The Los Angeles Dodgers could be headed down a familiar road, targeting superstar reliever Aroldis Chapman to push for the team’s three-peat.

Chapman has been one of the most dominant closers in baseball for a very long time at this point, throwing harder than anyone else and avoiding bats with his fastball still in his late 30s.

He is somewhat of a rental, possessing just one year left on his contract in 2026 and a vesting option for 2027.

Additionally, Chapman is on one of MLB’s spiraling teams — the Boston Red Sox — making him clearly available for a trade if the right price comes in.

Insider Jeff Passan has the odds of a Chapman trade happening at 90%, and among the best fits in the league for him was the Dodgers.

“Relief pitchers often are some of the most impactful deadline acquisitions, and Boston’s closer is as effective as ever. Chapman doesn’t throw as hard as he once did, but he has four distinct pitches now,” Passan wrote in his story.

“And he’s still chucking his fastball in the high 90s, which is plenty of velocity when hitters need to gear up for his slider and splitter. Here’s the greatest truism of the deadline: Everyone needs a good reliever. Teams will climb over each other for Chapman.”

Why Chapman makes sense for the Dodgers

The Dodgers’ bullpen has shown a sense of vulnerability over the past few weeks, dropping from one of the best in the league to a good, not great group.

The team’s closer, Edwin Diaz, is in line for a 2026 return after the All-Star break, but it is still to be seen how he does upon his comeback.

At the highest level, only Tanner Scott, Will Klein, and Alex Vesia stand out as the more reliable pitchers, with Kyle Hurt, Jack Dreyer, Blake Treinen, and Edhardo Henriquez remaining quite inconsistent.

A trio of Scott, Diaz, and Chapman would be elite in the postseason and would put the Dodgers as one of the clearer favorites in recent memory.

Champman’s history with the Dodgers

The Dodgers had a deal in place back in 2015 during the offseason, sending a massive package to the Cincinnati Reds to form an elite duo with Kenley Jansen.

They agreed to send two prospects to the Dodgers in exchange for Chapman, but before the deal was finalized, a disturbing police report emerged about the pitcher.

He was accused of choking his 22-year-old girlfriend, Cristina Barnea, and firing eight shots in the garage of his Florida home, per an ESPN report.

The case was not prosecuted due to conflicting accounts and insufficient evidence, but an MLB investigation ultimately resulted in a 30-game suspension.

Chapman admitted to picking up a gun and firing eight shots into the wall, but he has denied harming his girlfriend.

However, upon learning of the allegations, the Dodgers pulled out of the trade, and he was later traded to the New York Yankees.

A year after the canceled trade, the Dodgers reportedly made a run at Chapman in free agency in 2016, but he wanted to remain on the East Coast.

Since then, Chapman has not been involved in any subsequent off-field incidents.

All those years later, Chapman could end up with the Dodgers via a trade, with the team having the capital to get a deal and add him at a time when he is still throwing the baseball hard and fast.

Los Angeles Dodgers infield utility player Santiago Espinal lost to free agency after the veteran rejected his minor league assignment.

Espinal hit .378/.415/.644 in 53 plate appearances during Spring Training after signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers.

With injuries to Tommy Edman and Kike Hernandez, Espinal made the Opening Day roster, playing all over the infield as a platoon player.

In fact, he survived for a long time in the majors, only being waived once Kike Hernandez got activated.

However, Hernandez did not stay healthy for long, and the Dodgers quickly gave Espinal another minor league deal to make room.

It was not until Tommy Edman got activated on Tuesday that Espinal was designated for assignment again. This time, Espinal elected free agency after the Dodgers outrighted him to the minor leagues.

Considering he hit .268/.276/.375 in 60 plate appearances during the regular season, Espinal made the right decision, as he should be a top option for any team that needs infield help.

Additionally, he could float around long enough to be signed by the Dodgers like he was in the past. Regardless, he played himself into the chance to get more MLB looks at some point.

Who is on the Dodgers’ roster bubble next?

The Dodgers surely would have liked to keep Espinal and his great glove, though they have more than enough depth to deal with his loss.

Soon enough, Kike Hernandez will be eligible for activation, along with Teoscar Hernandez, which will force even tougher decisions on the team to make room.

