When Dave Roberts traveled to Japan in December, Shohei Ohtani warned his manager.
“Get ready,” Ohtani told him, “because you’re going to see a lot of pictures of me.”
Now, all of the Los Angeles Dodgers should take heed as they enter the frenzy in Tokyo. Their organizational quest to turn Japan blue has borne fruit, with Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki joining Ohtani for a season-opening matchup against the Chicago Cubs that will be a unique homecoming.
The group that will join them is now set. The Dodgers announced their 31-player traveling party that flew from Phoenix Sky Harbor to Haneda Airport for the series.
The list of names looks different than envisioned when the team arrived in Arizona last month. While Dodgers officials anticipated delayed starts to the season for Evan Phillips (shoulder) and Michael Kopech (forearm), they have also lost Michael Grove for the season with labrum surgery and Edgardo Henriquez for the year when he injured his foot in an off-field incident.
Hyeseong Kim’s assimilation to the United States will require some time in the minors, and the Dodgers deemed that the Korean infielder was best served getting regular at-bats on back fields at Camelback Ranch rather than at the Tokyo Dome.
Here’s your 31-man travel roster for the Tokyo Series. pic.twitter.com/FXOTRsDPhA
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 14, 2025
Tony Gonsolin tweaked his back while lifting weights, opening the door for Dustin May to be the Dodgers’ fifth starter — though May will stay back in Arizona to keep building up in his return from emergency esophageal surgery and two elbow procedures in three years.
Clayton Kershaw won’t be part of the 31 as he rehabs from his offseason toe and knee surgeries but will travel with his family to join the Dodgers in Tokyo.
This is not the set Opening Day roster. There are further cuts to come. But for this group of players, a long flight, a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a check for $70,000 are waiting for them.
Here’s a thought on each, in order by uniform number.
No. 3, Chris Taylor, utility: Hasn’t exactly torn the cover off the ball this spring after making adjustments to flatten his swing coming off a brutal 2024 (.598 OPS). Roberts still has plenty of trust invested in the 2021 All-Star, who is guaranteed at least $17 million in salary and buyouts in his last year under contract and is on track to reach 10 years of major-league service by year’s end. His role is still fluid.
No. 5, Freddie Freeman, first base: The reigning World Series MVP has had a busy spring training. His surgically-repaired right ankle has required at least 90 minutes of treatment before he can even take the field and more than an hour of further maintenance after the day is done. But he’s been playing without tape on the ankle and his swing looks just as pristine this spring.
No. 7, Blake Snell, left-handed pitcher: The two-time Cy Young winner won’t be on the active roster when the season opens. Instead, he’ll pitch one of the Dodgers’ exhibition games against the Yomiuri Giants or Hanshin Tigers. His first regular-season start will likely be the home opener at Dodger Stadium on March 27 after Snell finally got the long-term deal he sought this winter (and the year before that).
No. 8, Kiké Hernández, utility: When his re-signing was official, Hernández lamented his market as a free agent – partially, he said, because he thinks clubs just assumed he would be back with Los Angeles. His chameleonic defensive versatility certainly makes him an easy fit on this loaded roster.
No. 11, Roki Sasaki, right-handed pitcher: He will start the second game in Tokyo against the Cubs, which makes for one heck of a stage for a major-league debut at 23 years old. “I think that we’re all baseball fans here,” Roberts said, “And how many opportunities would you get to pitch for a major-league team going back there? This is a probably one-time, one-shot opportunity for these guys.” There are questions about Sasaki as he makes the transition to Major League Baseball, but, man, it’ll just be fun to watch that splitter in action.
No. 13, Max Muncy, third baseman: Muncy will be the Dodgers’ Opening Day third baseman, just as Brandon Gomes forecast at the Winter Meetings, That was never really in doubt. But Muncy is healthy now after a nagging side injury that cost him much of the summer and required treatment all the way through the Dodgers’ World Series run.
No. 15, Austin Barnes, catcher: “I think he understands the fabric of and culture of our club,” Roberts said of the backup catcher and longest-tenured position player in the organization. “He’s one of the glue guys, he really is.”
No. 16, Will Smith, catcher: The franchise catcher dealt with a painful bone bruise in his left ankle from June on last season. He insisted it didn’t impact his swing, but his production told a different story. That same ankle slowed him down at the start of spring, but he’s swung a good bat in Cactus League action and is expected to be one of the best all-around catchers in the sport.
No. 17, Shohei Ohtani, two-way player: The star of the Sho. The reigning NL MVP won’t pitch in Japan but will double as designated hitter and international ambassador during this trip as the biggest star in the sport, and perhaps the world. Ohtani’s swing doesn’t seem to be inhibited at all from labrum surgery on his left shoulder. Just this week, he smoked a double with an exit velocity of 118.5 mph.
No. 18, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, right-handed pitcher: There was never really much of a choice when it came to naming the Dodgers’ Opening Day starter in Tokyo. “Truth be told, it’s his country. I think it’s bigger than the Dodgers. It’s about baseball,’’ Roberts said, “and it only makes the most sense for him to start the first game of the season in Tokyo.” The $325 million man has looked great this spring ahead of his second MLB season.
No. 23, Michael Conforto, outfielder: “I’m not 27 anymore, even though I feel like it,” Conforto said this spring. He’s now two seasons removed from shoulder surgery, and has remained a productive hitter even if he hasn’t been the type of middle-of-the-order presence he was with the New York Mets. There’s more there, the Dodgers think: Roberts made Conforto his “pick to click” this year.
No. 25, Tommy Edman, utility: Edman will play every day, somewhere. It could be in center field, where he originally appeared pegged to play most of the time this summer. It could be at second base, which is unsettled with Hyeseong Kim’s adjustment period to major-league pitching. It could also be at shortstop, where Edman was during the World Series.
