The Dodgers will see one of their former players be enshrined in Cooperstown next summer. Could any others join him?
Jeff Kent, the all-time home run leader at second base who spent the final four years of his big league career with L.A., was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Dec. 7. While it seems likely that he will go in as a Giant, he still has fond memories of his time as a Dodger.
"It was a great opportunity because I was going back home. I grew up in Southern California," Kent said at a press conference at the Winter Meetings. "I bought front-row tickets for my parents to come to the games every day and watch me play. Two years led to four years in L.A., and it was Southern California, great weather, good fans. I got to go home where I grew up a few times. Maybe that's why I played until I was 40."
Kent is the first member of the 2026 Hall of Fame class, and there are several others with a connection to the Dodgers on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, which was released in November.
Of the 12 newcomers to the ballot, only two spent time in the big leagues with the Dodgers: Matt Kemp and Howie Kendrick. Five of the 15 holdovers from last year's ballot played for L.A.: Bobby Abreu, Andruw Jones, Manny Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley.
Players who appear on 75% of ballots cast by voters are inducted into the Hall of Fame. They have 10 years of eligibility and must receive at least 5% of the vote each year in order to remain on the ballot. Results for the 2026 class will be announced on Jan. 20 on MLB Network.
Out of the former Dodgers, Jones would appear to have the best chances of being inducted in this voting cycle. After a slow start in his first couple of years on the ballot, Jones received 66.2% of the vote in 2025, with two years of eligibility remaining. Jones is far better known for his tenure with the Braves, but he spent 2008 with the Dodgers, posting a .505 OPS across 75 games.
Utley is a similar case, starring for the Phillies for most of his career before finishing it out with the Dodgers from 2015-18. He is in a relatively favorable position, having jumped up to 39.8% in his second year on the ballot.
Ramirez (34.3%), Abreu (19.5%) and Rollins (18%) didn't make substantial progress on the previous ballot. Ramirez is in his 10th and final year of eligibility, while Abreu is on the ballot for the seventh time and Rollins for the fifth.
Kemp had an excellent career with the Dodgers, but he may be questionable to make it past his first year on the ballot. Drafted by L.A. in 2003, Kemp slashed .292/.348/.494 in 10 seasons as a Dodger (2006-14, '18). He finished second in NL MVP voting in 2011, accruing 8 bWAR that year.
In the years that followed, injuries began to take their toll on Kemp, and he was eventually traded to the Padres after the 2014 season. He found his way back to L.A. in 2018, putting together a resurgent All-Star season, and he played his final big league game for the Rockies in 2020. Four years later, he formally retired as a Dodger.
Kendrick, too, would face an uphill battle to remain on the ballot beyond this year. He was solid in his brief tenure with the Dodgers from 2015-16, but he is better remembered for a big hit against them. In Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS, Kendrick hit a go-ahead grand slam that lifted the eventual World Series champion Nationals and sent the Dodgers to a stunning early elimination.