing. Now he's holding, you know, people on his shoulders trying to do that as well, kind of centering himself, the balance, all of the thing. You know, Yada Sensei Yoshinobu's trainer is starting to become one of Muki's big trainers and like kind of a pillar of mental strength and fortitude as well as the physical side of things that he's continued to work on.

So Muki Betts, I'm watching after him. I think it's going to be a really good. good bounce back year from Mookie, both mentally and physically. For me, Blake Snell, everybody knows that Blake Snell tends to be a second half of the year starting pitcher. We know that to whom much is given, much is expected. He got a massive contract. To me, he was the best free agent starter coming off of the books last season. Obviously, he was down the first few months of the season. He's down now at least for opening day and a few weeks after that. So will he be ready to go by the end of April and how does the rest of the rotation shift around his progress, his health, his availability? So I'm keeping an eye out on two-time

Sy Young Award winner, one in each league, Blake Snell. Finally, this is a guy, guys, that we or me or some of us wanted to send to the moon about 14 months ago. And Andy Pahas and the growth that he has had, obviously running routes defensively, handling a pretty, a pretty big center field at Dodger Stadium where he has, you know, 81 games where he's Manning center field. New guy on your right. Same guy, but different position. Well, wait, if you're looking at it this way, new guy, obviously on your left. New and new guy. You know, six-guy. I love demonstration. You like that. You know, he's also Dave Roberts picked a quick this season, right? I mean, he's getting better offensively before our eyes. You know, he's running better

routes defensively. He's getting better. He turns 26 this year. Perhaps the age and the maturation, and again, having a full season under his belt last year, I think can only pay dividends this season. And again, I'm looking forward to that. Looking forward to finding about all of these nine things as we make our way into April. It's a fun season. And again, we are thrilled. We're stoked that Katie's going to be along for the ride, getting us a whole bunch of behind-the-scenes stuff. further legitimizing this show that we do our best to de-legitimize daily. Make sure you hit that like button

and that subscribe. That's about it. You guys want to talk about some dogs and then get out of here? Always. All right, here comes some dogs. I wanted to tell you guys that Peyton made it out of her splenectomy surgery

really, really well. She's doing well. We're just waiting to hear the results. So thank you for everyone that has donated to Peyton's vet bills. We have a couple of pups that really definitely need their forever home. This is Chip.

He's a two-year-old mixed breed. was abandoned near Griffith Observatory, kind of in a Los Felis area. He is a good, good boy, great with other dogs, totally healthy, up to date on everything. You know, active would be a great hiking buddy, walking, buddy, running buddy. So please consider Chip for adoption. He's like I said, he's about two years old. This is Daffodil. She is about 10 years old, a small golden retriever.

She's about 40 pounds. Sweet, sweet, sweet little lady. She's very low maintenance. does not need to be hiking and still has a lot of love to give. So if you're looking for a pup, please consider checking out giddreysgarden.org. Really cool. Help people. I'll help the doggos out.

Everybody needs a doggot or something like that. Baseball thoughts for the road. We always love, people love wondering about former Dodgers and all that kind of stuff. It's one of the easiest aggregate columns you could write on the internet. What is this former Dodger doing? We had a couple of friends today and over the weekend. And I guess now they're without jobs. Alana, you saw just before we went live.

Austin Barnes officially cut, did not make the team. Yeah, it thumbs me out. I'm a massive fan of Austin Barnes and obviously his wife, Nicole, and a good family. But Austin is not a member of the Mets. Also, CT3, Chris Taylor opted out of his contract with the Angels guys because he was not going to make the opening day roster. He said, nay, on to thee. I am not going to AAA, so he's out.

And the Angels are already AAA. Come on. That's true. Walker Bueller did make the Padres opening day roster. So there you have it. Katie, what about you? What are you looking forward to as you really sink your teeth into a regular season gig with this Dodgers team? Exactly that. We have these exhibition games, freeway series tonight and tomorrow.

I was at the one at Angel Stadium, but doing the kind of dress rehearsals at Dodger Stadium feels real. I'm nervously mapping out how to avoid traffic. Like this is my life for the next one once. But it was a different kind of atmosphere. Maybe I was just really amped because I've been away from the team for a considerable time. When I came to the 8th Angel Stadium yesterday, it just felt like we were so close to playing real baseball. And we kind of know what this opening day roster is going to look like. We kind of know what the plan is going to be.

Thursday can't come quick enough. Yamamoto, Zach Gallen. I'm ready to just do the job. That's what I'm most excited to do. I'm going to do the job. Spring was cool. You find your footing. You get to know the players, the organization.

But now you get to really do the job as a reporter and analyze these games and these situations and these matchups. And I'm really excited to start doing that again. We'll be here doing the job, Alana. All three of us should be here on Wednesday, 12 o'clock Pacific time. I think we're probably due for a prediction show. So that should be in there as well. And then post game, me, Alana, Katie, has a real job.

So Alana and I will be here. We will be here. after the game, after the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks on Thursday, make sure you guys get yourself some swag, some stuff, tell them about it, Lana. They want that shirt, they want the mug, they want the cups.

I guess I already did. Scan the QR code. Yeah, just scan that code. Go to Dodgers Territory Shop.com. And don't forget to like, subscribe, rated five stars. Clint and I and Katie will be back on Wednesday. And here we go, you guys. We'll see you then. Go Dodgers.

Bye. Marsh Madness is here, and if you're trying to keep up with everything happening on and off the court, We've got you covered on the podcast, Flagrant and Funny. You want to start with the first pleasure for the Big Ten coach of the year? Oh, whatever. Would you like to?

So you're a Spartan, is that what I'm getting? On Flagrant and Funny, we're giving our unfiltered takes on the biggest moments the conversations everyone's having. So whether your bracket is busted or you just want the latest on the tournament, we got you. Listen to Flacrint and Funny with Kerry Champion and Jamel Hill on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports.

Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the under-explored pockets of F1, including the story of the woman who last participated in a Formula One race weekend, the recent uptick in F1 romance novels, and plenty of mishap scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years.

Listen to No Grip on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's go! Our I Heart Radio Music Awards are coming back. Thursday, March 26th, live on Fox. Watch as we honor the biggest stars from all genres of music that you loved listening to all year long on your favorite IHeart Radio station and the IHart Radio app.

Hosted by Lutocris. Icon Award recipient, John Mellencamp, Innovator Award recipient, Miley Cyrus, with performances by Alex Warren, Kalani, Lainey Wilson, Ludacris, Lodicris, RAY, TLC, Salt and Pepper, And in vogue. Plus, Taylor Swift makes her first award show appearance this year. I cried her eyes blind.

Nicole Scherzinger, Nikki Glazer, Sombor, Weiser, and more. Watch live on Fox. Thursday, March 26th, at 8-7 Central. And listen on IHeart Radio stations across America and the free IHeart app.