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The Dodgers were recently dealt a couple of significant blows, with both and slated for lengthy stays on the injured list. General manager addre sed the injuries recently, per , saying that the club was unlikely to alter their deadline plans as a reaction. I actually dont think it meaningfully changes anything at this point, Gomes said, With the expectation that Parker Mushinski Jersey those guys are gonna be back for the postseason. Betts was hit by a pitch on his hand and suffered a fracture, with an expected recovery time of . Yamamoto has a more nebulous timeline with his strained rotator cuff, though the club is expecting him back at some point this season. Those are obviously significant lo ses. Betts has more walks than strikeouts this year and has ten home runs as well, leading to a line of .304/.405/.488 and a 158 wRC+. He has done all that while e sentially learning shortstop on the fly, having just been handed the job during Spring Training. Despite limited big league experience at the position, he seems to be doing a pa sable job. Outs Above Average has him at -4 this year but Defensive Runs Saved puts him at +4. FanGraphs has credited him with 3.5 wins above replacement so far on the season, second in the National League to his teammate . Yamamoto, meanwhile, has an earned run average of 2.92 through his first 14 major league starts. Subtracting those two players from the roster will undoubtedly have an impact on the clubs overall talent level, but its understandable that the Dodgers dont plan to panic and completely change course. The club currently sports a record of 46-30 and the only club above .500 in the National League West. Each of the Diamondbacks, Giants and Padres are just below .500, with each of those three being either 9 or 9.5 games back. That gives the Dodgers plenty of breathing room and pretty strong odds of winning the division, even with the injury challenges. The at FanGraphs give them a 92.5% chance of taking the West while the at Baseball Prospectus are even more bullish at 95.8%. Both of those outlets give the club around a 99% chance of getting some kind of playoff spot. With that comfortable position in the standings, the club is likely going to be focusing on whatever moves put their club in best position to win games in October, as opposed to the interim. Going out to grab an innings eater for the back end of the rotation might stabilize things for the next few months but such a pitcher wouldnt be a big factor in a playoff series when clubs can shorten their rotations to three or four pitchers. Even without Yamamoto and , who also landed on the injured list recently with a minor i sue, the Dodgers currently have a healthy rotation of consisting of , , and . They have , and as options to come off the injured list later this year, as well as Yamamoto. is on the 40-man roster and pitching in Triple-A, potentially coming up to replace Buehler. , one of the clubs top prospects, was recently reinstated from the minor league injured list and is pitching in Triple-A as well. With all of those potential starters, they should be able to find a way to get through the regular season. The larger question will be whether theres enough for a strong postseason rotation. Glasnow has been great this year but has a lengthy injury history. Hes never topped 120 innings in a major league season and is currently at 93. Yamamoto is now a question mark. Buehler has a 5.84 ERA on the year and is now on the shelf. Millers ERA is at 6.00 and he just came off the IL. Paxton and Stone have respective ERAs of 3.65 and 3.01 but le s impre sive peripherals. While that group is likely enough to get the club into the postseason, their deadline moves will understandably be focused on how it will play once they get there. In his article, Harris suggests the Dodgers will be focused on high-impact starters, with of the White Sox and of the Marlins listed as hypothetical examples. Though as he points out, both of those pitchers have multiple years of control and their respective clubs will set lofty asking prices. At shortstop, the thinking is likely similar, as the club can get by for now with taking over for Betts. Rojas is an excellent fielder who has normally been unimpre sive at the plate, with a career slash line of .259/.312/.357. Hes having a strong season, however, with a .288/.333/.449 line in 2024. Perhaps that will regre s a bit as he moves from a part-time role to a full-time gig, but he could still be a serviceable shortstop with a numbers a bit lower than that. It wouldnt be a surprise to see the club monitor the middle infield market in the weeks to come while Betts is out, as plenty of other players are struggling. has received plenty of playing time at second base but is hitting .212/.261/.283 this year. has moved between the infield and outfield but is sitting on a dismal line of .115/.211/.177. has also been in a multi-positional role and has better numbers than Taylor but his .201/.277/.309 line isnt great either. was brought aboard for some extra infield cover with out of action but hes hitting just .197/.325/.276 on the year between the Blue Jays and Dodgers. Looking ahead to the postseason, its po sible that Betts and Rojas could be the primary middle infield tandem if Betts is back and Rojas stays in good form, but the club may not rely on Rojas like that on account of his career numbers. Perhaps that will lead the club to make some kind of middle infield move between now and the end of July, but that was likely the case even before Betts got hurt. Per the piece from Harris, the Dodgers are willing to put Betts back at shortstop later in the year but havent made a final decision. If they want a more experienced option at the position and want to upgrade on Rojas, its unclear who could be available. Harris lists and as theoretical fits but also notes the difficulties in acquiring each. The Brewers have a healthy lead in their division, which likely means Adames is staying. As for Bichette, even if the Jays fall out of the race, there are reasons not to trade him. Hes having a down year and is currently on the IL, so the Jays may not want to sell low. With another year left on his contract, they may prefer to hold if they cant get what they feel is fair value. Other speculative shortstop targets may not be too appealing. The White Sox will certainly make available and hes having a nice bounceback year, but he still strikes out a ton and has been prone to long periods of ineffectivene s in the past. The Marlins would love to get something from but hes performing even worse than he did last year. is an impending free agent but the Padres are hovering in the playoff race and surely would prefer not to trade him to their division rival. Caleb Ferguson Jersey |
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发表于 2025-11-3 16:06:42