On the heels of the second Cactus League contest against the Angels on Sunday, there was a bit of good news coming out of the Dodgers camp, most specifically the health of two key players in Clayton Kershaw and Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger has been seeing limited action because of a sore back, but the injury does not appear to be serious in the least. As a precautionary measure, he didn’t play on Saturday in the spring opener against the White Sox, but he did participate fully in the teams morning workout on Sunday.
Skipper Dave Roberts told reporters following the workout that Bellinger may conceivably play in his first Cactus League game on Tuesday against the Royals at Surprise.
In even better news, Roberts said that Kershaw is feeling “encouraged” after revealing that he didn’t quite “feel right” following a bullpen session last Wednesday.
Roberts explained to the media that the issue was indeed the three-time Cy Young winner’s throwing shoulder. He also assured everyone that Kersh was not in jeopardy of being yanked from his Opening Day start against the Diamondbacks on March 28.
The team felt in was unnecessary for Kershaw to have an MRI. The way things looks now, the 31-year-old should be able to resume throwing in the next few days.
As far as the starting lineup on Sunday goes, Russell Martin gets the nod at catcher after handling the DH duties on Saturday. A.J. Pollock makes his spring debut in center field as Alex Verdugo shifts from center to left. Max Muncy is the designated hitter in Sunday’s affair, while Jake Peter gets a look at the keystone beside David Freese at first. Chris Taylor gets the call at shortstop as Corey Seager still isn’t quite ready to go full-throttle.
A few youngsters will get some very valuable playing time as well. Edwin Rios will start at third base and hit eighth. Ezequiel Carrera, a seven-year minor league journeyman just signed two weeks ago, gets the nod in right field, batting sixth.
Lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu is on the mound in his first action of the spring.
- CF AJ Pollock
- DH Max Muncy
- SS Chris Taylor
- C Russell Martin
- 1B David Freese
- RF Ezequiel Carrera
- LF Alex Verdugo 3B
- Edwin Rios 2B
- Jake Peter
- (LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu)
First pitch is set for 12:05 PM Pacific time.
The Dodgers will host the Cubs at Glendale on Monday.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Why would t you do an MRI just out of extreme caution when you’re talking about your hall of fame pitvher’s thowing shoulder?
LikeLike
I think they let Kersh call too many of his own shots. You’d think he’d start losing some of his stubbornness by now.
LikeLike
It’s not nothing…… it’s a joint. An MRI should be demanded by management.
LikeLike
Nice little home run flurry there by a trio of very impressive prospects. Too bad Starlin Castro wasn’t around today. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Santana, Gonsolin, White and especially May all looked good today. I saw Peters in Glendale last spring and he was looking very impressive even back then. But we need to remember that he isn’t exactly facing Sale or Scherzer here. If he can cut down on the k’s he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
LikeLike
Peters looks like he’s a lumberjack, man.
LikeLike
Just saw a quote from Roberts that DJ has been working with the hitting coaches to cut down his swing which they think will help him with velocity and inside pitches, both of which were problems for him last year. If they can really make a difference, we may just have another Stanton on our hands.
LikeLike
Could he be our Aaron Judge?
LikeLike
Why not? The sky’s the limit. After all, it’s spring training and anything is possible.
LikeLike
Peters has deceptive speed, man. Not many people know that about him. Covers the alleys and the gaps effortlessly, it seems.
LikeLike
One other thing about Peters, when he hits em, they stay hit. That second homer was a mammoth shot.
LikeLike
Trade Peters and Joc for Bauer. Make room for Harper.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was my first thought when I heard about the Harper meeting this morning, those exact players for Bauer. And then I thought about how AF has built a really stable group of personalities for this clubhouse and wondered if he would be willing to risk bringing in Harper and especially Bauer to mess with that. As a matter of fact I could envision a huge fight between those two on national TV sometime during the year. If they are really concerned about Kershaw, however, I could definitely see a major push for Bauer and if you’re introducing that personality to the mix, why not Harper.
LikeLike
Harper says he will make his choice by the weekend. Just get the circus in the tent already. I am so over all of this drama.
LikeLike
We have to keep telling ourselves this is spring training. The major leaguers will be here in 3/4 weeks and the minor leaguers will be back where they belong.
LikeLike