Where the Dodgers 40-man roster stands at the end of MLB’s lockout

It took more than three months, but the lockout is finally over. Or at least it will be once the new collective bargaining agreement is ratified. But as spring training gets underway, there’s still the pesky matter of an offseason to complete.

Here’s where the Dodgers are at, and what the team has ahead of them.

After all the transactions from the first nine weeks of the offseason, the Dodgers roster includes 22 pitchers and 18 position players.

This has been frozen in place since December 2, when MLB locked out the players, prohibiting team contact with players on 40-man rosters or free agents who were on a roster in 2021.

Not included on the roster is Sheldon Neuse, who was designated for assignment on December 1 when Chris Taylor’s four-year, $60 million contract was finalized. Neuse has been in limbo for three months, waiting to be placed on waivers and his possible next destination.

Among the players on the roster, at least three players remain eligible for salary arbitration. Trea Turner is in his final year before free agency, Julio Urías is coming off a stellar 20-win season, and Caleb Ferguson is eligible for arbitration for the first time after missing last season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Cody Bellinger was also eligible for arbitration, but reportedly signed a one-year, $17 million contract before the lockout. That pact has not yet been officially announced by the team.

There are still moves for the Dodgers to make.

The starting rotation is currently anchored by Walker Buehler and Urías, followed by Tony Gonsolin and Andrew Heaney in some order, then Mitch White, Andre Jackson, and David Price in the mix for the fifth spot.

Trevor Bauer remains on administrative leave, but with his criminal investigation now concluded without charges pressed, MLB’s investigation is all that’s left. Bauer is very much an unknown, both for a potential suspension looming and whether the Dodgers actually want him back. Bauer is under contract for $32 million in each of 2022 and 2023.

Clayton Kershaw is an obvious candidate to return, even factoring in a possible reduced workload in 2022 depending on how he recovers after elbow soreness ate away nearly all of the final four months of last season, including October. The Dodgers have made known their interest in retaining the franchise icon, but the ball is in Kershaw’s court as to where he wants to pitch.

Among relievers, fellow franchise icon Kenley Jansen is a free agent. So is Joe Kelly, who said in February he’d like to return to his hometown team and that the interest is mutual.

The Dodgers lost Corey Seager tp Texas in free agency, but the return of Taylor gives the Dodgers a complete lineup. They could certainly use more depth, but whether that means acquiring some part-time players, or making a big splash with someone like Freddie Freeman, a free agent whose long-awaited return to Atlanta hasn’t yet come to fruition.