• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

LA Sports Today

Los Angeles Sports News continuously updated

  • Football
    • Chargers
    • Rams
    • Wildcats
  • Baseball
    • Angels
    • Dodgers
  • Basketball
    • Clippers
    • Lakers
    • Sparks
  • Hockey
    • Ducks
    • Kings
  • Soccer
    • Angel City FC
    • Galaxy
    • Galaxy 2
    • LA FC
    • Orange County FC
  • College
    • UCLA
    • USC

Dodgers News and Notes Before Opening Day 2.0. Smith Extension and More

March 28, 2024 by Think Blue PC

Happy Baseball Eve baseball fans! The Los Angeles Dodgers (re)start their march towards another World Series championship, beginning with their home opener against the St Louis Cardinals.

Unfortunately the weather does not seem as excited to start the season as the rest of us. Rain is forecast in Southern California for this weekend, which may lead to the ultra-rare rainout at Chavez Ravine.

Pitching matchups for the series with see Local Boy Tyler Glasnow make an Opening Day start for his childhood team. His counterpart will be Miles Mikolas. Friday will see Bobby Miller and Zack Thompson; Saturday Yoshinobu Yamamoto and old friend Lance Lynn; and the Sunday’s game which will be on ESPN at 4:30, will be Gavin Stone and Steven Matz.

The best news of the week – the Dodgers signed the two time NL sac fly leader Will Smith to a $140 extension. All jokes aside, this pretty much guarantees that Smith will be a Dodger for life.

Affectionately known as BCIB (Best Catcher In Baseball) on Twitter, Smith was drafted in the first round by the Dodgers in 2016, making his debut in 2019. Since his debut he has become a World Series champion, and made his first All-Star game last season.

Since 2021, Smith ranks first among all catchers in home runs, RBI, OBP, slugging, OPS, walks, runs, and of course, sacrifice flies. He’s also second in hits, total bases, and extra base hits.

He batted .261/.359/.438/.797 with 19 home runs and 76 RBI in 2023, despite playing much of the season with a rib injury suffered when he was hit by a pitch on April 30.

Smith’s extension is for 10 years and includes a $30M signing bonus that will be paid out over the next two seasons. It also does not include any opt-out clauses, and is the longest contract for a catcher ever.

The Dodgers now have Smith, Glasnow, Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman for the next four seasons. An embarrassment of riches that better get a championship or three.

In other news, Ohtani finally broke his silence and commented on his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. In short, he said that he was completely unaware of what Ippei was doing, and is confident that the investigation will confirm that.

On Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts said there is good coming from this mess. “There’s no longer a buffer,” Roberts said. “I’ve already seen it. The last couple days, I think Shohei’s been even more engaging with his teammates, and I think there’s only upside with that.”

Ohtani’s new interpreter will be none other than Will Ireton, who has been with the Dodgers organization for awhile. He was the translator for Kenta Maeda, and most recently was the club’s manager for performance operations.

More good news for Dodger fans as far as Ohtani is concerned- he started his throwing program on Monday, playing toss from 45 feet. The Dodgers have said that he will not pitch this season as he recovers from his elbow surgery last September, but there is a chance he could play some in the outfield towards the end of the season.

Dave Roberts also provided insight into Walker Buehler’s return, after his bullpen session on Monday. “He threw four innings, right around 60 pitches. I thought he threw the ball well. I think the main thing from that is just to get him built up, to keep facing hitters. The next step for Walker will be a bullpen in two days, but I thought today was positive for Walker.”

Buehler hasn’t pitched for the Dodgers since 2022, and the Dodgers have time to play it slow with his return. All that matters is having the best rotation come October.

Filed Under: Dodgers

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Chargers RB Najee Harris Injured In Fireworks Incident
  • Lakers Offseason Week Two Recap: Summer League Kicks Off and L.A.’s Need for Defense
  • Clippers Make Flurry of Offseason Moves; Brook Lopez and John Collins Are Clippers
  • Lakers News: Dodgers Giving Away Kobe Bryant Bobblehead On Aug. 8
  • Rams News: Kyren Williams Ranked 85th On NFL Top 100 For 2025 Season

Categories

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • LA Sports Hub
  • Los Angeles Daily News
  • Los Angeles Times
  • Los Angeles Sports Nation
  • Orange County Register
  • OurSports Central
  • The Sports Daily
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • MLB.com - Dodgers
  • MLB.com - Angels
  • Dodger Blue
  • Dodger Insider
  • Dodgers Nation
  • Dodgers Way
  • Halo Hangout
  • Halos Heaven
  • Last Word On Baseball - Angels
  • Last Word On Baseball - Dodgers
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Angels
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Dodgers
  • Think Blue LA
  • Think Blue PC
  • True Blue LA

Basketball

  • NBA.com - Clippers
  • NBA.com - Lakers
  • Amico Hoops - Clippers
  • Amico Hoops - Lakers
  • 213 Hoops
  • Clipperholics
  • Clips Nation
  • Forum Blue And Gold
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype - Clippers
  • Hoops Hype - Lakers
  • Hoops Rumors - Clippers
  • Hoops Rumors - Lakers
  • Lake Show Life
  • Lakers Nation
  • Lakers Outsiders
  • Lakerholics.net
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball - Clippers
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball - Lakers
  • Pro Basketball Talk - Clippers
  • Pro Basketball Talk - Lakers
  • Real GM - Clippers
  • Real GM - Lakers
  • Silver Screen And Roll

Football

  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • Bolt Beat
  • Bolts From The Blue
  • Chargers Gab
  • Chargers Wire
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Chargers
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Rams
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Chargers
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Rams
  • Our Turf Football - Chargers
  • Our Turf Football - Rams
  • Pro Football Focus - Chargers
  • Pro Football Focus - Rams
  • Pro Football Rumors - Chargers
  • Pro Football Rumors - Rams
  • Pro Football Talk - Chargers
  • Pro Football Talk - Rams
  • Ramblin Fan
  • Rams Gab
  • Rams Nation
  • Rams Wire
  • Turf Show Times

Hockey

  • Anaheim Calling
  • Elite Prospects - Ducks
  • Elite Prospects - Kings
  • Jewels From The Crown
  • Last Word On Hockey - Ducks
  • Last Word On Hockey - Kings
  • My NHL Trade Rumors - Anaheim Ducks
  • My NHL Trade Rumors - LA Kings
  • Pro Hockey Rumors - Ducks
  • Pro Hockey Rumors - Kings
  • Pro Hockey Talk - Ducks
  • Pro Hockey Talk - Kings
  • Pucks Of A Feather
  • Rink Royalty
  • The Hockey Writers - Ducks
  • The Hockey Writers - Kings

Soccer

  • Angels On Parade
  • LAG Confidential
  • Last Word On Soccer - LA Galaxy
  • Last Word On Soccer - Los Angeles FC
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Bruins Nation
  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Conquest Chronicles
  • Go Joe Bruin
  • Last Word On College Football - UCLA
  • Last Word On College Football - USC
  • Reign Of Troy
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Zags Blog

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in