Dodgers News: JD Martinez speaks, biggest spring training questions

After saying farewell to Boston, slugging DH JD Martinez has officially landed in Los Angeles, spotted working out at Dodger Stadium over the weekend and undoubtedly excited to reunite with hitting guru Robert Van Scoyoc for a bounce back season.

Martinez spoke with the LA Times this past weekend, dishing on the reasons (beyond his friendship with Mookie Betts) that he sought a one-year stopover in Los Angeles (or, perhaps, a chance to prove himself in the longer term).

According to Martinez, he's "in the part of [his] career where [he] just wants to win." That used to make Boston a perfect home for him. Now, even with former Dodger Justin Turner swapping sides and docking in Beantown, that's not as much of a certainty.

More Dodgers News

• MLB.com's Juan Toribio detailed the three biggest question marks for the Dodgers entering spring training at Camelback Ranch. After a year where they let stalwart Justin Turner and All-Star Trea Turner walk ... really, only three? According to Toribio, center field heads the list. Can anyone match Cody Bellinger on defense out of the group of Chris Taylor, Trayce Thompson, Jason Heyward and Bradley Zimmer? And can anyone eclipse Bellinger's (admittedly tepid) offense by enough to make the swap worthwhile?

• Toribio also cited Gavin Lux's impending comfort level at shortstop and the Miguel Vargas Second Base Experiment as storylines to watch entering camp.

• The Dodgers dominated MLB Network's positional "Shredder" rankings, placing Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman at the No. 2 spots for their respective positions. Most surprising? Evan Phillips, clocking in at No. 4 on their list of relievers. Hell of a leap from expendable 40-man fodder to top of the game.

• Tune into ESPN on Friday night -- or catch the rerun -- to see Justin Turner and Joc Pederson facing off ... for cornhole supremacy. Other stars competing live on ESPN include Tyler Lockett and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will probably be giving JT3 a beard tug.

MLB News

• The San Diego Padres went extension crazy this week, handing out $108 additional million to Yu Darvish that'll take him through his age-42 season. Darvish wanted to be in San Diego all along, and he definitely wanted to be in San Diego once they handed him that proposal. Humina humina.

• The Cleveland Guardians traded former first-round pick outfielder Will Benson to Cincinnati for outfield prospect Justin Boyd. In future news, Will Benson just drilled his 30th homer of the season for the 2025 Dodgers. Boyd was Cincy's 2022 second-rounder and 16th overall prospect on MLB Pipeline.

• Bo Bichette signed a three-year deal with the Blue Jays to buy out his arbitration years. Vlad Guerrero Jr. called the deal "the part of the movie where you think the main guy is dead, but then you see his hand come up, and it's like, 'Oh, he signed a three-year deal to buy out his arbitration years, cool'."

READ MORE: 27 Biggest Free Agent Contracts in Dodgers History