No. 31, Tyler Glasnow, right-handed pitcher: He’s now one of three nine-figure pitching contracts in the Dodgers’ rotation, and one eager to prove that the tweaks he made to his delivery can help him last through a full season. He will be pitching the other of the Tokyo exhibitions, but the main goal has to be having Glasnow available in October.
No. 33, James Outman, outfielder: When Outman went to a private facility last offseason to make changes to his swing, he had a simple explanation: “My performance,” he said. Last year was disastrous for him, with a .521 OPS. Each of the last two seasons, he was the Dodgers’ Opening Day center fielder. Now, he’s still working through massive swing-and-miss issues and it’s uncertain if he’ll be on the Dodgers’ active roster.
No. 37, Teoscar Hernández, outfielder: It would have been surprising to see Hernández land anywhere else this offseason. Now, the All-Star and reigning Home Run Derby champion is settled, and has taken Andy Pages under his wing this spring as the young star works through his swing.
No. 38, Kirby Yates, right-handed reliever: Only Emmanuel Clase had a lower ERA (0.67) last season than Yates (1.17) among relievers with at least 60 appearances. Yates fits right into leverage innings to start, especially with Phillips and Kopech delayed to start the season.
No. 43, Anthony Banda, left-handed reliever: Banda was a wonderful story in 2024, and now has a chance to stick. He doesn’t have minor-league options, so the Dodgers have to keep him on the big-league roster as long as he continues to perform like he did a year ago. Maybe he’s already making some adjustments to stay ahead: during one bullpen session recently, he had Yates help him fiddle around with a splitter grip.
No. 44, Andy Pages, outfielder: Pages’ best path to playing time is again in center field, even though he likely profiles best defensively in a corner. Which raises the question: How much are the Dodgers willing to sacrifice their outfield defense for production in the lineup? And do the Dodgers need another right-handed hitting option on a right-handed heavy bench? Pages crushed left-handed pitching a year ago, but it’s not a super simple fit.
No. 49, Blake Treinen, right-handed reliever: Treinen’s resurgence after essentially missing two seasons with shoulder trouble was astounding. He’ll remain one of the most trusted arms in the Dodgers’ bullpen, even after the additions of Yates and Tanner Scott.
No. 50, Mookie Betts, shortstop: Betts, by his admission, was “embarrassed” at shortstop last season. His offseason of work at the position centered around avoiding that happening again.
No. 51, Alex Vesia, left-handed reliever: Vesia is fully past the intercostal injury that kept him off the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, and is coming off a season in which he was one of the most valuable lefty relievers in baseball.
No. 57, Luis García, right-handed reliever: García was the most established of the Dodgers’ non-roster invites to big-league camp, with real leverage innings in the postseason on his track record. A year ago, he was traded for a haul at the deadline. The velocity appears to have taken a slight dip this spring, but more than anything he has to dial the command to a place where his power arsenal can be effective again.
No. 64, Matt Sauer, right-handed reliever: The most surprising inclusion on the itinerary found out last week he was going when Roberts told him as he was coming off the mound. It will be a great family story: Sauer’s mother, Tammy, was born on an Air Force base in Okinawa.
No. 66, Tanner Scott, left-handed reliever: The recipient of the richest free-agent contract for a reliever this winter (four years, $72 million) will receive most of the save opportunities, but won’t be designated as the team’s set closer as the Dodgers look to maximize flexibility in matchups. When Phillips is healthy, he’ll be reunited with his former Orioles teammate.
No. 67, Hunter Feduccia, catcher: There are situations throughout the sport where Feduccia is likely serving a bigger role than third catcher. There’s more attention on the guy behind him in Dalton Rushing. But Feduccia is a strong insurance policy should anything happen to Will Smith or Austin Barnes.
No. 70, Justin Wrobleski, left-handed pitcher: Has turned some heads with his spring. He’s minimized the walks, partly due to his willingness to use his curveball early in counts for strikes to get ahead and grab count leverage. When the Dodgers need a depth starter, he’ll be one of the team’s first calls. He could very well break camp with the team in the bullpen as a long man.
No. 72, Miguel Rojas, infielder: The Dodgers didn’t make him the starting shortstop the past two years because of concerns the veteran could stay healthy. Rojas delivered the best offensive full season of his career last year (a .748 OPS) but also was hampered by lower-body issues that ultimately required offseason hernia surgery. He remains a valuable piece off the bench who can play all around the infield.
No. 78, Ben Casparius, right-handed reliever: This time a year ago, Roberts had no idea who Casparius was. By October, Casparius was starting a would-be World Series clincher. Life changes fast. Casparius trained this offseason with a swingman role in mind, and saw his velocity tick up this spring along with a new emphasis on throwing his curveball harder.
No. 79, Nick Frasso, right-handed pitcher: Sent down earlier in camp but, like Landon Knack a year ago, is a 40-man option who has a chance to be part of this trip. Frasso almost certainly would have made his debut last year if not for shoulder surgery that wiped out all of 2024. His stuff has certainly bounced back after surgery, and it will be interesting if that injury history — along with a violent delivery — makes him more of a fit for the bullpen long-term.
No. 86, Jack Dreyer, left-handed reliever: He’s a problem-solver with an elite skill: a fastball that seemingly rises more than any four-seamer in the big leagues. He’s pitched well enough that he’s not just a novelty with a penchant for messing around with a Rubik’s Cube.
No. 96, Landon Knack, right-handed pitcher: The ultimate Swiss Army Knife the Dodgers have on the pitching front, who likely will open the rest of the season in the Oklahoma City Comets rotation in Triple A but found himself pitching in World Series games last October.
(Photo of Roki Sasaki: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
