Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are changing their hats in honor of Jackie Robinson Day.

As Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic shared, the National League West team will wear Brooklyn Dodgers hats for Tuesday's game against the Colorado Rockies. Robinson played 10 seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers as a franchise and MLB icon who broke the sport's color barrier.

In 2004, MLB established April 15 as Jackie Robinson Day because that was the day he debuted for the Dodgers and broke the league's color barrier in 1947.

Players and managers around the league honor the Hall of Famer by wearing his No. 42 on their jerseys on April 15 every year. There will also be a "42" patch on hats with players wearing shirts that say "Breaking Barriers" during batting practice.

Teams will also play a Robinson tribute video before games.

The Dodgers and Rockies were joined by Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as they gathered around Robinson's statue in advance of Tuesday's game, per Beth Harris of the Associated Press.

Robinson's grandchildren, Sonya Pankey Robinson and Ayo Robinson were also present.

"He was so progressive in so many ways,” Pankey Robinson said of her grandfather. "When I think about him fondly, I just think about all of his contributions to society and to us as a family. I feel a real responsibility to uphold his values and I take that job very seriously."

While Robinson is a legend across the sports world, he will always be closely associated with the Dodgers seeing how he played for the franchise before it moved to Los Angeles. He is best known for breaking the color barrier, but he was also a star player between the lines.

His resume included a World Series title, National League MVP, NL Rookie of the Year, batting title and seven All-Star Game selections. He slashed .311/.409/.474 with 137 home runs, 734 RBI and 197 stolen bases during his time with the Dodgers.

Robinson remains one of the most important people in sports history, and his presence is felt across Major League Baseball to this day. The Dodgers are turning back the clock in a number of ways to honor him, including using their hats as a tribute to his legacy.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell has landed on the injured list four days after making his second start of the 2025 season.

The Dodgers announced on Sunday that Snell had been placed on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation. His IL stint is retroactive to April 3, making him eligible to be activated as early as April 18.

Per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Snell spoke with team trainer Thomas Albert and general manager Brandon Gomes on Sunday morning after throwing a bullpen session.

There have been some indications through two starts that Snell wasn't quite at the level we are accustomed to seeing from him. His average fastball velocity of 94.8 mph is his lowest since the 2017 season (94.3). It's also down more than one full mile per hour compared to last year (95.9).

Snell has always been a pitcher with a high walk rate, which has continued in the early going this year. He has issued four free passes in each of his first two starts.

The thing that has made Snell so effective despite the walk rate is his ability to miss bats. That hasn't been true so far with just four punchouts in nine innings.

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All stats at this time of the year come with the caveat that it's a small sample size, so there's no sense in trying to draw any big conclusions about anything yet.

Snell had two stints on the IL early last season with the San Francisco Giants due to an adductor strain and groin strain. He was back at full strength in early July and was great for three months, posting a 1.23 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 80.1 innings over 14 starts.

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A shoulder injury is more of a concern for a pitcher than an adductor or groin injury, but there's no indication at this point it's a long-term issue.

The Dodgers intentionally built a deep rotation during the offseason to account for potential pitcher injuries. Matt Sauer, who had a 7.71 ERA in 16.1 innings with the Dodgers last season, was recalled from Triple-A to take Snell's spot on the roster.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow and Dustin May are the top four starters in Los Angeles with Snell out of action. The team will need to add another starter when Snell's next turn in the rotation comes up, or they could opt to go with bullpen games for the time being if the two-time Cy Young winner isn't going to miss an extended period.

Saturday's start for Roki Sasaki is more of what the Japanese rookie expects after a rough start to his MLB career.

Sasaki went four innings and struck out four batters while allowing just one run in the Dodgers 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. While it wasn't a long outing, it was much better than the ones he had put forward in his first two starts.

Sasaki credited some adjustments to his mechanics as a key factor to the improvement.

“I felt I had something,” Sasaki said, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. “Last time around, I felt like I wanted to throw strikes, but I couldn’t. I really worked on my mechanics since that game and really felt like I was able to do that today.”

Sasaki had gone just 4.2 innings across his first two starts, allowing three runs, four hits and walking nine batters. He only walked two batters in Saturday's start and showed increased command of the strike zone overall.

He was a sought-after international free agent in the offseason after a stellar 2024 season with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. He had gone 10-5 with 2.35 ERA in 111.0 innings in 2024 and entered the 2025 MLB season as the No. 1 overall prospect.

With expectations that high, a lackluster start was going to be an eyesore for Sasaki and the Dodgers. However, a promising performance on Saturday shows that the 23-year-old can be an impact piece for a potent Dodgers rotation.

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Freddie Freeman on the 10-day injured list due to an ankle sprain, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Per Ardaya, Freeman's injured list placement is retroactive to March 31.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Monday that the eight-time All-Star slipped and injured his ankle, which was previously surgically repaired, while in the shower.

