3 Dodgers players you may have forgotten were on the 2024 Opening Day roster

The Dodgers' stateside Opening Day roster is just about set, even though there could be a couple of notable guys who break spring training in addition to those who made 31-man travel roster to fill in gaps in the bullpen.

The 26-man we see on March 28 should look a lot like the one we saw on LA's stateside Opening Day last year, but there are a couple of long-gone players who fans might've forgotten were there in the first place. If you thought that Dodgers roster was dominant, then just think about this year's after they've replaced these names.

3 Dodgers players you may have forgotten were on the 2024 Opening Day roster

James Paxton

Paxton was an underwhelming late addition to the Dodgers roster last year after they'd traded for Tyler Glasnow and signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto earlier in the offseason. But Paxton was a practical choice, if he could stay healthy and eat innings for an exceedingly breakable Dodgers rotation. And, seemingly against all odds, Paxton did stay healthy and was the only arm to not miss a start before he was traded to the Red Sox at the deadline. Then, it promptly went off the rails. With the Sox, he got hurt during his third start and announced his retirement at the end of the season.

He did his job for the club in the short time he was with them, but ultimately his stint in LA was pretty forgettable.

Jason Heyward

Heyward had one of the more notable bounce-back seasons in recent memory in 2023 after joining the Dodgers on a minor league deal and playing the majority of that season's games. He batted .269 with an .813 OPS and his highest fWAR since 2019. He was rewarded for his efforts with a Roy Campanella Award at the end of the year (given to the Dodgers' most inspirational player) and a one-year major league contract to return in 2024.

But Heyward couldn't maintain whatever groove he'd found in 2023, and he was batting .208 with a .682 OPS before he was DFA'ed in late August to make room for Chris Taylor, who was coming off the IL. Heyward cleared waivers and was released, then signed a new deal with the Astros just a few days later. He hit free agency again and chose the Padres this offseason in what did feel like a minor betrayal to Dodgers fans, but not one that anyone will lose sleep over.

Ryan Yarbrough

Yarbrough, like Paxton, was always reliable for the Dodgers after being traded from the Royals at the deadline in 2023. He avoided the IL completely through 2023 and 2024, before he was traded to the Blue Jays in exchange for Kevin Kiermaier, and the Dodgers used him every which way out of the bullpen. But, just like Paxton, he was exceedingly average, and the Dodgers preferred the athletic depth Kiermaier provided.

Yarbrough re-signed with the Blue Jays on a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training this year, and he's pitched 6 2/3 innings for a 4.05 ERA so far, so it seems he could be on the fence in regard to earning an Opening Day role in Toronto.