When Andrew Freidman first took over the Dodgers, pitching was one of his main priorities. The Dodgers had lost Ryu to surgery, Beckett retired, and he traded Dan Haren to the Marlins in the Dee Gordon trade.
The bullpen had Jansen as it’s closer with Jamie Wright, Brandon League and J.P. Howell as his set up men. Brian Wilson, the exe Giant, was not re-signed. 14 other pitchers had made appearances out of the pen in 2014. Some would be used in trades, others simply released.
Only a few, Pedro Baez, Paco Rodriguez and Yimi Garcia spent more than 4 years with LA. Rodriguez would be part of a huge trade with the Braves in July of 2015, but would never pitch in the majors again.
Freidman’s approach was simple. He signed a ton of free agents. Among the starters he signed were the likes of Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy, Eric Bedard, Brandon Beachy. He purchased Mike Bolsinger and traded for Alex Wood midseason.
He signed relievers like Ryan Buchter, Sergio Santos, Ramon Troncoso, and he traded for Adam Liberatore, Joel Peralta and Juan Nicasio. He also got Chris Hatcher in the Gordon deal.
Jansen, Howell, Nicasio, Garcia, Baez and Hatcher did most of the heavy lifting. Jansen had 36 of the team’s 47 saves. Hatcher had 4 and was second on the team in that department. Peralta ended up with 3. No one else had more than 1.
They used 16 different pitchers to start games. McCarthy pitched four games, was 3-0 with an ERA above five and then went on the DL for the rest of the year. Kershaw, Greinke and Anderson made 30 plus starts, Bolsinger had 21. Carlos Frias made 17 and Wood started 12 after the trade.
They won the west with a 92-70 mark but bit the dust in five to the Mets. But you can’t blame the pen for the loss. All of the decisions on the Dodgers side were on the starting staff. Kershaw and Greinke were both 1-1, and Brett Anderson lost his only start, 13-7. Anderson gave up six of those runs and Wood four.
In 2016 that pen looked different. The main addition was Joe Blanton, and he had a very good year as Jansen’s set-up man. Kenley saved 47 that year.
Now 2024 is upon us, and the Dodger pen is going to look a little familiar, but also a little different. Three of the main pieces from last year are still with us: Phillips, Graterol, Vesia.
Daniel Hudson is on a minor league deal with hopes of coming back. Blake Treinen is also on the roster with hopes his arm troubles are behind him.
Victor Gonzalez was traded. Phil Bickford, Justin Bruihl, Shelby Miller, Tyson Miller and Taylor Scott are all gone. Ryan Brasier was just re-signed to a two-year contract.
Joe Kelly is also back, and the kid, Gus Varland, is again on the roster. Now many on this site, and others I have read, seem to believe the Dodgers need to trade for a closer. Their preference would probably be Devin Williams.
Some have mentioned Emmanuel Clase from Cleveland. There has even been talk and rumors about bringing back Jansen. I have to believe that Roberts is going to be using closer by committee. I can see Bazooka getting some shots at a save, and possibly Treinen if he is healthy.
Because some of the pitcher’s innings are going to be monitored a lot, the pen is going to have to do some heavy lifting most likely.
Pitchers rarely go six innings anymore, let alone nine. Figure in that Yamamoto, although only 25, has never pitched in the majors and is used to pitching every sixth day. Buehler’s innings are going to be carefully monitored.
Glasnow has never pitched more than the 120 innings he logged last season. Miller is only in his second year. Paxton has had injury issues. That leaves basically, the kids. Sheehan, Grove, Stone and Yarbrough.
May and Gonsolin will be placed on the IL as soon as spring training starts. They will do the same thing with Clayton Kershaw since it will be at least mid-season before he is anywhere close to being ready.
Stands to reason that the pen is going to have to pick up the slack. My guess is that the main long men out of the pen will be Grove and Yarbrough. Since they can only carry 13 pitchers, the competition for the pen is going to be intense.
Vesia, Yarbrough, and newly acquired Matt Gage are the only lefty relievers on the 40-man. Of course trades can alter the roster a lot.
For us fans, the fun is watching and seeing how the staff shapes up come opening day. Only this year, there are two of them. One in Korea, and the other in Los Angeles against St. Louis on March 28th.
However it shapes up, the bullpen this season is going to have to do some very heavy lifting.
Hurt’s so good.
Yes, the bullpen will be vital. I still like the notion of adding Devin Williams or Tanner Scott (if the price is right) but the roster right now seems solid to me.
While looking for something else, I stumbled upon a nugget in an LA Times story about how the bullpen went from, as the headline put it, “from disappointing to dominant” in ’23. (I assume most of us were surprised the bullpen’s poor performance early in the season.)
