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As the Dodgers’ annual Fanfest event wound down on a lively Saturday afternoon, an unexpected thrill swept through the gathering crowd.
The familiar strains of a high-pitched trumpet echoed through Dodger Stadium’s speakers, causing fans to clap along to what promises to become a staple tune at future games.
The source of the excitement was Edwin Díaz, the Dodgers’ latest high-profile acquisition and new closer, secured with a hefty $69 million free-agent deal this winter. Though Díaz himself was not present, his signature entrance song, performed by Timmy Trumpet, was already stirring enthusiasm among the Chavez Ravine faithful.
This moment served as a vivid reminder that, even for a franchise fresh off consecutive World Series victories, another ambitious offseason has injected fresh energy into the team.
Dodgers players, much like their devoted fanbase, have watched with admiration as the franchise continues to amass top talent during these recent offseasons.
Such moves helped build this current Dodger dynasty, netting everyone from Shohei Ohtani to Yoshinobu Yamamoto to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. They have also turned the Dodgers into villains, with their $400 million payroll becoming the bane of the rest of the sport.
Inside the clubhouse, however, this winter’s newest additions –– namely, Díaz and $240 million outfielder Kyle Tucker –– have served another purpose ahead of the team’s three-peat bid.
Dodgers players didn’t exactly need more motivation, or a reminder of the opportunity in front of them.
But seeing more big names walk through the door, “it injects energy into us,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “To go out and keep getting the best players year in and year out, even when you’re winning the World Series, it’s refreshing. It just really shows you that our organization, our front office, our ownership group wants to win every single year. To be a part of that, it’s special.”
This has become something of an annual dynamic for the Dodgers in recent years.
Each season, they are saddled with lofty expectations. Anything short of another World Series has long been seen as a failure. That kind of environment presents an ever-present pressure, and the threat of mental fatigue over the slog of a long regular season.
The infusion of new blood, however, has come to provide an important internal reset.
“It’s huge in the sense that you’re getting the talent,” manager Dave Roberts said of this winter’s signings of Díaz and Tucker. “But the other part is, you’re getting a couple guys that haven’t won a championship (with us) … Having guys that haven’t had that feeling, that taste, infused with a lot of the guys that we already have here, I think that’s great.”
Third baseman Max Muncy, now the longest-tenured player in the organization following Clayton Kershaw’s retirement this offseason, was speaking to reporters Saturday when Díaz’s entrance song made its Chavez Ravine debut.
He said adding players of that caliber is a reminder to the rest of the roster.
“It always sends a message to the players: We’re here to win,” he explained. “It’s not, ‘Oh, we won one. We’re good now.’ It’s, ‘We want to keep winning.’ And for us as players, when we see that, you have to understand and know that we can’t just take this year off because we won last year. We have to keep going and get better.”
Veteran infielder Miguel Rojas echoed that sentiment, describing the “sense of urgency” such moves create for a new campaign, especially after a long October run and short offseason of recuperation.
“It’s going to push ourselves,” he said. “Older players need to continue to get better. Younger players need to earn their spot. And I think that’s going to be a good competition, a good vibe and a good atmosphere in the clubhouse.”
The Dodgers wouldn’t be in such a position, of course, had it not been for their biggest recent signing of all in Ohtani, whose heavily deferred contract structure and revenue-driving celebrity status have enabled much of the club’s recent spending.
“When I signed with the Dodgers, I had conversations with (owner) Mark Walter and (president of baseball operations) Andrew Friedman, in terms of making sure we would be in position to continue to add players,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I’m sure from a fan’s perspective, they’re ecstatic to see something like this.”
And on Saturday, it was clear that feeling was reverberating among his teammates, as well, setting the tone for a 2026 season in which the Dodgers will be pursuing history, and re-energized by the new pieces they’ve enlisted to help accomplish it.
“It’s why everyone wants to be a Dodger,” Muncy said. “They see that it’s just all about winning. It’s never about, ‘Oh, we’re good.’”