21-Year-Old De Paula Can't Fix Dodgers' Aging Roster

Freddie Freeman will turn 37 next year. Max Muncy will be 36. Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández will both be 34. Those four names anchor what the New York Post describes as the probable 2027 Los Angeles Dodgers lineup — essentially the same group that just finished the 2026 season, only older, according to the New York Post.

The Dodgers were already the oldest team in baseball in 2026, the Post reports, and depending on when next season actually starts — owners are expected to lock players out on Dec. 1, with the work stoppage potentially bleeding into the season — the roster could get older still before a pitch is thrown.

How old is the Dodgers' roster heading into 2027?

By the Post's accounting, every projected opening-day player outside of outfielders Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages would be 32 or older. That list includes Freeman, Muncy, Betts, Hernández, catcher Will Smith, infielder Tommy Edman and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. The team's long-term dilemma, as the Post frames it, is straightforward on paper and complicated in practice: the roster is good enough to keep chasing a title but too old to assume next season ends differently than this one did.

Why can't the Dodgers just promote their prospects?

The farm system is not empty. The Post notes the Dodgers have a group of high-level prospects led by 21-year-old outfielder Josue De Paula, who was called up in September and made the playoff roster as a pinch hitter. Eduardo Quintero, Mike Sirota and James Tibbs III have also drawn attention in the organization, according to the Post.

The problem is timing. Inserting several unproven players into a lineup built to win immediately carries real risk — the Post raises the specific scenario of the Dodgers opening a spot for De Paula in the outfield by moving on from Hernández, only to find that De Paula's defensive shortcomings outweigh what he offers at the plate.

What is Andrew Friedman saying about the dilemma?

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has acknowledged the bind directly. "We've talked about the challenge of a team with our expectations, of how to phase in young players," Friedman told the Post. "It's really difficult because you can't phase in three guys (and) expect them to hit the ground running."

What happens to the rotation and Tarik Skubal?

The aging question extends to the pitching staff. The Post reports the 2027 Dodgers will probably take the field without Tarik Skubal in the starting rotation, adding another variable to a roster that is simultaneously trying to stay championship-caliber and figure out its next generation.

What's the risk of waiting too long to get younger?

Friedman's comments suggest the front office sees no clean exit. Lean too hard into youth and the Dodgers risk the kind of defensive or performance gaps the Post describes with De Paula's hypothetical outfield audition. Lean too hard into continuity and the core — Freeman at 37, Muncy at 36, Betts and Hernández at 34 — keeps aging past its peak. For now, according to the Post's reporting, the Dodgers appear set to run it back largely unchanged, betting that the current group still has enough left to justify delaying the rebuild another year.