Alex Freeland, Alex Call, and Ryan Ward are the three players who will have to make room for two. Most likely, Freeland and Ward will be sent down because they have option years left, but their potential could lead to them staying around.

Meanwhile, Hyeseong Kim and hot shot James Tibbs III loom in the Triple-A as they knock on the door of a chance to impress in the big leagues.

When it comes to creating the electric atmosphere at Dodger Stadium, DJ Severe plays a key role.

As the team’s official DJ, his work in the sound booth is integral to the fan experience.

Dodgers Nation’s Noel Sanchez sat down with DJ Severe for a wide-ranging interview, including his ranking of the top five Dodgers walk-up songs.

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Check out his ranking below and be sure to watch the full interview above.

5. Adrian Gonzalez – “El Mariachi Loco”

Starting off, DJ Severe picked a walk-up song that the player may not have been a big fan of.

“I’m not going to say he hated it, but he didn’t like it that much,” DJ Severe said.

Despite Gonzalez’s feelings, the “crowd feel” for that song means it makes DJ Severe’s list.

4. Freddie Freeman – “Baila Conmigo”

DJ Severe was full of praise for the “really iconic” song used by Freeman, though he noted that a song alone isn’t enough. It also depends on how the crowd reacts to the player who picked it.

“The crowd gets into it and they know it’s your song and it comes with such an iconic player,” he said.

3. Shohei Ohtani – “Feeling Good”

Similarly, Ohtani’s selection of a Michael Buble song has ingrained itself in the fanbase.

“If you’re not paying attention and you hear the song, you know something is about to happen,” DJ Severe said. “Plus, it’s the anticipation of something about to happen.”

2. Kiké Hernández – “La Leche Materna”

The Dodgers fan favorite is on this list for a simple reason, DJ Severe said.

“It says ‘Kiké,'” DJ Severe said. “Everybody loves to hear ‘Kiké, Kiké, Kiké.'”

1. Andre Ethier – “Tres Delinquentes”

Ethier gets credit for picking a popular song when custom walk-up songs were first growing in popularity, DJ Severe said.

It also helps that he produced on the field.

“You have to have really been a fan for a long time to know what ‘Tres Delinquentes’ did and how long he had it,” DJ Severe said. “Andre was Mr. Clutch, and for that song to come on before he’d always go out and produce … Like I said, you’d have to be around here for a long time to know the iconicness of that song. You had to be there.”

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The Los Angeles Dodgers, out of nowhere, unveiled a special giveaway for a random game in August featuring the franchise’s cross-sport sister team, the LA Lakers, and superstar Luka Doncic.

The giveaway takes place on August 21st, when the Dodgers host the Pittsburgh Pirates in Los Angeles.

This will certainly be the biggest non-Dodgers player-related giveaway of the season, and fans should absolutely get tickets as soon as possible if they want a shot at it.

The Dodgers are now owned by the same ownership group that bought the Lakers a few months ago — making the two sports franchises’ connection grow even stronger.

The Lakers and Dodgers have long been linked as the main teams in Los Angeles, and the Dodgers have featured plenty of purple-and-gold players in their giveaways.

This one, however, will be the first to feature an active Lakers player in the Lakers’ new ownership era, feeling like the cornerstone moment of unity between the teams.

Naturally, for such a massive moment, the player chosen is the biggest thing going in LA basketball — Slovenian guard Luka Doncic.

Doncic arrived in Los Angeles a little more than a year ago, but he has since been totally embraced as an Angeleno, with murals and his name ringing loudly as the franchise player.

He was an MVP candidate for much of the 2025-2026 season before a devastating hamstring injury took him out of commission for the tail end of the regular season and postseason.

However, he will come with a renewed hunger for the 2026-2027 season.

Luka Doncic Bobblehead Breakdown

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The bobblehead is Lakers-centric, with Doncic in his full Lakers uniform, and the details make it clear that it is him.

He has his signature armband and knee sleeve, along with a bright Hollywood smile. His name is plastered on the front, with the only Dodgers part of the collectible being the team’s name written on the inside.

For any Lakers fan, big or small, this is a must-acquire and the perfect precursor to such a consequential Lakers season that will kick off a month and change from the giveaway.