{"id":354927,"date":"2025-11-04T12:01:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T12:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/354927\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T12:01:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T12:01:11","slug":"why-the-dodgers-must-keep-their-aging-championship-core-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/354927\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Dodgers must keep their aging championship core together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dodgers<\/a> walked into <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-11-03\/dodgers-parade-downtown-dodger-stadium-rally\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a packed home stadium<\/a> when their <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-11-03\/los-angeles-dodgers-victory-parade-fans\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">World Series parade<\/a> was over, waving to an adoring crowd that viewed them as more than back-to-back champions.<\/p>\n<p>They were beloved Angelenos.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the players are on a first-name basis with the city, and if they aren\u2019t, they\u2019re identified by a nickname.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-10-28\/dodgers-freddie-freeman-walk-off-longest-world-series-game\" data-autoplayable-video=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Freddie<\/a>, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-10-03\/dodgers-mookie-betts-hitting-struggles-shortstop\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mookie<\/a> and <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-10-17\/shohei-ohtani-three-home-runs-dodgers-brewers-nlcs-game-4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shohei<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-10-23\/dodgers-yoshinobu-yamamoto-yoshihiro-sonoda\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Yoshi<\/a> and <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-10-10\/roki-sasaki-transformation-dodgers-playoff-hero-phillies\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Roki<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-10-31\/dodgers-miguel-rojas-world-series-game-6-double-play\" data-autoplayable-video=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Miggy Ro<\/a> and <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-10-01\/dodgers-vs-reds-game-2-sidebar\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kik\u00e9<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Players who were once strangers are now extended members of hundreds of thousands of families.<\/p>\n<p>Ordinarily, a team as old as the Dodgers would have to consider a roster makeover. Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas will be 37 by the start of the next World Series. <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-09-08\/max-muncy-dodgers-struggles\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Max Muncy<\/a> will be 36, Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez 35, Mookie Betts and <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-09-03\/dodgers-teoscar-hernandez-want-to-see-that-edge\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> 34 and Shohei Ohtani 32.<\/p>\n<p>But under these circumstances, how could the Dodgers think of breaking up their team?<\/p>\n<p>How could they unload any of their superstars, regardless of how much they could decline in the next year? How could they not retain their key free agents, regardless of how old they are?<\/p>\n<p>They can\u2019t, they can\u2019t and they can\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>The Dodgers have to run this back \u2014 again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, we would love everybody to come back,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n<p>           <video playsinline=\"playsinline\" loop=\"\" preload=\"none\" title=\"\u2018Back-to back, baby!\u2019 Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 victory parade fills downtown with fans\" data-video-id=\"0000019a-4c13-d0ba-a3df-4d3feb8e0000\">               <\/video>                 <img class=\"image\" alt=\"\"   width=\"473\" height=\"840\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762257671_550_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>             <\/p>\n<ul data-element=\"action-bar-menu\" class=\"flex gap-2 list-none  absolute w-full h-10 top-0\">\n<li data-element=\"action-bar-share\" class=\"flex  w-full h-10 top-0 lg:items-center lg:justify-center \">\n<p> Share via     Close extra sharing options  <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Muncy has a $10-million team option for next season. The Dodgers have to pick it up.<\/p>\n<p>Rojas and Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez are free agents. The Dodgers have to re-sign them.<\/p>\n<p>Freeman won\u2019t be making the calls on his teammates, of course. The decisions will be made by president of baseball operations <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-10-18\/andrew-friedman-dodgers-trade-deadline-pitching-world-series\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Andrew Friedman<\/a>, who was characteristically evasive when asked about the efforts the Dodgers would make to keep their out-of-contract players.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, guys who have been here and been a big part of it start with a major upper hand,\u201d Friedman said. \u201cThat being said, they\u2019re free agents. They\u2019ve earned the right to go out and talk to the 29 other teams as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Muncy doesn\u2019t have a choice to leave if the Dodgers exercise his option, but Rojas and Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez have said they would like to return next season.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever Friedman decides shouldn\u2019t preclude the Dodgers from shopping on the free-agent market, with Kyle Tucker and Steven Kwan being potential additions to their outfield.<\/p>\n<p>But the nucleus of the Dodgers would be even older than it was this year when their collective age presented a variety of problems.<\/p>\n<p>Their <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-10-28\/dodgers-defeat-blue-jays-18-innings-freddie-freeman-world-series-game-3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">18-inning victory in Game 3<\/a> clearly diminished them more than it did the Toronto Blue Jays, who won the next two games. In retrospect, that should have been expected, as the Dodgers struggled to maintain consistency on offense over a grinding six-month regular season.<\/p>\n<p>While Betts transformed into one of the league\u2019s best defensive shortstops, he experienced a sharp offensive decline. Muncy was limited to 100 games because of injuries. Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez wasn\u2019t close to being the same player he was last year.<\/p>\n<p>There were times that even Ohtani started to show the effects of being on the wrong side of 30. Ohtani\u2019s father acknowledged this reality in a congratulatory open letter he wrote to his son, which was published in the Monday edition of Sports Nippon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShohei, you\u2019re 31 years old,\u201d Toru Ohtani wrote in Japanese. \u201cI think that as a baseball player, you\u2019re in your prime, but there will come a time when you have to decide between pitching and hitting. When you can\u2019t pitch anymore, you can be an outfielder. I think that if you practice, you can definitely do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That being said, the team has to be kept together.<\/p>\n<p>A championship can force teams into sentimental decisions, as was the case last winter when the Dodgers re-signed Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2024-12-27\/dodgers-teoscar-hernandez-new-deal-free-agent\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a three-year, $66-million contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This winter, they will have to settle similar disputes between their hearts and minds. They should listen to their hearts.<\/p>\n<p>The players deserve it. The fans demand it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dodgers walked into a packed home stadium when their World Series parade was over, waving to an&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":354928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2442,54303,1910,173337,173336,8327,32075,1266,2749,36179,9323,4712,62,3007,5957,67,132,68,173338,1628],"class_list":{"0":"post-354927","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-dodgers","9":"tag-freddie","10":"tag-game","11":"tag-key-free-agent","12":"tag-kike","13":"tag-max-muncy","14":"tag-miguel-rojas","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-mookie-betts","17":"tag-next-season","18":"tag-player","19":"tag-shohei-ohtani","20":"tag-sports","21":"tag-team","22":"tag-teoscar-hernandez","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-world-series-parade","27":"tag-year"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115491326288048147","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}