3 overreactions to Week 1 of Dodgers' spring training: LA should make some changes

When their 8:05 PM game against the Reds wraps up on Thursday night, the Dodgers will have a full week of spring training games under their belts. And it's been an exciting one, at that. The Dodgers trounced the Padres 14-1 to kick things off; Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto made their debuts; and the Dodgers look like they may never lose again.

Everything has gone about as well as everyone expected it to. Ohtani hit a homer in his debut, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman look great, and so on. Dodgers prospects and non-roster invitees have come up in a big way in later innings to propel the team to win after win (and one tie).

However, seeing the team on the field has made a few gaps more apparent, and it reminds us that there's still some work to do before Opening Day. Right now, when games are still relatively low-pressure, is the time to overreact.

3 overreactions to first week of Dodgers' spring training

Jose Ramos is making a case for himself on the Dodgers' bench

As of right now, the Dodgers' bench will include Kiké Hernández, Chris Taylor, Miguel Rojas, and Austin Barnes, and Miguel Vargas might be somewhere in that mix as well. Hernández, Taylor, and Rojas give the Dodgers a great mix of veteran utility players to employ all over the field; Barnes isn't an ideal backup catcher (we'll get to that later) but, as of now, is the best option the Dodgers have; and Vargas' transition to left field has gone pretty well, as he's made a couple of nice plays out there during spring games.

However, Jose Ramos, a non-roster invitee who ended the 2023 season in Double-A, should have the Dodgers' attention. He's appeared in five of six games so far and has even been out-hitting the major leaguers. As of Wednesday, he has a .556/.636/1.000 line with a home run and three RBI, tying him for fourth with Kody Hoese, Andy Pages, and Travis Swaggerty. It's a small sample size all-around, but he's hitting better than even Betts so far.

Because Ramos has yet to get to Triple-A, it's unlikely that he'll make the team by Opening Day, but if he keeps it up in the minors and Rojas and/or Vargas continue to hit poorly off the bench, the Dodgers could eye Ramos in later months of the season.