Fresh off a World Series win, Dodgers look even more formidable

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto let loose a few fastballs and some nasty breaking balls during a bullpen session while manager Dave Roberts and pitching coach Mark Prior stood a few steps to each side of the pitcher, smiling as the ball popped into the mitt of catcher Will Smith. The Los Angeles Dodgers were in a pretty good mood as spring training began at Camelback Ranch. The defending World Series champions went through a light workout on Tuesday and most of their stars were on the field, including NL MVP Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw played catch, a sign that the three-time Cy Young Award winner is returning for his 18th season. "Everyone's more hungry than ever," third baseman Max Muncy said. Muncy said he's been in Arizona for the past 1 1/2 weeks, coming to the Dodgers facility early to get in defensive work with Betts and Miguel Rojas. It's been a short offseason: The Dodgers hoisted the World Series trophy barely three months ago after beating the New York Yankees in five games. Betts said the quick turnaround presents challenges, but they're good problems to have. "It's definitely tough, but we didn't win last year because we were talking about the World Series every day," Betts said. "We won last year because we talked about the task at hand every day. "We have an end goal, of course, but you have to take stepping stones to get there. We'll get there when we get there." Los Angeles opens against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on March 18-19 and is trying to become the first team to win back-to-back World Series since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. The Dodgers' owners spent to sign two-time All-Star Blake Snell, Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki and relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates. "Talent will take you to a certain place," Rojas said. "But then the character will make you win championships. We realized that last year." Ohtani didn't pitch last year following elbow surgery and is recovering from a partially torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder, an injury sustained while sliding into second base during the World Series. Even without pitching, Ohtani won MVP last season after becoming the first MLB player to hit 50 homers and have 50 stolen bases in the same season. Now he'll try to return to the mound, where he was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels. Roberts said at the team's fan fest on Feb. 2 that a May return to the mound is "about right." The manager also said Ohtani's recovery from the offseason shoulder surgery was encouraging. "He looks really strong," Roberts said. "I saw some videos recently and you just wouldn't think that there was any shoulder surgery this past winter." Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said last week that some fans were concerned about the sport's lack of a salary cap, mostly because of the big spending of teams like the Dodgers and New York Mets. Muncy says the team welcomes the attention — positive or negative. "It's just the nature of Dodger Stadium, our fans, the scene," Muncy said. "We go on the road, our fans travel so well that we're selling out every stadium we go to and that was even before the last couple years." ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb