Wednesday, November 04

The Dodgers share the primary focus of most teams when constructing their roster for a new reason: Winning in the present day. But they also always keep an eye toward the proverbial cliff, as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman likes to say.

Teams that go all in to win for a number of years can seemingly fall off all of a sudden, as contracts reach their end and players' most productive seasons are behind them. But the Dodgers have found ways to keep the cliff off in the distance, having reached the postseason in 14 consecutive seasons.

"I think in a lot of ways it's because you have an aging roster, and you have traded away prospects in your farm system to where you're in the bottom 10 of farm system rankings," Friedman said. "That is why we have poured so much energy and focus into our farm system, because so much of avoiding that is having a talented wave of players who can come up and supplement around your core group of guys, and we couldn't feel more bullish on the position player core group that we have from A-ball through Triple-A that are coming."

The Dodgers can never be counted out from filling their areas of need through trade or free agency, but they seem poised to see what they have in some of their top prospects in 2027. Here are three names to watch next year, along with their rankings on MLB Pipeline's top prospect lists:

Josue De Paula (Dodgers' No. 1 prospect, No. 4 overall)

De Paula made his mark with an 11-game debut in September, hitting .323 (10-for-31) and reaching base in half of his plate appearances, drawing 11 walks against five strikeouts. Long considered to have the best hit tool the Dodgers' system has seen in some time, the 21-year-old convinced the big league club that his bat was the real deal after being promoted directly from Double-A Tulsa. He could be on the fast track to an Opening Day roster spot, but he'll have to show the team that he'll be playable in the outfield.

When De Paula was called up as the corresponding move for Shohei Ohtani to go on the IL, the Dodgers made clear that they saw him exclusively as a DH. He played just six total innings in left field, which would be his likely position should he become an everyday player with L.A. -- given that he will still be blocked by Ohtani at DH for the foreseeable future. Friedman has touted the growth De Paula made defensively from 2025-26, and the team will need to see similar growth from '26-27.

Jackson Ferris (Dodgers' No. 17 prospect)

Ferris spent all of last season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, putting up numbers that don't jump off the page. Overall, he went 4-5 with a 5.12 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. But the 22-year-old southpaw seemed to find something in mid-August, recording a 1.00 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 36 innings in his final six appearances of the Triple-A regular season.

The strong finish makes Ferris a likely candidate to be added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster this offseason, as he is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Once any player is on the 40-man roster, they're a call away from the big leagues. While he's almost exclusively been a starter in his professional career, Ferris' more clear path to L.A. could be in the bullpen.

Mike Sirota (Dodgers' No. 3 prospect, No. 17 overall)

Sirota got a cup of coffee with Oklahoma City after beginning the season with High-A Great Lakes. There are other outfield prospects who spent the entire year at Triple-A (namely No. 7 prospect James Tibbs III and No. 15 prospect Zach Ehrhard) who should ostensibly be higher than him on the depth chart. But we saw De Paula leapfrog that duo this past season, and perhaps Sirota could be on a similar trajectory.

Across three levels of the Minors, Sirota slashed .307/.461/.526. His plate discipline is a standout quality, but he also brings plenty of raw power to the table, with 28 doubles, 17 homers and three triples this past season. His right-handed bat could enhance his potential fit with the Dodgers as soon as next season, as the big league club's lineup can skew left-handed at times.

After announcing last week that executive vice president and chief operating officer Bob Wolfe would retire at the end of this year, the Dodgers on Monday hired his replacement: Caroline Perry, who had been COO of the Padres since January 2023. Perry spent 16 seasons with San Diego in total.

The Dodgers also announced that Royce Cohen, who was most recently the team's senior vice president of business strategy, was promoted to EVP and chief business officer. 

“Caroline comes to the Dodgers with an exceptional record of service in baseball, and Royce has repeatedly proven his ability to be a step ahead in the sports business world,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a team release. “They both offer a level of knowledge and expertise that is truly enviable. We could not be more thrilled for Caroline and Royce to assume these leadership roles in the Dodger organization.”

• Shohei Ohtani is an NL MVP finalist once again. The results will be announced on Nov. 12 on MLB Network. Read >>
• The quiet period is over, and option decisions have been made. Free agency is open in the 2026-27 offseason. Read >>

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