Winning never gets old. But winning teams do.
The Dodgers won their repeat championship with the oldest roster in MLB last season – an average age of 31.48.
They will try to three-peat in 2026 with an aging core. Freddie Freeman (36), Max Muncy (35), Teoscar Hernandez (33), Mookie Betts (33) and Blake Snell (33 last week) are all well north of 30. Even Shohei Ohtani will turn 32 next July. The only position player younger than 30 who started more than 45 games for the Dodgers last season was outfielder Andy Pages, who will turn 25 on Monday.
There are plenty of cautionary tales littering recent baseball history of winning teams whose window slammed closed – like the last team before the Dodgers to play in back-to-back World Series.
The Philadelphia Phillies went to the World Series in 2008 and 2009 (winning the first time). By 2012, their core (Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay) were all 33 or older. Ryan Howard was 32. Of those six players, only Ruiz and Utley (once each) would make another All-Star team and the Phillies began a stretch of 10 consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance and only one winning record.
The Dodgers believe they have chosen wisely in the older players they have invested heavily in, believing they will age well because of a combination of body type, injury history and work ethic. As President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and the rest of the Dodgers’ decision-makers head to Orlando for this year’s Winter Meetings beginning Monday, however, the age of their roster is one factor that will hover over any trade talks or free agency negotiations.
“It’s front of mind for us as we look out. I wouldn’t necessarily say in 2026,” Friedman said. “But it is definitely something that we’re going to have to be thoughtful with how to bring along some of our talented young players and incorporate them into our core.
“That being said, it’s a constant challenge because we have the highest of expectations going into each season. But I do think it’s something we’re going to have to be deliberate and thoughtful about as we look out. That doesn’t necessarily mean Opening Day 2026.”
The Dodgers do have a wave of well-regarded prospects rising through their farm system – outfielders, in particular. But that group (James Tibbs, Zach Ehrhard, Zyhir Hope and Josue DePaula) just barely touched Double-A last season (less than 40 games each). Two others (Eduardo Quintero and Mike Sirota) spent their seasons in Class-A.
The only position player prospects who figure to be ready to play at the major-league level next season are infielder Alex Freeland (who hit .190 in 29 games with the Dodgers in 2025) and outfielder Ryan Ward (who was added to the 40-man roster after his second consecutive 100-RBI season in Triple-A).
If the Dodgers are going to meet their offseason targets of improving in the outfield and reinforcing the bullpen, it is likely to require outside help – via trade or free-agent signing.
“I think we feel really good about the team we have as we sit here today. So it’s not as much heavy lifting required,” Friedman said. “That being said, we’re going to stay open-minded to opportunities that present themselves.”
The Dodgers have done plenty of “heavy lifting” – and heavy spending – the past two winters.
In the winter of 2023-24, they committed more than $1 billion to free agents Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez. Last winter, the checkbook was out again as they added Snell, Roki Sasaki, Michael Conforto, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates and retained Hernandez and Blake Treinen.
Addressing their need in the outfield with another big-money, multi-year commitment to a middle-aged veteran – whether Kyle Tucker, who will turn 29 next month, or 30-year-old Cody Bellinger – seems unlikely. Trade targets like Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians (targeted at the in-season trade deadline) or any of those the St. Louis Cardinals are expected to make available (Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman or utilityman Brendan Donovan) could be the avenue through which the Dodgers upgrade after two years of mixed results signing free-agent outfielders to one-year deals (Hernandez for 2024, Conforto for 2025).
Bigger targets – Boston’s Jarren Duran or Minnesota’s Byron Buxton – are longer shots.
“I think adding someone to the mix is definitely in play,” Friedman said, indicating “figuring out our outfield” is a top offseason priority.
“But we’re also not going to force anything. It could be an opportunity for some guys that we have. That’s part of what we’re spending a lot of time on this winter – trying to figure out the optimal configuration for our position-player group. We have some versatility and with versatility comes more options in terms of how to deploy different guys.”
Last winter’s free-agent foray did not pay off in 2025. Conforto, Scott and Yates all proved to be bad investments. Only Scott will be back in 2026. The first season of his four-year, $72 million pact produced an MLB-high 10 blown saves and a 4.74 ERA.
Friedman had been reluctant to invest big money or multiple years in relievers before signing Scott, given the “volatility” in performance from year to year, and could now be reluctant to do it again with current free-agent closers like Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez.
But he dismisses Scott’s troubling season as a product of that “reliever volatility” and said “I would bet a lot that Tanner Scott will be a huge part of our success in 2026.” The bullpen – and particularly an established closer – does not appear to be a high priority at this point.
“I think we have a lot of talented relievers coming back next year and feel like it will be a strength,” Friedman said. “Obviously there’s a lot of noise (variance) that takes place in the performance of that group but the performance is critical. So if we can augment it and enhance it we will. But I don’t feel like it’s a necessity.”