Five reasons why the Dodgers will three-peat as World Series champions

2. Starting rotation is stacked

Ohtani probably won't even be the Dodgers' Opening Day starter, however. That honor should go to Yoshinobu Yamamoto following his World Series MVP performance. From there, the starting five will be Tyler Glasnow, two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.

As always, health will be the key for the rotation, especially with Glasnow, but there is plenty in reserve in Tony Gonsolin, Emmet Sheehan, Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone.

3. Mookie Betts is completely healthy

One reason the Dodgers finished with the third-best record in the NL this season was because of the health of shortstop Mookie Betts to begin the season. Betts had an undisclosed illness that took nearly 20 pounds off his already-slight 180-pound frame. He didn't hit above .258 in any month, with a low of .208 in July, before finally getting back on track in August and September. Betts finished with a slash line of .258/.326/.406 while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at short, but still short of his career slash line of .278/.363/.505. There is nothing more dangerous than a driven Betts, so he could put up big numbers in 2026.

4. Room for more players

While some pending free agents — think Enrique Hernandez and Miguel Rojas — will return, the Dodgers may be making free-agent additions and even a trade or two as they shed some contracts this offseason. A big outfield bat would be the biggest priority, likely a left fielder. A wild card in the outfield scenario would be whether the Dodgers opt to play Ohtani in the outfield on occasion. Ohtani had played in just seven games in the outfield, all coming in 2021, when he was in right field for six games and left for one. This could allow Ohtani to DH on the day before and after he pitches and give the other veterans a chance to just hit when he plays the outfield.

5. Dave Roberts at the helm

Managing a superstar-studded roster like the Dodgers takes a unique skillset, one that Dave Roberts has navigated pretty well in recent years. He now has three World Series rings in six years. Roberts has shown the ability to adjust to circumstances, like last year with a bullpen-centric pitching staff, to this year with the bullpen a liability and the rotation a strength. Also, his feel for the game was on display with the insertion of Rojas into the lineup for Games 6 and 7 and putting Andy Pages in for defense in the ninth inning of Game 7 before his amazing catch.