With the first Dodgers FanFest in the books since 2020 and Spring Training right around the corner, the new baseball season is nearly underway. You can almost smell the stadium grass if you were not, in fact, at the ballpark on Saturday for the festivities.
With some core players leaving in free agency, there will be a few new faces on the field. Fans got to hear from some of the younger players who will get their chance to prove themselves during Spring Training and beyond into the regular season.
With several holes to fill in the roster, it has been rumored that 23-year-old utility infielder/outfielder Miguel Vargas may start in the Dodgers Opening Day infield. The La Habana, Cuba native made eighteen appearances near the end of the 2022 season, splitting time between first base and the outfield. When asked by the media if he was surprised to learn that he may be slotted for second base, he explained his perspective.
“I’ve been playing those positions my whole career in the minor leagues,” Vargas shared through an interpreter. “And there’s things about the team that they need and I’m ready and able to play and do whatever they need me to do.”
As for the Dodgers veteran players, they are more focused on leaving behind the sting of how the 2022 Postseason ended and already looking toward the future. When talking to the media on Saturday, six-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove first baseman Freddie Freeman expanded on his mindset of letting go of last year but also using it as motivation.
“If you need to find fuel in anything you want to do, to create fuel leading into Spring Training, you can do that,” Freeman stated. “But for me, every year I want to win a series. That’s my fuel. I want to win a World Series every time. I know realistically that’s not going to happen, you know. And not in today’s world in sports, it’s so hard to do that. But the sting is there because of how good our team was. Everybody knew how good our team was. And sometimes in baseball, sports happens. And that’s what happened to us last year. But you come in and you got to repeat and do it all over again.
“Every year, I’ll win a World Series. It’s a lost year in my opinion. But I’ve had a lot of lost years. I’ve only had one year where I was happy in the off-season,” Freeman added. “So I’m looking forward to it. I think we’ve got a really good chance to win a World Series. And that’s our goal every year.”
With that being said, Los Angeles has made it to the postseason for the past ten years. Many fans will remember that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts promised a World Series win last season. Though that was the expectation of the Front Office, the team, and the fanbase. During his FanFest interview, Doc tempered his expectations a bit for this year.
“When you wear the Dodger uniform, that’s the bar,” Roberts proclaimed. “We’re still expecting the division and hope beyond.
“I’m not going to guarantee it this year. I’m not going to do that,” Doc joked. “But again, I still expect to win the World Series. I do. And I don’t think that there’s anybody that’s part of our organization or fanbase that doesn’t feel that same way.”
Here’s to hoping for realistic expectations while making another run for the postseason.
Let’s go Dodgers!