One of the first evaluations almost every Dodgers fan makes heading into Cactus League play is the quality of the major league starting rotation. Los Angeles is almost always in the MLB Top 10 to start the year, but more times than not, the starting five has an entirely different look as the home stretch of the regular season approaches.
The 2023 campaign probably will be no different.
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All is right with the world, for a moment anyway, when Clayton Kershaw is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On Monday, the team announced that they have re-signed Kershaw to a one-year, $20 million contract, with a $5 million signing bonus.
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While the starting rotation of the Los Angeles Dodgers was one of the team’s most consistent strengths throughout the regular season, it has quickly become a potential postseason concern as multiple injuries will have at least some kind of impact.
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Even though fans won’t see a flurry of roster additions compared to previous seasons, the Dodgers still made several moves on the first day teams were permitted to add two additional players.
To fill out their roster, the team added starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw an infielder Miguel Vargas.
Kershaw gets the start in series finale against the Mets in New York on Thursday afternoon.
Continue reading “Dodgers Make Several Moves as Rosters Expand to 28 Players” →
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.”
The All-Star Game has been scheduled to come to Chavez Ravine for a very long time. It was originally supposed to be held in 2020, but due to the pandemic, it was pushed back to 2022. For a period of time, it looked like it was cursed as the lockout loomed large before this season.
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As several pitchers from the season’s original starting rotation begin to get healthy, it will be interesting to see how the Dodgers structure their starting rotation over the coming weeks.
Continue reading “Heaney, Kershaw Progressing Toward MLB Returns for Dodgers” →
The injury bug is already digging its sharp teeth into the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff, and we’re still not at the quarter-way mark of the year.
Although the 2022 season began extremely well for both the starting rotation and relief crew, things may be starting to bend a bit, especially if the last few games are any indication.
Continue reading “Dodgers Roster: More Starting Rotation and Bullpen Thoughts” →
What a wild game on Thursday, as the Los Angeles Dodgers were edged out by the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 9-7. After the Phillies led 7-1, the Dodgers came back and tied the game at 7 in the eighth inning. However, the Phillies scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning off of Dodger reliever Daniel Hudson.
Continue reading “Clayton Kershaw Lands On Injured List as Dodgers Look To Even Series Against Phillies” →
Even the most dedicated Clayton Kershaw fans wouldn’t have guessed the legendary Dodger lefty would have posted a 4-0 record with a 1.80 ERA through his first five starts of the 2022 season.
The lockout had many baseball enthusiasts guessing what would occur with a prospective Kershaw contract, as there was serious speculation that the three-time Cy Young winner was strongly being courted by general manager Chris Young and the Texas Rangers. Yet, even though the Dodgers eventually nabbed CK on a one-year deal, more conjecture surfaced as to why he agreed with Los Angeles on such a short contract.