Freeman underwent a procedure in Dec. 2024 to help repair ankle issues that affected him throughout Los Angeles' 2024 postseason run, which culminated in a World Series victory.

The first baseman was still able to earn World Series MVP honors.

Freeman appeared in three of the Dodgers' first five games of the 2025 season, missing two contests against the Chicago Cubs in Japan due to left rib discomfort.

The former National League MVP was off to a strong start prior to his ankle injury. Freeman recorded two home runs and four RBIs in three appearances, posting a 1.083 OPS.

The 35-year-old has been a key piece of the Dodgers' lineup throughout his tenure with the organization, receiving All-Star nods in each of his first three years on the team.

He's recorded 74 homers and 295 RBIs to go along with a .314/.398/.522 slash line in 470 games with Los Angeles.

Despite Freeman's absence, the Dodgers have started their 2025 campaign on a high note. They currently sit atop the National League standings with a perfect 8-0 record.

Until Freeman is able to return from his stint on the injured list, expect Enrique Hernández to continue filling in as Los Angeles' starting first baseman.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani delivered yet another memorable moment with his walk-off home run against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, and his teammates expected nothing less.

As Ohtani stepped into the batter's box in the ninth inning, there was no doubt in the Dodgers' dugout that he would rise to the occasion and help the team remain undefeated.

"He's going to end this right here," Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said he thought to himself, per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.

"We knew," starting pitcher Blake Snell said. "It's just what he does."

Ohtani proved their expectations to be correct as he capped off a 6-5 comeback win for the Dodgers, which improved their record to 8-0. Los Angeles has now surpassed the 1933 New York Yankees for the longest win streak to begin a season for a reigning World Series champion.

"I don't think anybody didn't expect him to hit a walk-off home run there," Dodgers utility man Tommy Edman said. "It's just a question of where he'd hit it."

"He's pretty good, huh?" Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández said. "It's Shohei. He's going to do that. He's going to do things better than that."

Ohtani is now hitting .333 with three home runs this season. After his fourth career walk-off hit, he praised the team's camaraderie to start the year as the Dodgers pursue a second straight title.

"Overall, not just tonight, there is a really good vibe within the team," Ohtani said. "I just think that's allowing us to come back in these games to win."

Even though Shohei Ohtani is inarguably the best player on the Los Angeles Dodgers, the question of who is the best athlete on the team has raised some debate for the reigning World Series champs.

Speaking to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal about the topic, Mookie Betts definitively declared himself to be a better overall athlete than Ohtani.

"Me," Betts said when asked the question. "Not even close."

The eight-time All-Star did elaborate on his answer:

"If we’re talking about does he run fast, does he jump high and stuff, Shohei would win that. But, as far as like, pure coordination skills, I don’t think it’s remotely close. I feel like it’s just what I do. It’s just what God blessed me with."

Ohtani certainly looks like a player you would create on MLB The Show. He is 6'3" and 210 pounds, with long limbs that allow him to move like a gazelle. He has the supernatural ability to be the best hitter and pitcher on the planet when he's healthy enough to do both.

Betts is no slouch with a listed height-weight combination at 5"10 and 180 pounds, though the latter doesn't account for a recent illness that caused him to lose more than 20 pounds that he's still trying to get back.

It's a testament to Betts' unique athletic ability he was able to hit two homers in a game, including a walk-off three-run shot, against the Detroit Tigers on March 28 in his second game back after the illness.

Both players are multifaceted on the diamond. Ohtani finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022 and has a 3.01 ERA in 481.2 innings as a pitcher.

Betts has played games at second base, shortstop and right field over the past three seasons. Even though he wasn't great as an infielder, his advanced stats show he was passable.

If you judge athleticism by a person's ability to play different sports at a high level, Betts would seem to have an advantage. He is a high-level bowler with a 300-game in the PBA World Series of Bowling.

Betts has also taken part in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2022, with the PGA Tour's official website listing him as having a 10 handicap.

Betts added pickleball to his non-baseball rotation last year.

While there's not a lot of public information about Ohtani's other sports interests outside of baseball, his high school baseball coach in Japan once said the three-time MVP was so fast as a swimmer that he could have made it to the Olympics if he took it up full-time.

Ohtani's father was a baseball player in Japan, and his mother played badminton, per MLB.com's Doug Miller.

Rosenthal noted Dodgers players gave Betts the slight edge over Ohtani as the best athlete on the team, though it was acknowledged they have never seen Ohtani play anything other than baseball.

