As the Los Angeles Dodgers approach the final weeks of the 2025 regular season, many questions are surfacing about a potential playoff roster. Among those in the headlines right now surround how they will handle Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old Japanese youngster who hasn’t pitched in the majors since May due to a shoulder impingement.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have endured plenty of painful moments this season, but Saturday night in Baltimore may have been one of the most gut-wrenching collapses yet. What could have been a historic celebration instead became a meltdown by a highly underperforming bullpen.
Continue reading “More Thoughts About Saturday’s Bullpen Meltdown Against Orioles”
The Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday morning officially announced the signings of veteran righty reliever Blake Treinen and journeyman outfielder Michael Conforto.
Treinen’s deal is for two years and $22 million with a $5 million signing bonus. The 6-foot-5, 36-year-old Treinen came on strong late in the 2024 season after missing the first part of the year with a lung contusion he sustained in spring training.
Continue reading “Dodgers Reach Deal with Blake Treinen, Make Michael Conforto Signing Official”
Each year during spring training there seems to be an obligatory conversation surrounding whether veteran righty Blake Treinen could make a potential contribution to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 35-year-old reliever hasn’t pitched a full season since 2021 when he logged 72.1 innings of work with 85 punchouts and an impressive 0.982 WHIP. However, 2024 could be the year when he at least starts the season relatively healthy with a full head of steam.
Continue reading “Dodgers Roster: What Lies Ahead for Blake Treinen?”
For the first time in what could be decades, the Los Angeles Dodgers will apparently begin regular season play without a designated closer. Of course, this idea could change as the year progresses — or even by the end of Cactus League play. But, for now, all indications are the team will employ a closer-by-committee strategy that enables the coaching staff to utilize the bullpen more on specific matchups rather than a role-by-inning approach.
Continue reading “Dodgers Bullpen: More Thoughts on the 2023 Closer Role”
According to a team announcement on Thursday, the Dodgers activated righty reliever Brusdar Graterol from the injured list after optioning lefty reliever Justin Bruihl back to Triple-A Oklahoma City. The move comes hours before the team’s series finale against the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.
Continue reading “Dodgers Activate Brusdar Graterol, Other Team Notes”
Although there hasn’t been much movement in the National League playoff race — at least from a Dodgers perspective — there could be a lot of news emerging as the calendar turns to September next week.
We’ve been discussing roster expansion for a while, and although there’s only room for one pitcher and one position player, the team could be jockeying a few roster spots to make room for some big-name players.
At the onset of the weekend, we heard that everything looks good for veteran Clayton Kershaw. The lefty threw a three-inning simulated appearance earlier in the week and is expected to toss a similar four-inning outing on Saturday in Miami.
If everything feels good afterwards, Kershaw could start on September 1 against the Mets in the series finale New York, as manager Dave Roberts indicated this week.
“It’s either the option of regular rest, which would be Thursday,” Roberts said. “Or an extra day, which would be Friday. We haven’t decided which yet, but it’s probably going to be one of those two.”
As it stands, it appears that Los Angeles could go with a six-man rotation the rest of the way, allowing the starting pitchers to stay fresh without shutting them down completely — as long as everyone’s health holds up.
Seemingly, the team could face a decision as to who would be the postseason starters between Kersh, Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urias, Dustin May, Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney by the time the playoffs roll around.
Typically, the Dodgers would bump one or two of the extra starters into the bullpen, but the relief corps might be in for some overcrowding of its own.
The last we heard, Blake Treinen continues to throw well in his rehab stint for Triple-A Oklahoma City. There have been a few whispers that the big righty could be activated as soon as September 2.
If Kershaw gets the 27th spot and a position player gets the 28th spot, that means that someone will either need to get placed on the injured list or bumped off the roster entirely to make room for Treinen. One of the first names that comes to mind is Phil Bickford, particularly for a stint on the IL.
In addition, Victor Gonzalez and Tommy Kahnle are progressing through rehab assignments of their own, but whether they have enough time to get up to speed before season’s end remains to be seen.
Roberts has been especially impressed with Gonzalez.
“He’s bouncing back, the stuff is good,” the skipper said. “Everything I’ve heard about Victor has been real positive.”
Imagine if you’re a major league manager and your GM tells you there’s an influx of player additions coming in mid-August without even needing to sacrifice any of your organization’s top prospects.
That’s exactly the position the Dodgers are in after standing pat at a busy 2022 tradeline, keeping nearly the entirely of their farm system intact.
Continue reading “Dodgers Injury Notes: Brusdar Graterol, Edwin Rios, Blake Treinen and More”
When fans get a look at the second-half Dodgers in the series opener against the Giants on Thursday, they’ll see Mitch White taking the bump in the bottom of the first inning.
Continue reading “3 Players Who Could Boost Dodgers’ Playoff Chances in 2022”
With righty reliever Daniel Hudson going down to what is possibly a season-ending knee injury on Friday night, many fans of the Dodgers are wondering how the team plans to compensate over the long term.
Continue reading “More Thoughts on Dodgers Bullpen as Trade Deadline Approaches”
Think Blue Planning Committee 