Even with all of the high-profile moves this offseason, the Dodgers’ Opening Day lineup is far from set. Injuries, slumps, and new positions have rattled even the most experienced veterans.

Where there is uncertainty, though, there is also opportunity, and a handful of players have risen to the occasion.

Tony Gonsolin, RHP

Team president Andrew Friedman’s announcement that the Dodgers would be going with a five-man rotation put added pressure on Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, both of whom are returning from surgery. The pair must compete alongside prospects like Ben Casparius and Justin Wrobleski for the final starting spot. So far, Gonsolin is blowing the others out of the water.

Familiar faces and new arrivals have been fighting for the spotlight in Dodgers spring training.

As of March 4, Gonsolin has worked two scoreless outings, one as a starter and one in relief.

He has been remarkably efficient in his three innings and has thrown 24 of his 31 pitches for strikes. May, on the other hand, has seen his stock tank as he gave up four runs (including a homer) and two walks in his two innings of Cactus League work so far.

Gonsolin needs a strong season to rebuild his value. While May heads into a crowded free agency field after this season, Gonsolin will hit the market in 2027. Doing well in meaningful starts could either make him into a valuable trade chip to a contender next year or a quality free agent pickup on a team searching for veteran leadership.

Either way, Gonsolin’s 2025 season will lay the foundation for the waning years of his career.

Justin Wrobleski, LHP

Wrobleski’s rise from Rookie Ball to the majors took just 750 days, but for the lefty to remain in the Dodgers’ picture, he needs to impress in a new role.

Since he’s likely to be iced out of the rotation by Gonsolin/May and the return of Shohei Othani, Wrobleski’s path to the 26-man will go through the bullpen. In his 66 professional games, he has appeared in relief just nine times.

So far, the pressure of the ‘pen hasn’t gotten to the 24-year-old.

He shook off a tough spring debut to log five scoreless innings over his next two appearances.

Particularly encouraging is his control. Wrobleski struggled at times to avoid walks and homers at the big-league level last season, but he worked three hitless innings on just 13 pitches, all strikes, in his most recent appearance.

Wrobleski isn’t going to be the dominant bullpen arm that overwhelms opposing batters with superior stuff. In fact, his velocity is down a bit this spring.

However, if he can address his control issues from last year, his efficiency could be a boon to the Dodgers.

David Bote, INF

There could be a world in which David Bote only enters the Dodgers’ infield conversation because of the slumps of Hyeseong Kim, James Outman, and others.

Even in that scenario, he would be a welcome resource for LA. However, Bote is more than capitalizing on the poor performances of his peers by absolutely demolishing the ball in Spring Training.

Bote is hitting like a man on a mission, and at a certain point, his performance may be undeniable.

So far, he is outpacing Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor, his most likely competition for a bench role.

He’s looking more like the guy that ZIPS projected to post a 1.7 fWAR rather than the guy who produced a .087 isolated slugging last season.

Even if the Dodgers only get a few months of prime Bote – which, given the fact that he’s played less than 100 big-league games since 2021, wouldn’t be out of the question – he could be an unexpected boon while Kim figures things out in the minors.

He’s primarily a second or third baseman, but he has played all of the infield spots, as well as a few games in the corner outfield positions.

If Bote can keep up a fraction of this pace, he could be the Swiss Army knife the Dodgers have been looking for.