Enter Ryan Brasier, a 36-year-old veteran trying to revive his career with a new cutter.
He arrived at a time when, according to Evan Phillips, the bullpen was “looking for a voice. We needed to hold each other accountable a bit more, and understand that each role is valuable and each out is valuable, and to build off that each time you go out there.” The relievers’ collective struggles had even inspire young Brusdar Graterol to call a bullpen meeting.
From the article:
“The Dodgers were off that Monday. When they arrived at Angel Stadium on Tuesday with a 4.98 bullpen ERA, the second-worst mark in baseball ahead of only Oakland, a new face — and an improbable new voice — joined them in the visiting clubhouse.
Ryan Brasier didn’t fit the mold of bullpen savior. The 36-year-old right-hander went 1-0 with a 7.29 ERA in 20 games for the Boston Red Sox before being designated for assignment on May 15. He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers on June 4 and pitched only twice for triple-A Oklahoma City before being recalled on June 20.
But Brasier could still run his fastball up to 98 mph, he had a new cut-fastball to neutralize left-handed hitters and a track record of postseason success, having set up Craig Kimbrel in Boston’s run to the 2018 World Series title.
The soft-spoken, unassuming native of Wichita Falls, Texas, also had an easygoing personality that his new teammates immediately gravitated toward and a backlog of stories from 17 professional baseball seasons to entertain them with.
“Oh man, Brase … I’ve never clicked with somebody as quickly as I have with him,” left-hander Alex Vesia said. “He came into the bullpen and we started chatting it up. Just his presence has been phenomenal. He’s a super cool guy, right? He gets along with everybody. I mean, he’s got some pretty awesome stories. And his stuff is even better.”
The Dodgers talk a lot about “clubhouse culture,” so “bullpen culture” must be a subset. When Chase Utley arrived, he quickly became a leader. Maybe AF just got lucky with Brasier, but he his value seems to transcend what he does on the mound.
I was hoping the Dodgers would bring Brasier back because he pitched so well in ’23. Never realized that he brought these qualities as well.
We will not open in LA with St. Louis on 3-28.
Kyle Hurt is another young pitcher who could play a key role. His debut last season was brief but impressive.
At some time today, the Dodgers could have 3 available spots on their 40 man. Gonsolin, May, and Frasso could be added to the 60 day IL, and Clayton Kershaw can join them once he passes his physical and his contract becomes official. Brasier will take one of those spots.
What that means? I have not a clue. But they could pursue Devin Williams or Tanner Scott. They could add a player with multiple options from the waiver wire (AF has a PhD in this practice). The Dodgers will get a week’s head start with this. Multiple players could hit the waivers the week before ST officially starts, and the Dodgers stashed their 60 day IL players creating room. Not saying they will. It is just that they can.
Phillips – 0 options
Brasier – 0 options
Kelly – 0 options
Treinen – 0 options
Yarbrough – 0 options
Graterol – 2 options
Vesia – 1 option
Feyereisen – 2 options
Grove – 2 options
Stone – 2 options
Knack – 3 options
Hurt 3 – options
Varland – 3 options
Vanasco – 1 option
Gage – 1 option
Sheehan – 2 – options
Miller – 3 options
Options are like cash to the Dodgers. Treinen is a low cost higher reward reliever, who is going to have to prove he is fully recovered and ready to pitch to make the roster. Options are not important for him. Either he is healthy or not. While not on the roster as of yet, the same is true for Hudson.
With 0 options, could Yarbrough find himself on the move as Caleb Ferguson? Trade for a reliever with multiple options?
We know Kelly is going to get injured at least once this season. So options are not important for him.
The 2021, 2022, and 2nd half 2023 Vesia is not going to get optioned, but he is more safe than Yarbrough because he does have that option.
It will be easier to stash Feyereisen at OKC to begin the year so he can work that rust off in AAA. He has the options available to do so.
It will be fun to watch the machinations from AF/BG this year when it comes to relievers and their options.
Other than K/9, an important stat for a closer, Graterol’s numbers, 1.20 ERA and a 0.965 WHIP, are similar to Williams. He even threw more innings. We also have Phillips, Brasier and a few others that could close. Do we really need Williams? Yeah, I would like to have him but if he is for sale it’s gonna cost.
As for wins I think it’s possible the Dodgers could secure home field this year. The Braves project more, 97-92 on fangraphs. I think those numbers are conservative. I think they both win 100+ and I will say now the Dodgers win home field, though I wouldn’t put money on it.
