Dodgers Opening Day Roster Includes Some Surprises

T minus zero. Ladies and gentlemen, we have liftoff. Opening Day 2020 has arrived. And is their way -- The Dodger Way -- the locals are making news, and making waves right up to curtain time.

Yesterday, in summer blockbuster fashion, Andrew Friedman and company signed Mookie Betts to a whopping 12-year, $365 million contract which will keep him in blue until the year 2032. And in green.

This morning, Los Angeles announced its Opening Day 30-man roster. And it includes some surprises.

Dustin May? He's on the outside looking in. That's the big one. Similarly -- though it was announced earlier and you may not have heard -- consensus Rookie of the Year leader Gavin Lux is outta there too. Same deal with Tony Gonsolin. Two catchers instead of three is a minor surprise, but third-stringer Rocky Gale is a phone call away. Bubble types like relievers Scott Alexander, Adam Kolarek and Dennis Santana are in.

It's important to note that this roster is merely a snapshot. If it's not a one-day thing -- and it might be -- look for changes in short order. In particular, it's likely that Santana has been chosen instead of May because L.A. wants an extra man in the pen for games one through four of the season, and plans to save the orange-haired young stud to caddy for the innings-limited Walker Buehler in game five, Tuesday at Houston. At that time whichever reliever has been used most, or who was the least effective, will be sent down to make room for May.

We should also note that service time manipulation is a genuine issue in the game today, and that other clubs (the Cubs most famously with Kris Bryant) have played that game to their own detriment. I suppose it's possible that the Dodgers are going that route in 2020 with May and/or Lux, but if so, it's the first time they've done so in the six-year Friedman Administration and eight-year Guggenheim ownership group's stewardship. In other words, nah.

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Here's the roster:

Pitchers (16):

Scott Alexander (L)

Pedro Báez

Walker Buehler

Caleb Ferguson (L)

Dylan Floro

Brusdar Graterol

Kenley Jansen

Joe Kelly

Clayton Kershaw (L)

Adam Kolarek (L)

Jake McGee (L)

Dennis Santana

Ross Stripling

Blake Treinen

Julio Urías (L)

Alex Wood (L)

Catchers (2):

Austin Barnes

Will Smith

Infielders (5):

Matt Beaty

Max Muncy

Corey Seager

Edwin Ríos

Justin Turner

Outfielders (5):

Cody Bellinger

Mookie Betts

Terrance Gore

Joc Pederson

AJ Pollock

Infielder/Outfielder (2):

Kiké Hernández

Chris Taylor

Injured List (1):

Jimmy Nelson, RHP (45-day, low-back surgery)

And remember, glove conquers all.

Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter.