Here are some of the key questions the reigning World Series champion Dodgers hope to answer during spring training.

Who is healthy?

This is a big, complicated question with a long list of players to evaluate. Among the position players, first baseman Freddie Freeman (ankle), DH Shohei Ohtani (shoulder) and infielder Miguel Rojas (sports hernia) are all recovering from surgeries. There is every indication all will be available for the season opener in Tokyo.

The list of pitchers recovering from injuries and/or surgeries is – seemingly all of them. Among starting pitchers Ohtani, Tony Gonsolin, Emmet Sheehan and Dustin May are all returning from Tommy John surgeries. Tyler Glasnow pitched just 31 innings after last June due to an elbow issue. Gavin Stone had shoulder surgery.

Among relievers, Brusdar Graterol also had shoulder surgery, Michael Kopech had forearm pain during the playoff run and Evan Phillips missed the World Series with a sore shoulder. Five pitchers or more (Stone, River Ryan, Graterol, Sheehan and Kyle Hurt – plus Clayton Kershaw when he signs) could be placed on the 60-day injured list once camp opens. Which ones will the Dodgers choose to make up the pitching staff in Tokyo?

Is Mookie Betts a shortstop now?

The Dodgers went to spring training a year ago professing their faith in Gavin Lux as an everyday shortstop. They pivoted away from Lux midway through the spring and Betts volunteered to learn a new position at the major-league level. He didn’t finish the season at shortstop, but he is going back there to begin 2025. Betts’ work ethic is unmatched and he will once again throw himself into the challenge of playing shortstop.

When does Ohtani become a two-way player again?

Ohtani’s surgery on his non-throwing shoulder set back the final stages of his recovery from his second Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers have said he will not be ready to pitch in the Tokyo Series (March 18-19). Whether he pitches in Cactus League games depends on how his throwing sessions go in spring training and Manager Dave Roberts said May is “about right” for a target to get Ohtani on the mound in major-league games for the first time since August 2023, but he acknowledged it could be earlier.

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Who bats where in this lineup?

This is what Roberts likes to call a “high-class problem.” It starts at the top – does he leave Ohtani at leadoff, where he thrived last season (.307/.392/.680, 35 home runs in 90 games) on his way to MLB’s first 50/50 season and the National League MVP award? Or does he put Betts back in the leadoff position he prefers and move Ohtani down to second – where, yeah, he also thrived last season (.314/.387/.602, 19 home runs in 69 games)?

How much will Dave Roberts get paid?

A contract extension for their manager has been on the Dodgers’ agenda, just not at the top of it. Negotiations should move forward now that the roster is largely set. The real question is whether the two sides can see eye to eye on just how much a manager is worth. Craig Counsell set the bar for manager’s pay when he signed a five-year, $40 million contract to jump from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Chicago Cubs before last season. Counsell has never won a World Series. Roberts has won two.

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