Is it just impossible for Vargas to be a decent 3B? If Max struggles at all offensively, his glove doesn’t justify staying in the line-up, thus does Vargas get his chance to take his damn “two broken fingers” and prove his extreme prowess at the plate (supposedly). Vargas simply cannot be any worse defensively than Max. I like Max and always have, however he seems to be on the decline offensively each season, his main contribution typical is he walks a lot, but strikes out even more (no I haven’t looked up his stats to back this up, just going by what I have been sensing each season). 3B used to be a position that was expected to put up power numbers at the plate, not a position that was supposed to draw walks. Max’s greatest strength, as of late, is to consistently take walks and not get hits. That just doesn’t make sense to me, if Vargas is the golden god of hitting, once his fingers heal, then he has to be considered as a guy that needs to learn to field balls at 3B , like I said he can’t be any worse than Max in the field, hell I couldn’t be worse than Max in the field.
https://theathletic.com/5263072/2024/02/09/clayton-kershaw-dodgers-2024-contract?source=user-shared-article
MLB suspends the currently unemployed Billy Eppler for deliberate misuse of the IL, including fabrication of injuries when he was GM of the Mets. He can apply for reinstatement after the World Series.
I wonder if there are any members of the Dodger front office who are sweating a little more than usual this cold February morning?
Has anybody read the rumors about the Dodgers signing Tim Anderson?
I am sorry. You cannot make Miguel Vargas better by tearing down James Outman. At first it was a hairline fracture of the pinkie suffered by Vargas.
Then we read :
“Vargas broke multiple fingers in Spring Training, and he wasn’t able to really swing the bat for some time. It seemed to mess with him over the course of the season, and he never could recover from it.”
The Dodgers could not have been convinced that it was significant injury or he would have been placed on the IL. AF/BG are certainly not shy about putting players on the IL.
Finally we read:
“#Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes blamed hand injuries as major factor in Miguel Vargas’ struggles that landed him back in AAA.”
We do know that whatever medical information is disseminated from LAD fits whatever narrative they are trying to sell. While some can read that Vargas could not hit with broken fingers, others can read that the Dodgers continued to change the narrative to give Vargas an out.
Without the injuries in 2022, Vargas hit .170/.200/.255/.455. Sure small sample size. In 34 less PA, Outman hit .462/.583/.846/1.409. Yes, both small sample sizes. One hit well in his debut at MLB, and the other did not. Yet the one who did not was given the starting position in 2023, and the other was ticketed back to OKC before he played his way onto the starting lineup. One stayed at MLB and got #3 in ROY vote, and the other was optioned to AAA.
Apparently Vargas’ injuries healed up once he went down to OKC. At OKC, Vargas batted .288/.407/.479/.886. At the same time, Busch went out and became the PCL Player of the Year. And now Busch figures to be the Cubs opening day 1B, as one of only 3 LH hitters projected on their MLB roster.
While Outman hit 23 HRs, 70 RBIs, and 16 SB (3 CS) at MLB, and learned to become a terrific defensive CF. Tremendous defensive improvement from the beginning of the season to where he was at the end. Outman had a 3.3 bWAR and a 112 OPS+. Those are not platoon numbers.
2,734 innings 791 TC – .923 fielding percentage at 3B. Per DRS and UZR (Which does measure range), Vargas was one of the worst defensive 2B in 2023. There is a baseball reason why Mookie will be the 2B, and it is not because the Dodgers prefer Jason Heyward in RF. It appears that the Dodgers have zero confidence with Vargas as a MLB 2B. They must have less confidence in him as a 3B as he was moved off 3B after his numbers in 2,734 innings and 791 TC at 3B.
So while we can agree that one year does not a career make, Outman has been successful at the MLB level while Vargas has not. That is not arguable. Yet there are those who say that Vargas will improve and Outman will not. No basis, just a feel. Vargas has done nothing at the MLB level for credibility as a MLB Hitter. Maybe this year. OTOH, Outman has been successful at MLB.
Yes Vargas can hit, but can he hit MLB pitching. He would not be the first player to destroy MiLB pitching but not succeed at MLB level.
If I were the Dodgers, Vargas would go back to OKC and play exclusively in LF. His best chance as a Dodger in 2025 is as a LF.
Wow. People getting testy about who said what about Dodger youngsters.
Outman has had a good start to his career, but it was hardly a perfect one. There’s lots of swing and miss in his game. Plenty of prospects started out great and ended up bad. Remember Bill Sudakis and Billy Grabarkewitz?
Vargas got off to a bad start. Again, this may not mean anything either. Remember Paul Konerko?
We don’t know what we don’t know right now. Mark has observed Vargas’ bat-to-ball skills in the minors. That may or may not mean anything. Same as Outman’s streaky success last year.
What gives me pause about Vargas is he doesn’t move like an athlete. He’s too stiff and upright to play INF well, and his footwork isn’t good. Outman is athletic. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything either.
In any event, there’s no place for Vargas to start the season in the absence of a trade or an injury. We will see if the Dodgers end up keeping or trading him.