Will LA target Skubal in free agency? Here are the questions facing Dodgers this offseason

LOS ANGELES -- The offseason has come earlier than expected for the Dodgers.

Before they had fully digested Thursday night's 6-4 loss to the Brewers in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series -- which ended their season and their three-peat bid -- the Dodgers had to grapple with the reality that changes are likely to come to their team.

The Dodgers are set to lose nine players to free agency, a class headlined by the top player on the market, Tarik Skubal. Their other impending free agents are Miguel Rojas, Kiké Hernández, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Eric Lauer, Kris Bubic and Brusdar Graterol.

Rojas is retiring after this season. For many of the others, it's possible that their time in Dodger blue has also come to an end.

Much of L.A.'s core will remain intact for the foreseeable future, so the competitive window is not closing -- but this may be a transition period from one era of Dodgers baseball to another.

"You can never think that it's going to be the end," said Rojas, who will remain with the team in a player development role. "And I know this organization so well, they’re not going to be satisfied with this loss."

Over the course of 14 consecutive trips to the postseason, the Dodgers have found seamless ways to infuse youth into their rosters to go along with their experienced veteran core. That process has already begun with MLB Pipeline's No. 4 overall prospect, Josue De Paula, as well as backup catcher Dalton Rushing and infielder Alex Freeland.

But the Dodgers may have to be more intentional about carving out more prominent roles for their younger players moving forward, prompting some intriguing decisions this offseason.

"We don't know the future," Teoscar Hernández said. "But one thing we know is that we care for each other, we took care of each other, we support each other the whole year. … This group is really special, not because of the things that we have accomplished in the last two years and this year, but just the union that we have."

Here's a look at some of the biggest roster decisions facing the Dodgers this offseason:

Will they be in on the Skubal sweepstakes?

The Dodgers parted with two Top 100 prospects -- MLB-ready starter River Ryan and outfielder Zyhir Hope -- in addition to right-hander Brady Smith in exchange for up to three months of Skubal. They weren't the only team willing to spend big on a talent of Skubal's caliber, and the same will be true when he hits the open market for the first time.

Skubal won his arbitration case against the Tigers last offseason, earning a record $32 million salary. He is widely expected to land the most guaranteed dollars given to a pitcher in free agency, surpassing Yoshinobu Yamamoto's 12-year, $325 million contract.

In his walk year, Skubal missed six weeks after having left elbow surgery but turned in another strong campaign, going 12-7 with a 2.72 ERA in 26 starts with the Tigers and Dodgers. He preferred not to discuss his future in the immediate aftermath of the NLCS.

"Yeah, I'm not going to comment on my future really at all," Skubal said. "Today sucks, you know, and that's kind of where my head's at."

Skubal still expressed gratitude for his time as a Dodger.

"Incredible organization, incredible teammates, incredible fanbase," he said. "Honored to wear the L.A. across your chest and on the hat."

How will they create playing time for De Paula?

De Paula made the jump from Double-A to the big leagues look easy in September, impressing the Dodgers so much that he made their postseason roster as a pinch-hit option. But his limitation was that the big league club saw him solely as a designated hitter -- where he's blocked by Shohei Ohtani.

"I think the improvement that Josue had in the outfield from '25 to '26 is real," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said last month. "And for us, it's about taking another big step going into '27. He's got the tools and the ability to do it."

Eventually, the Dodgers will have to play De Paula in the field. But their starting outfielders -- Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages and Kyle Tucker -- are all under contract through next season.

If the Dodgers feel ready to use De Paula as an everyday player, that would probably mean at least limiting Hernández's playing time. There could also be the more drastic move of trying to find a trade partner willing to take on the final guaranteed season of his three-year, $66 million contract.

Another option would be having De Paula start the season in Triple-A, where he could work on his defense in a lower-stakes environment.

Which veteran core players will return?

Some of the biggest leadership losses among the impending free agents would be Kiké Hernández, Phillips, Vesia and Treinen. The bullpen could certainly have spots for leverage arms Phillips and Vesia, but Hernández's fit among the position players is less clear.

Hernández, the Dodgers' own Mr. October, had an injury-marred regular season. He didn't really live up to his usual postseason billing either, knocking a solo homer in the NLDS as his lone hit. He is an important presence in the clubhouse, and while he would love to return to L.A., he knows that his and the team's needs would need to line up in free agency.

"I would love to have one more try, trying to win another one," Hernández said. "But I don't really know what's going to happen. I hope I'm back, and if I'm not, I hope that I get to play for a winning team."