Dodgers: LA Bringing in New Faces to TV Broadcast Team
The big names in free agency have all come to deals with new teams over the last week. The Dodgers made their own splashy signing by nabbing former Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. The organization also added some household names to their SportsNet LA Broadcast team.
SportsNet LA noted that the quartet would be in addition to, not in place of, the current broadcast team. Orel Hershiser and Joe Davis will still be calling games for the Dodgers, it just might not be each and every game.
Jessica Mendoza - TV Analyst
According to Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register, ESPN's Jessica Mendoza will be part of the rotation for the road TV analyst spot. Joe Davis will still handle most of the play-by-announcing.
Bringing Mendoza on is a bit of surprise since there was narry a whisper about the Dodgers bringing on a national name like Mendoza. The Camarillo native was the first woman to call a nationally televised baseball game and was on the Sunday Night Baseball team from 2015-2020.
Mendoza came under fire after she simultaneously worked for ESPN and as a special adviser for the Mets from 2019 to 2020. In February of 2020, she re-signed from the Mets job and was moved into various studio analyst roles for ESPN's baseball coverage.
Dontrelle Willis
The former NL rookie of the year and 2003 World Champion will also contribute as a part-time road TV analyst. The D-Train has also worked for Fox Sports as a MLB studio analyst.
Adrián González
Unlike Willis and Mendoza, González has strong connections to the Dodgers and will be providing his opinion in the Sports Net LA studio. González posted a brief video on his social media to share his excitement about his new gig.
Eric Karros
Why not bring in two beloved former Dodgers first baseman? Karros will be handling "select TV games at home" according to Plunkett. EK has already been calling Dodgers spring training games with Joe Davis.
José Mota
In another move that Plunkett was one of the first to report on, José Mota, son of Dodgers icon Manny Mota, will be working for the Dodgers for the team's English and Spanish broadcasts. It's assumed that Mota will likely take over as LA's Spanish-language play-by-play after longtime announcer Jaime Jarrín retires after this coming seasono
