Dodgers Notes: Mookie’s chances, Shohei’s new tech, Zyhir, Feduccia & Bote impress, May returns, Miller & Grove injuries, more

Chad Moriyama 02/27/2025 Dodgers News 9 Comments

(Via @Dodgers)

For the sake of my sanity, I’ve been chilling during all these Spring Training games. But just in case anybody thought otherwise, I’d like to reiterate that the results are mostly meaningless, so don’t bother getting worked up.

That said, here’s a bunch of Dodgers highlights and stuff.

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But before getting to the highlights, there’s news that Hyeseong Kim is gonna experiment with all three up-the-middle positions.

Visual evidence that they’re certainly trying.

Ultimately, his bat will decide his playing time, but added utility certainly won’t hurt.

As mentioned before, Mookie Betts worked hard in the off-season to become a shortstop, including seeking out Troy Tulowitzki for help. Tulo gave an interesting interview recently in which he sheds some light on Mookie’s process.

So far, so good.

Still need to see him going to his right more, as that was a trouble area last year, but even in this admittedly small sample, his actions look so much more natural now.

Also, Shohei Ohtani has a new sliding technique.

Watch on TikTok

It’s gonna make him slower to the bag, for sure, but … minimizing his chance of injury is really the only thing that matters.

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Dustin May returned to the mound after that horrifying throat injury, which in itself was an accomplishment. While his fastball was down about two ticks, everything else looked sharp.

Hello to Zyhir Hope‘s easy power, as he has certainly looked the part of a top prospect so far.

Hunter Feduccia is off to a fast start, though unfortunately still has nowhere to play.

Speaking of fast starts who are long shots, David Bote might be playing himself into relevance.

The NRI is 8-for-12 with a pair of doubles and a homer, and he can play second, third, and first.

Nick Frasso is back after shoulder surgery ruined his 2024, comfortably sitting 93-94 mph and touching 96 mph multiple times, while the changeup looked nasty. Promising.

Ronan Kopp‘s move to the pen always seemed like it was coming, and if he can throw consistent strikes he’s gonna be a weapon.

That has been a struggle though, as he showed in his second outing when he walked a pair and uncorked a wild pitch before getting two outs.

Jared Karros is a throwback arm, rising through the system without loud stuff, relying on command and mixing pitches instead. Should be interesting to see if it holds up against advanced bats.

As far as the strugglers go, potential 26-man roster hopeful Edgardo Henriquez had a nightmare in his first appearance, walking three and giving up a double while recording just one out. He did get a scoreless frame in his second appearance, but walked two. Less than ideal.

Meanwhile, Kim is only 1-for-12 with an infield single to go along with four strikeouts and a pair of walks. He’s also surprisingly made a pair of errors, and his struggles could open up a roster spot.

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It took a grand total of one (1) game for serious injury concerns to pop-up, as Bobby Miller took a liner to the head.

Thankfully, he seems to have avoided the worst of it, and later he assured fans that he’s fine.

Since then, the concussion symptoms have reportedly abated, which makes him very fortunate. After his tough 2024, he definitely deserved to catch a break.

Meanwhile, Michael Grove isn’t going to be ready.

That clears the way for a pen arm … perhaps Ben Casparius?

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The season start is closer than you think.

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