Unfortunately for the rest of MLB, the Dodgers have both of them on their roster, along with several other players who are still performing at an All-Star level.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will not have Freddie Freeman in the lineup for Monday's game against the Atlanta Braves after he suffered an ankle injury in the shower.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters the veteran slipped and injured the ankle in the shower and is considered day-to-day. He also said it was a "mishap" that resulted in Freeman tweaking his right ankle that was previously surgically repaired.

The first baseman did not play in the Dodgers' first two games of the season against the Chicago Cubs in Japan on March 18 and 19 because of a rib injury, but he returned to the lineup for their three-game set against the Detroit Tigers on March 27-29.

He started all three of those games and slashed .250/.250/.833 with two home runs and four RBI while picking up where he left off from a power perspective after winning the World Series MVP last season.

Freeman is one of the best players of his generation with a resume that includes two World Series titles, a National League MVP, last year's World Series MVP, eight All-Star selections, three Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove.

While he is 35 years old, he showed no signs of slowing in 2024 as an All-Star who slashed .282/.378/.476 with 22 home runs and 89 RBI. He, Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani give the Dodgers plenty of star power in their lineup on a nightly basis, which is one reason they are on the short list of realistic World Series contenders.

Los Angeles is already 5-0 on the campaign despite being without Freeman and Betts for the first two games against the Cubs.

It is far more likely to defend its World Series crown with a healthy Freeman in the lineup come October, but it has enough depth to tread water during what could be a short-term absence given the day-to-day designation.

Enrique Hernández played first base in those initial two games and could fill in again until the normal starter is ready to return.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's autographed 1-of-1 Dynasty Black Logoman card sold for a hefty price at auction.

Topps announced Sunday that the card sold for $1.067 million at Heritage Auctions, including buyer's premium.

The card also includes the MLB logo from the pants that he wore when he became the first player to ever record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season during his 2024 campaign.

Topps previously announced that the card was pulled on Jan. 29.

It's the most expensive Ohtani card of all time, surpassing the previous record of $533,140 that was paid for a 2018 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autographs Orange Refractor card in Nov. 2024 (via ESPN's Dan Hajducky).

The 30-year-old's first season with the Dodgers was impressive, as he ended the year with 54 home runs and 59 steals to go along with a .310/.390/.646 slash line.

Ohtani officially reached 50 homers and 50 stolen bases during a victory over the Miami Marlins in Sept. 2024.

The three-time MVP has already started his 2025 season strong, hitting two home runs in Los Angeles' first five games.

Shohei Ohtani's return to the mound is getting further delayed.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported that Ohtani threw his first bullpen since spring training on Saturday. Despite this progression, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admitted that Ohtani's return is still "a ways off."

Ohtani has not pitched since 2023, when he was still with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way superstar has continued to play as a designated hitter while his arm recovers from a torn UCL.

Ohtani has a career record of 38-19 on the mound and has compiled a 3.01 ERA. He finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022.

While his ability to hit and pitch is a very helpful tool, Ohtani's bat alone has been worth every penny of his lucrative contract. He hit .310/.390/.646 with 54 home runs and 130 RBIs in 2024, winning the NL MVP and helping the Dodgers win the World Series.

The Dodgers have a stacked rotation with Yoshinobu Yammamoto, Roki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Dustin May. While Ohtani's inclusion will make it even fiercer, the strong depth also should allow him to proceed with caution and return when he is fully healthy.

A rough two weeks for Mookie Betts gave way to a thrilling moment on Friday night when he hit two homers, including a walk-off three-run blast, in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 8-5 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Betts spoke about the "super special" moment he had at Dodger Stadium after battling an illness for an extended period of time:

"That was super special. I know it sounds super selfish, but more for me. I was really proud of myself for coming in and playing underweight. Not that it's a big deal playing underweight, but just the fight that I've kind of been through—the ups and downs, and the nights I'm just crying because I'm sick, and my wife's there holding me. That's where the emotion comes from."

The Dodgers opened the 2024 regular season in Tokyo with a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs from March 18-19, but Betts returned to the United States ahead of time because of an illness.

While the exact illness has not been confirmed by the Dodgers, Jack Smith of the Los Angeles Times reported on March 24 that Betts was dealing with norovirus.

Betts told reporters after Sunday's exhibition game against the Los Angeles Angels his weight was down to 157 pounds and he couldn't keep food in his system.

Despite the weight loss, Betts was healthy enough to be back in the Dodgers' lineup for their series opener against the Tigers on Thursday. He finished 1-for-3 while playing shortstop.

Friday showed that Betts is still capable of being an impact player, despite not being in peak physical condition. The eight-time All-Star went 3-for-5 with two homers, four RBI and three runs scored.

After the Tigers tied the game at three with two runs in the ninth and took a 5-3 lead with two more runs in the top of the 10th, the Dodgers responded with five runs in the bottom of the frame to get their fourth straight win to start the season.