Dave Roberts Reveals His Wish List for Dodgers Offseason Additions
The holiday season is upon the Los Angeles Dodgers and manager Dave Roberts has a wish list that would make his lights twinkle a little brighter.
Roberts asked Santa for a few of the items while chatting with outfielder Mookie Betts on his Bleacher Report podcast.
The first two people on his list are in the bullpen.
“I want to bring back a guy we had in the bullpen this year,” Roberts said with a grin, seemingly referencing free-agent Blake Treinen.
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Treinen, 36, has experienced the typical rollercoaster journey of a reliever throughout his career. He was an All-Star in 2018 with the Oakland Athletics, posting an impressive 0.78 ERA and recording 100 strikeouts in 80.1 innings. However, the following year, his performance took a sharp downturn, as he finished with a 4.91 ERA.
The Dodgers were confident Treinen could rebound in 2020, and they were proven right. He had a strong season and played a key role in helping L.A. secure a World Series title. After his success, the Dodgers re-signed him to a two-year deal. He performed well in 2021 but was sidelined by a serious shoulder injury, missing almost the entire 2022 season.
After signing an extension, he missed the entirety of 2023 due to the same shoulder issue. However, Treinen made a successful return in 2024, posting a 1.93 ERA and contributing to another championship run.
What else does Roberts want from Santa?
“I would love for Santa to bring me another bullpen arm who is a high-leverage free agent,” he continued, likely referring to veteran reliever Joe Kelly, also a free agent.
Kelly signed a one-year contract with the Dodgers in December, making him a free agent this offseason. His future with the Los Angeles bullpen is uncertain. However, since 2021, Kelly has not posted an ERA lower than 4.12 and has frequently been sidelined by injuries, factors that could reduce his chances of staying with the Dodgers.
Read more: Dodgers’ Joe Kelly Reveals Whether He’ll Retire or Return for 2025 Season
The third and fourth people on the list are a game-changing outfielder and postseason utility star.
“And I want to bring in a guy who hit a couple of big homers for us in the postseason… and is from a Latin American country,” Roberts added with a laugh, describing both Kiké Hernández and fellow free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández.
Teoscar is coming off a career-best season which included winning the Home Run Derby while Kiké powered the Dodgers throughout the postseason en route to another World Series championship.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Bring back Treinen, Kike, and Teo. Hell no to Guano Joe Kelly.
Like is a fan favorite and produces when it matters most. Bringing him back can only make the fans happy. But, why would we want happy fans??? Oh that’s right…attendance = $. Bring him back!
SANTA, PLEASE MOVE MUNCY LUX & TAYLOR FROM DODGERS ROSTER & BRING LA MORE PRODUCTIVE PLAYERS LIKE SOTO-ADAMES-FRIED!
Luv you Chris T. But goodbye
We REALLY need to bring to bring back Treinen and the Hernandez boys. After that, I think a little patience is needed to evaluate Muncy, Lux, Taylor and Kelly. They have done the jobs in the past and their tanks may not be empty. I’m always slow to want to be rid of players not named Andruw Jones, so I probably wouldn’t make a good GM.
Sorry Chris T. Luv you but goodbye!
Agree that CT3 is probably done. He has always been a high strikeout guy but he used to balance that with timely hits/power and a decent overall average. Did you ever really trust Joe Kelly in high leverage situations? He was just as likely to plunk a guy or fire it 3 ft over the catcher’s head as he was to fire an unhittable 100mph four seamer for a strike. I had high hopes for Lux but I sense he may be traded but what would we get. I cant see Betts going back to short. Let’s face it he was only OK there…2nd was better. Adames should be our guy. Edmonds could play there but he should be the every day guy in center leading off! What about Muncy? I used to say he was our Schwarber but he kinda disappeared in the WS…gave us nothing! Which brings me to this, how did we do so well in those 5 games getting near zero from Muncy and Ohtani, go figure!