Dodgers focusing on to-do list as decisions loom

Their core shouldn’t change much, but they face questions about filling the outfield, free agents and the pitching staff

- Jack Harris

EVERYDAY players such as Will Smith, Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani will return for a three-peat shot.

The Dodgers wasted no time this week setting their sights on a potential World Series three-peat for next season.

Now, they embark on the winter-long process of building a roster capable of doing it.

For the most part, the core of the 2026 Dodgers shouldn't change much. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith will still lead the offense. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow will anchor the rotation.

However, with plenty of money coming off the books, several notable contributors to this year’s team now free agents, and plenty of opportunities lying ahead of them this offseason, the Dodgers have work to do and decisions to make as they attempt to defend their title again next year.

"Our attention span has been about two and a half minutes to think about the offseason throughout the month of October," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after the team’s World Series parade on Monday. "So we have a lot of work to do."

As that work begins, here are four big questions facing the Dodgers this offseason:

Can they keep on spending?

The Dodgers set MLB payroll records this year with $347 million in year-end salary and $415 million in competitive balance tax payroll.

Their projections for 2026 as of right now, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts: $251 million in salary and $313 million in CBT payroll.

Big numbers, to be sure, but theoretically providing room to maneuver this winter as well.

The question, of course, is whether even the deep-pocketed Dodgers can keep spending at the level they did this past season. Already, their 2026 CBT number will keep them in the highest tax bracket for luxury-tax purposes next year. Any new money they add this offseason will come with a 110% surcharge.