November 2 brings the usual roster squeeze around baseball, and the Dodgers are in a better spot than most clubs. Their 40-man roster sits at 33 after a wave of free agents reached the market, and they finished the season with only four players on the 60-day injured list, all of them pitchers.
That gives Los Angeles room to work with, but not necessarily room to waste. The Dodgers can bring those injured players back and stop there, yet they’ll likely want some flexibility for offseason moves and a chance to protect a few Rule 5-eligible prospects. That leaves a handful of fringe names in play as the club sorts out trades or possible non-tenders.
Bobby Miller is one of the clearest candidates to be moved or squeezed off the roster. After a rough 2024, the Dodgers barely used him in the majors in 2025, and he allowed seven runs in five innings.
Still, his late-season work in Triple-A offered a small sign that there may be something left to salvage. He spent almost the entire year in the bullpen there and posted a 3.68 ERA over 7⅓ innings in three September appearances.
He could remain a depth arm, but the Dodgers might also decide the best move is to send him somewhere that can give him a cleaner path and more hands-on pitching help, such as the Tampa Bay Rays or Cleveland Guardians. With his chances in Los Angeles looking limited, opening up the roster spot could make more sense.
Eliezer Alfonzo presents a different kind of decision. The Dodgers know what it looks like when catching depth gets thin, and Dalton Rushing will be unavailable behind the plate for nine months after an internal brace procedure. Even so, keeping Will Smith, Hunter Feduccia, and Alfonzo all on the roster feels like too much of a logjam.
Alfonzo looks like the easiest cut of the group. Los Angeles could remove him from the 40-man roster and bring him back on a minor league deal, preserving the organizational depth without committing a roster spot unless an emergency forces the issue.
Hyeseong Kim remains the most interesting of the bunch because he’s become a recurring Dodgers puzzle. The team doesn’t seem fully convinced, even though he has developed into something of a fan favorite. If anything, he may be better suited for a club that would actually put him on the field during the regular season.
The Dodgers can afford to pay him $4 million a year and keep him in Oklahoma City until they need him as a postseason pinch-runner, but that doesn’t mean they have to. A trade probably wouldn’t bring much back, though Andrew Friedman could still find a team interested in a young, speedy utility player with club options in 2028 and 2029. Miguel Rojas and Kiké Hernández leaving could open a lane for Kim, but the Dodgers still appear reluctant to use him that way.
In Other News...
Former Dodgers All-Star Is Still Fighting To Stick Elsewhere
Tony Gonsolins path back to a stable big league job has taken another turn, and for Dodgers fans it is a familiar name in a new place. The right-hander, who spent 2019 through 2025 with Los Angeles and was part of the clubs 2020 World Series run, landed with the Royals in August after signing while coming back from right elbow surgery.
Kansas City has now exercised its club option for the 2027 season, keeping Gonsolin on the roster with a $2.5 million salary. It is another sign that the Royals still see something worth holding onto in a pitcher whose recent seasons have been interrupted by injuries, even after the Dodgers moved on from him following the 2025 season. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Come Up Empty In Two Gold Glove Races
Max Muncy and Andy Pages gave the Dodgers a little late-season Gold Glove intrigue, but the club came up empty in both of its finalist races. Muncy was among the finalists at third base and Pages was in the mix in center field, a sign that Los Angeles had at least two defenders drawing real league-wide respect heading into the awards.
Alex Bregman took the honor at third base, while Pete Crow-Armstrong won in center field after the voting from MLB managers and coaches was combined with the SABR Defensive Index. For the Dodgers, it was a reminder that even when the defense looks strong enough to earn a seat at the table, the final verdict can still go another way. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Face A Freddie Freeman Decision Fans May Not Like
Freddie Freeman has been one of the defining pieces of the Dodgers run over the past five years, a steady presence who brought All-Star production and championship pedigree to the middle of the lineup. But as he enters the final year of his contract at 37, the conversation around him is shifting from what he has meant to the club to what comes next for a team that has to keep balancing present-day contention with an aging roster.
The Dodgers have already shown they are willing to think ahead, and the next step may involve leaning more heavily on younger talent from a farm system that has given them real options. Freemans decline in power, speed and defense makes the decision more complicated, because this is not just about sentiment or legacy, but about how long the Dodgers can keep one of their most trusted veterans at the center of their plans. [Read more 🡒]