The Dodgers head into the winter with a payroll picture that is already massive and a roster that still looks strong enough to chase another title in 2027. The real tension sits on the mound, where the club’s biggest question marks live even with a stack of arms already under control.
Their books are already packed with long-term money. Shohei Ohtani is locked in through 2033 on a $490MM deal, with $68MM deferred annually.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is signed through 2035 for $248MM, with conditional opt-outs after 2029 and 2031. Mookie Betts is on a $205MM contract through 2032, which still includes $35MM of signing bonus owed and $65MM in deferred salary.
Kyle Tucker is set through 2029 on a $185MM deal that includes $10MM of signing bonus still owed, $10MM of salary deferred annually, and player options in the final two years.
Blake Snell is in place through 2029 for $78MM, with $13.2MM deferred annually and a conditional 2030 club option. Will Smith is under contract through 2033 for $70.45MM, with $5MM deferred annually.
Tyler Glasnow is on the books through 2028 for $51.5625MM, with the final year carrying a club/player option. Edwin Díaz is signed through 2028 for $46MM, with $4.5MM deferred annually and a conditional 2029 club option.
Tanner Scott is under contract through 2028 for $40MM, including $10MM of signing bonus still owed and $5.25MM deferred annually, plus a conditional 2029 club option.
Tommy Edman is in the mix through 2029 on a $39.75MM deal that includes a buyout of his 2030 club option and $6.25MM deferred annually. Freddie Freeman is owed $27MM through 2027, with $12MM deferred.
Teoscar Hernández is signed through 2027 for $21MM, which includes a $6.5MM buyout on a 2028 club option, $8MM of salary deferred, and a conditional 2029 club option. Max Muncy is also in the picture through 2027 at $13.75MM, including a buyout of a 2028 club option.
All told, the Dodgers’ 2027 financial commitments sit at $362.25MM, with $142.2MM deferred, and their total future commitments reach $1.52 billion.
There are also a few arbitration cases worth watching. Brock Stewart is projected at 5.093 service time and $1.8MM.
Jake Cousins is projected at 4.091 and $1MM. Alex Call checks in at 3.161 and $1.9MM.
Emmet Sheehan is projected at 3.063 and $2.1MM. Gavin Stone is at 3.034 and $1.2MM.
Andy Pages comes in at 2.155 and $4.9MM. The non-tender candidates listed are Cousins, Call and Stone.
The biggest uncertainty remains the pitching staff, especially what happens around Ohtani. He was injured for the second half of the 2026 season, and his last appearance on the mound came July 3.
He kept hitting, but his production fell well below his standard. He is expected to avoid surgery and should be fully healthy next year, and the Dodgers still plan for him to keep doing both in 2027.
What isn’t clear is whether the injury-hit 2026 season changes how the club and Ohtani approach his role. The question is whether they push toward a full starter’s workload or go in a different direction.
Tarik Skubal, acquired at the deadline, is now headed to free agency, and the Dodgers are expected to be firmly involved if he hits the market. They are usually in the mix for top-end talent, and they have landed plenty of those names over the years. But bringing Skubal back could force them toward something they usually try to avoid: a very long deal.
The Dodgers have signed dozens of free agents to eight-figure contracts over the past decade, but only two of those deals ran longer than six years. Those exceptions were Ohtani, a one-of-one player, and Yamamoto, who reached the market at the unusually young age of 25.
More often, the Dodgers keep themselves in the race and wait for a player to become open to a shorter arrangement. That was the path with Tucker last year.
The strategy has been described as “hanging around the backboard.” When someone gets a truly huge long-term deal, it tends to come from somewhere else.
That’s the issue with Skubal. He should be in position to top the seven years Dylan Cease received, and he could potentially command eight or nine years, like Gerrit Cole’s nine-year deal or Max Fried’s eight-year pact.
Skubal turns 30 next month, one year older than Cole was and one year younger than Fried was when those contracts were signed. The Dodgers can chase that, or they can try to get creative and convince him to do something Tucker-style, with a shorter term and opt-outs.
Even if they don’t bring Skubal in, the rotation is hardly bare. Yamamoto, Snell and Glasnow already give them three established options.
Snell and Glasnow have had injury issues, but both finished 2026 healthy. Roki Sasaki put together an encouraging season and will try to build on it.
Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, Landon Knack and Ben Casparius are all in the picture for spots. Christian Zazueta is slated to get a roster spot this winter to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft, and Adam Serwinowski and Jackson Ferris could also be added.
Gavin Stone could enter the mix as well, though he missed almost all of 2026 with shoulder problems, so the Dodgers may choose not to tender him a contract.
That’s why the Skubal decision is so interesting. With Ohtani and all these other arms, the Dodgers do not need to chase him.
But they also didn’t need to chase him at the 2026 deadline, and they did it anyway. Outside of pitching, the winter doesn’t offer an obvious splash target.
The bullpen needs attention, but the position-player group is largely set.
In Other News...
Freddie Freemans Honest Dodgers Reality Check Will Hit Fans Hard
The Dodgers have spent the winter living with the sting of their NLCS sweep at the hands of the Brewers, and Freddie Freeman did not dress it up. His reminder was plain: in baseball, nothing is promised just because a roster looks loaded or a payroll says it should be. For a franchise that expects to measure itself by October, it was a blunt reality check after a short postseason that left little room for spin.
It also lands with a little extra irony given the backdrop around the game right now. Major League Baseball and Marvel Studios used the 2026 World Series to unveil an exclusive preview of Avengers: Doomsday, complete with MLB stars in a ceremonial first-pitch scene filmed on a set built to resemble Ebbets Field, the old Brooklyn home of the Dodgers. The image is glossy and celebratory, but Freemans point remains the one the Dodgers have to live with: in baseball, the sequel is never guaranteed. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers May Not Be Done Adding To Their Japanese Core
Andrew Friedman made it clear the Dodgers are not treating their recent success in Japan as a finished project. The front office has already built a strong pipeline with three active Japanese-born players on the roster, and the club has shown it can not only land elite talent from NPB but also help it settle in quickly once it arrives in Los Angeles.
Teruaki Sato of the Hanshin Tigers is among the names expected to draw MLB attention this offseason, and the Dodgers figure to remain in the conversation whenever top Japanese talent becomes available. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki already part of the organizations recent track record, the next move could come from the same market that has helped shape so much of the clubs roster-building success. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Could Be Chasing Another Japanese Arm Fans Will Want
The Dodgers interest in Japanese talent has become a familiar part of their roster-building, and Shoki Oda is the latest name to surface in that conversation. The 18-year-old pitching prospect has already made a reputation for himself with eye-catching velocity and a record-setting high school career, the kind of background that naturally puts him on the radar of a club that has leaned into scouting and developing talent from Japan.
Andrew Friedman has acknowledged the organizations attention to that market, and Oda has made it clear he wants a shot at the top level of baseball. For now, though, there is no official signing or decision in place, which leaves the Dodgers in the same position they often seem to prefer with international targets: closely watching, waiting, and seeing whether another big arm becomes part of the pipeline. [Read more 🡒]