Dodgers notes: Robert Suarez, offseason goals

I hope everyone had a very lovely Thanksgiving, and hopefully your Black Friday hasn’t been too stressful.

There’s a lot the Dodgers can be thankful for, and that’ll be a central theme regarding this morning’s links. But first, let’s take a look at the latest name tied to the Dodgers.

Former San Diego Padres closer Robert Suarez is seen as an ideal fit for the Dodgers, writes Andy McCullough of The Athletic. Although the Dodgers have been linked to high-end relievers such as Edwin Díaz and Devin Williams, McCullough notes that the addition of Suarez wouldn’t necessitate a huge contract and would allow the Dodgers to keep shoring up their bullpen.

Of course, Díaz has a much more accomplished resume than [Tanner] Scott. But so does Suarez, and he’ll likely cost less, for fewer years, than Díaz. A splash — or, really, multiple splashes — is always possible for the Ohtani Era Dodgers, but let’s keep it more reasonable, for the purposes of this exercise.

The outfield and bullpen are two primary areas of concern this offseason, and with an aging core, David Adler of MLB.com suggests that a youth movement needs to be in play as well.

Getting back into the thankful spirit, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times lists the 13 moments from the Dodgers 2025 title run that fans should be thankful for. The cherry on top; Yoshinobu Yamamoto channeling his inner “bulldog” in Game 7 to ultimately cement their dynasty.

Jason Jones of The Athletic writes a touching piece about RJ Peete, who has been a Dodgers clubhouse attendant for the last 10 years. RJ is the son of former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete and actress Holly Robinson-Peete, and Jones details the story of the “neverday,” the day where the Peetes found out about RJ’s autism diagnosis, to 25 years later, where he has overcome all the early doubts in his life and is considered part of the Dodgers family.

“For the people that didn’t know our story and didn’t know RJ’s story, it was just a beautiful testimonial to hiring inclusively and to the power of never saying never, just embracing these kids and supporting them, and what happens when you just give a chance and support it,” Holly said. “That was important and one of the reasons why I know together, advocating for anything is going to be impactful.”