Waking up on a Monday morning means the full World Series matchup will be set by nightfall.
The Tampa Bay Rays are back home with a 3-2 lead over the Cleveland Guardians, and Game 6 is set for Monday night at Tropicana Field. Game 1 of the World Series is Friday night in Milwaukee.
There’s also been some interesting Dodgers-connected noise worth sorting through this morning.
Brent Maguire of MLB.com dug into the last two National League Championship Series and found a strange layer of symmetry: the 2025 Dodgers and 2026 Brewers matched a few numbers exactly, and not just in the obvious way of sweeping all four games.
One Shohei Ohtani item stood out even more. A jersey he wore in the Dodgers’ 2025 season-opening Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs sold at auction on Saturday for just over $2 million, according to Larry Holder at The Athletic.
And the Savannah Bananas have already put the Dodgers on their 2027 calendar. Last week, they announced their schedule and included a game on Saturday, April 24 at Dodger Stadium. The catch is that the Dodgers are scheduled to be on the road that day, facing the Washington Nationals.
Of course, the 2027 season still has a huge cloud hanging over it. With the lockout coming on December 1, the actual start of that season remains very much up in the air as owners and players work toward a new collective bargaining agreement.
That uncertainty showed up again in Beth Harris’ Associated Press offseason primer, where she wrote, “ A work stoppage would give Ohtani extra time to heal, although during such time the Dodgers would be cut off from communicating with any player, leaving Ohtani to rehab either from possible surgery or from his injuries on his own.” Emphasis mine.
In Other News...
Dodgers Fans Will Have Strong Feelings About This Massive Trade Idea
Jim Bowdens latest trade proposal is the kind of idea that gets Dodgers fans talking for all the right and wrong reasons. In his scenario, Los Angeles would send prized prospect Josue De Paula and additional pieces to Washington in exchange for outfielder James Wood and shortstop CJ Abrams, a swap built around two young Nationals stars who both earned All-Star nods last season and still come with multiple years of team control.
It is easy to see why the concept has some appeal on paper, especially with Los Angeles always looking for ways to strengthen a roster already built to contend. But it also feels like the sort of package the Dodgers would be reluctant to part with, and the articles larger point is hard to miss: even if the Nationals would be getting a significant return, this is the kind of blockbuster idea that seems more useful as debate material than as a realistic path for either side. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Could Lose Another Familiar Front Office Voice Soon
The Mariners search for a new manager has taken them well beyond their own dugout, and it could soon reach into the Dodgers front office. Seattle is casting a wide net after Dan Wilsons departure, with former big-league skipper Rocco Baldelli among the names drawing interest while he serves as a special assistant in Los Angeles. Baldellis background makes him a natural fit for a club looking for a manager with experience, especially after spending several seasons running the Twins.
Joe Espada has already interviewed for the opening, and the Mariners had previously looked into Carlos Mendoza before he landed with the Phillies. For the Dodgers, the larger issue is familiar: Baldelli has already been linked to other managerial vacancies since arriving in Los Angeles in 2025, and another successful search elsewhere would only add to the list of voices the organization could lose from its staff. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Fans Will Have Mixed Feelings About This World Series
Even with the World Series now featuring teams far from Chavez Ravine, there is still a familiar Dodgers thread running through it. Jonny DeLuca is with the Rays, Dustin May is on the Brewers, and former Dodgers such as Ryan Pepiot, Gavin Lux and Michael Grove are part of the wider picture too, which means this matchup carries a little extra intrigue for fans who have watched so many of those names come through Los Angeles.
For Dodgers supporters, it is the kind of postseason that can prompt a split reaction. There is obvious pride in seeing former players in the Fall Classic and the possibility that some of them could end up with championship rings, but there is also the strange reality of tracking ex-Dodgers on clubs that stand between Los Angeles and another title run. Mays season with Milwaukee has been uneven across the regular season and into October, adding another layer to a World Series that already feels unusually tied to the Dodgers recent past. [Read more 🡒]