For the first time in four years, the Dodgers are World Series champions.

That doesn't mean they go into the offseason without questions.

As soon as the team left the rally stage at Dodger Stadium on Friday after the first Dodgers parade in Los Angeles in 36 years, manager Dave Roberts noted that it might be the last time the group would all be together.

“The squad landscape will certainly change,” said Roberts. “It’s the nature of baseball.”

Read more: LA toasts its World Series champion Dodgers: “The city needed this parade”

And change can happen quickly during Major League Baseball's offseason.

As the offseason begins, here's a primer on the Dodgers' position and the questions they'll face this winter as defending champions.

Who's coming back?

Much of the Dodgers' title-winning core will remain intact next year.

Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith have all signed long-term deals. Tommy Edman, Max Muncy and Chris Taylor are also entering their final year of contracts. Gavin Lux and Andy Pages are under team control as eligible players. The club also secured 2025 club options for Austin Barnes ($3.5 million) and Miguel Rojas ($5 million) on Saturday to ensure they return next year.

On the mound, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will once again lead a rotation that also includes Ohtani as he resumes his two-way duties. Clayton Kershaw has announced he will return (either by picking up his $10 million player option or working out a new contract with the Dodgers), but will undergo toe and knee surgeries next week, leaving his status for Opening Day unclear remains. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May will both return from surgeries that sidelined them for all of 2024. The Dodgers' other healthy starting pitching options include Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Ben Casparius and Justin Wrobleski.

Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan and Kyle Hurt will all start next season recovering from surgeries in 2024.

Veteran pitchers in the bullpen who remain under contract for next year include: Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, Ryan Brasier, Brusdar Graterol, Alex Vesia and Anthony Banda.

Read more: Clayton Kershaw makes his first World Series save, reveals more injuries

The Dodgers could have multiple prospects pushing for roster spots at some point next year. Catcher and left fielder Dalton Rushing was the organization's minor league player of the year and could serve as a platoon option in the outfield. Shortstop Alex Freeland also finished the year at Triple-A, impressing team evaluators and opposing scouts.

Another name set to return is Roberts, who is expected to negotiate a new, potentially lucrative contract, with his current contract expiring at the end of 2025.

Who is a free agent?

In addition to retiring outfielder Kevin Kiermaier and reliever Daniel Hudson, six players from the Dodgers' World Series run are free agents this offseason.

Outfielder Teoscar Hernández will be back on the market and awaiting a big raise after earning a one-year, $23.5 million contract from the Dodgers last winter and coming off an All-Star season with 33 home runs, 99 RBIs and a Batting average of .272.

Hernández is 32 years old and will certainly be looking for a more expensive, longer-term contract this offseason. But after Friday's parade, he seemed confident he could accomplish something with the Dodgers.

“My hopes are really high,” he said. “As I said, the Dodgers are obviously a priority. I will do everything in my power to come back.”

Another free agent who seemed interested in returning Friday was starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, a Los Angeles native who said during the parade, “I love this city. I never want to leave. I never want to leave.”

Read more: Hernández: Freddie Freeman will forever be the name and face of the 2024 Dodgers championship

Fellow starter Walker Buehler is also facing free agency after bouncing back from a dismal regular season with a memorable postseason performance.

When discussing his future before the World Series, Buehler said, “I would like to stay here as long as they have me,” but suggested that the team's decision to extend him for a year would cost $21 million. Dollars A qualified offer or not – the deadline for that is Monday – could serve as an early indicator of whether he will return.

“The first step in all of these things is the team,” Buehler said, “and that will happen very quickly, one way or another.”

The Dodgers' other three free agents are Blake Treinen, Kiké Hernández and Joe Kelly. While Kelly missed the playoffs due to injury, Treinen and Hernández played big roles in the postseason. All three were also members of the 2020 and 2024 World Series teams.

Where does the team need to make an addition?

As it currently stands, the most obvious holes in next year's roster are in the outfield and starting rotation.

Although the Dodgers are keeping Betts in right field (a position he moved back to late this year after initially moving to the infield), the club does not have a left fielder, with Teoscar Hernández being signed as a free agent. They can play Edman at center, but only if they have another option at shortstop. They also have Pages, Taylor and James Outman on the roster, but none of those three have been able to solidify their everyday roles this year.

That's one reason why the Dodgers, even after spending more than $1 billion last winter, may be in another big-ticket free agency sweepstakes for superstar Juan Soto this offseason — especially if they don't get Hernández commit again.

As far as the rotation goes, the Dodgers will likely need at least one, if not several, new starting pitchers.

Due to the limited workload that Ohtani, May, Gonsolin and Kershaw are expected to endure following their injuries, and the six-day routine that Yamamoto maintained this year after returning from Japan, it is possible that the Dodgers will have a six for parts -Man rotation benefit next season.

And unless they plan to rely solely on unproven prospects, they need to bolster their depth.

The top of the free-agent starting pitching market is rich with talent, including former Cy Young Award winners Blake Snell (whom the Dodgers unsuccessfully traded last offseason) and Corbin Burnes (whom the Dodgers once had a trade interest in). ). and Atlanta Braves left-hander Max Fried.

The Dodgers also have high value on Japanese pitcher Rōki Sasaki, a rising 23-year-old talent who may be sent to MLB clubs this winter.

Another name the Dodgers will be keeping an eye on this offseason: shortstop Willy Adames, who has ties to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman since his time in Tampa Bay.

If the Dodgers decide to make Edman a full-time center fielder, someone like Adames could fit in as another potential big name at the shortstop position, especially after he hit a career-high 32 home runs last year.

Read more: Full coverage: Dodgers defeat New York Yankees in 2024 World Series

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.