By Earl Heath
Contributing Sports Writer
The Dodgers will open the regular season against the Rockies at Coors Field for the second straight year,
It’s Dodgers in Colorado on this Friday, April 8 to start a three-game series against the division rivals. Los Angeles starts with a five-game road trip that also includes two interleague games in Minnesota against the Twins on April 12-13.
All the speculation about Freeman joining the Dodgers went from rumor to real when the five-time All-Star, former Atlanta Braves first baseman and free agent agreed to a six-year deal worth $162 million early spring.
“On paper, it’s a great lineup, as good as any I’ve ever seen,’’ Skipper Dave Roberts said recently
Freeman was expected to arrive in camp Friday, a day after he underwent a physical in Los Angeles.
Roberts’ bold optimism was echoed throughout the Dodgers’ clubhouse. In Freeman, the Dodgers said they have another star, a fourth former MVP on their 2022 roster.
“He’s a position player in a lineup of all All-Stars,’’ said pitcher Clayton Kershaw, a former MVP along with teammates Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger. “With what Freddie brings, he’s got to be, if not the best, a top three or four hitter in the game.”
In addition to the hitting, Roberts says the 32-year-old Freeman will create more options in the field.
Projected lineup
1 Mookie Betts, RF
2 Trea Turner, SS
3 Freddie Freeman, 1B
4 Justin Turner, 3B
5 Max Muncy, DH
6 Will Smith, C
7 Cody Bellinger, CF
8 Chris Taylor, 2B
9 AJ Pollock, LF
Projected rotation
1 Walker Buehler, RHP
2 Julio Urías, LHP
3 Clayton Kershaw, LHP
4 Andrew Heaney, LHP
5 Tyler Anderson, LHP
