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The Los Angeles Dodgers just did the near-impossible, from the moment Miguel Rojas' full-count home run hit the bullpen to the final out, when Alejandro Kirk was essentially begged to ground into a double play and reciprocated for the exclamation point.
The Dodgers' offense went dormant for large portions of this series, but they delivered an onslaught of the clutchest hits imaginable, earning their second consecutive title.
Next season, several familiar faces - both beloved and reviled - will not be back in that clubhouse. But, still, we'll see them for the ring ceremony.
6 Dodgers who definitely won't be back in 2026
Michael Conforto
The Dodgers doled out a fair few lucrative contracts that soured by the end of the season, but Conforto's $17 million deal is the worst of them all. He hit below .200 and played almost league-worst defense, making him quite literally the Dodgers' least valuable player.
Dave Roberts and the Dodgers' front office only made it worse with their year-long defense and refusal to DFA him — he played in more games than Teoscar Hernández, for crying out loud — and let him continue to make an enemy of himself in the eyes of Dodgers fans with his underperformance.
Kirby Yates
Yates got $13 million after his 1.17 ERA year with the Rangers, making him the most expensive reliever on the Dodgers' roster (Tanner Scott made $12.82 million this season), but his one year with LA ended with a 5.23 ERA over 41 1/3 innings and three IL stints. Like Conforto, he didn't make any of the Dodgers' postseason rosters.
Despite the great year in Texas, the Dodgers maybe should've known that it was a flash in the pan. Prior to that season, he had a 4.02 ERA from 2020 through 2023.
Clayton Kershaw
Kershaw is retiring at the end of this season, after an 18-season career spent entirely in Dodger blue. He made the official announcement in September, but it was the abruptness that surprised Dodgers fans more than the announcement itself. It gave the Dodgers the opportunity to give him a proper send-off at home, complete with a win over the longtime rival Giants.
The Dodgers probably would've just kept re-signing Kershaw as long as he wanted to pitch, but this feels like the right time for him to step away. He's earned it. We wouldn't be surprised if he disappeared entirely for the next few years and doesn't resurface until his induction into the Hall of Fame.
Miguel Rojas
Rojas and Kiké Hernández (we'll get to him in a second) are the biggest 'maybe's rather than 'definitely's on this list. Rojas has announced his intention to retire after the 2026 season, but that leaves him open for a last hurrah with the Dodgers next year.
But he's a free agent now, and it opens up basically a yearly question: should the Dodgers bring him back? Rojas has long been divisive among Dodgers fans, but seems universally liked in LA's clubhouse as a veteran glue guy, and delivered both the biggest offensive and defensive moments of a remarkable Game 7. He had an absolutely average season offensively (100 OPS+) but was still excellent on defense and shined in the spotlight. The Dodgers may bring him back for nostalgia's sake — and they do love to keep veterans around slightly past their prime — but they could also use the bench upgrade, and could sign off on a high note.
Kiké Hernández
Like Rojas, Hernández is a great clubhouse presence, and we all know what he can do in the postseason...except this year, he didn't really live up to expectations.
To be fair, the entire Dodgers lineup was struggling, but Hernández's .273/.317/.400 line through Game 5 were his worst numbers in October since 2018. He had that solo homer in that game to lift the team's spirits a bit, but it was only his fourth hit of the series.
If the Dodgers re-sign Hernández, they'll probably do it the same way they did this season — at the very last minute, when everything else about the roster is already sorted.
Michael Kopech
The Dodgers definitely felt like they'd won big when they got Kopech from the White Sox at last year's trade deadline and he did manage to do fantastic work for them in the second half of the season, but this year he only managed to pitch 11 innings between recurring stints on the IL.
The Dodgers' bullpen is in dire need of a refresh this offseason, and with Kopech hitting free agency, they should probably use the open roster spot to find an arm that has a better chance at staying healthy.