MLB · 5 months ago

Tokyo Series Recap: Concerns for Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and the Los Angeles Dodgers

Sportsgrid Staff

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Tokyo Series Recap: Concerns for Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and the Los Angeles Dodgers

Tokyo Takeaways: Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Modern Blueprint

The Dodgers are already 2–0 after the Tokyo Series, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing. While L.A. took care of business overseas, the storylines from the series were less about wins and more about player health and usage.

Betts dealt with a flu-like illness, left early, and jetted back to the States.
Freeman looked fine but entered the season off ankle surgery and a nagging intercostal issue.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggled in his debut, and Roki Sasaki, while electric, couldn’t command his secondary pitches.

So what does it all mean for 2025? Especially for fantasy managers and bettors?

Let’s break it down.

Buy or Sell: Mookie Betts Is a Risk in Fantasy?

Sell — He’s Still a Stud.

If you’re worried about Betts based on an early season illness, don’t be. He’s back stateside, and the Dodgers are clearly playing the long game with their stars. When healthy — and Mookie almost always is — he’s a top-10 fantasy asset with multi-position eligibility (SS/2B/OF), elite contact skills, and plenty of counting stats from the leadoff spot in one of MLB’s best lineups.

This feels like a fluky issue that’s already in the rear-view mirror. Buy confidently. Draft aggressively.

Buy or Sell: Freddie Freeman Is Still a Top-Tier 1B?

Buy the Decline.

This one’s tougher. I was already fading Freeman in January drafts, and nothing has changed to reverse that. He’s 35, coming off ankle surgery, and now dealing with an intercostal tweak. Even if he’s back in the lineup, we’re probably looking at a version of Freeman that:

Doesn’t run at all
Relies heavily on batting average and run production
Has a capped ceiling for HRs compared to peers like Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves), Pete Alonso (New York Mets), or even mid-tier bats like Christian Walker of the Houston Astros.

In fantasy, you can now get 80–90% of Freeman’s output from someone 5–6 rounds later. That’s not a dig on Freeman — he’s still great — but it’s about relative value. I’d rather grab a cheaper slugger and spend up elsewhere.

Fantasy Fallout: The Dodgers’ Rotation Is a Modern Puzzle

It’s pretty clear now: the Dodgers are not playing for April or fantasy stat milestones — they’re playing for October, and they’re doing it smarter than anyone else.

Look at this rotation:

Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Roki Sasaki
Blake Snell
Tyler Glasnow
Eventually: Clayton Kershaw

These are all high-strikeout, high-upside arms with workload limits. If any of them hit 140 innings, it’ll be a surprise. The Dodgers are fully leaning into the modern model:

4–5 inning starts
Piggybacking long relievers
Top-3 bullpen in baseball
Prioritizing health over wins

For fantasy:

Great per-inning strikeout and ratio stats
Limited wins, quality starts, and volume
More suited to leagues that reward K/9 and ERA than IP and W

Don’t overdraft based on pure talent — understand usage patterns. Sasaki in particular looked wild in his debut, and while the upside is enormous, you’ll need patience (and bench space).

Betting Take: Dodgers Are a Juggernaut — But Be Strategic

Team Futures:

The Dodgers are the World Series favorite — and rightly so. But with their “play the long game” approach, there’s more value in targeted bets than just taking them to win it all.

Betting Angles:

Lean Unders on SP Win Totals: With no Dodger starter likely to qualify for 180 IP, the under is usually sharp.
Live Betting: With their offense and bullpen, in-game overs or late-inning moneylines are valuable.
World Series MVP Futures: If you want a Dodgers-related longshot, guys like Betts, Shohei Ohtani, or even Will Smith might offer more value than betting L.A. straight-up.

Final Word: Elite Team, Managed Like an NBA Contender

This Dodgers team is built like an NBA superteam: control the tempo early, coast through the regular season, and unleash the full roster in October. That’s great for win totals, playoff odds, and long-term bets — less ideal for fantasy managers looking for weekly volume.

Buy Betts — he’ll be fine and could go 30/15 with .290+
Fade Freeman — still good, but you’re paying for past reliability
Draft Dodgers pitchers carefully — they’ll dominate when they pitch, but don’t count on them going deep

It’s not about who is on the Dodgers anymore. It’s about how the Dodgers use them — and that’s what makes them both a fantasy headache and a betting goldmine.

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