This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat e-newsletter. To learn the total e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it often in your inbox.
LOS ANGELES — Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts sat within the house dugout at Dodger Stadium and fielded a handful of questions concerning the Aug. 1 Commerce Deadline. Each single one among them was in regards to the Dodgers’ lack of beginning pitching this season.
It’s arguably the biggest — and most evident — gap this group has had in fairly a while. Don’t imagine it? Simply ask Roberts.
“Given the expertise and well being of our starters,” Roberts stated, “that is most likely as forefront of thoughts — simply the bucket of pitching normally — as we’ve been in my tenure right here.”
Each starter within the Dodgers’ Opening Day rotation has landed on the injured record no less than as soon as this season. A few of their depth choices have additionally gotten harm or haven’t panned out.
Julio Urías can have one other likelihood to point out progress on Tuesday, one thing the Dodgers desperately want down the stretch. Noah Syndergaard was at Dodger Stadium on Monday, however that has been a failed experiment since he landed on the IL in June, and it’s not possible that he pitches once more for Los Angeles this season.
However maybe no person is extra necessary than Clayton Kershaw, who has now been sidelined for practically a month with a left shoulder damage. Since Kershaw went down, the Dodgers’ starters have a mixed 6.12 ERA. Given the delicacy of a shoulder damage, paired with the membership’s secrecy on all the things that surrounds Kershaw and his well being, it’s unclear after we’ll see him again on the mound.
So how can the Dodgers repair this downside? President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman should weigh all of the choices in a market that doesn’t have plenty of sellers, however a ton of groups on the lookout for starting-pitching assist. Getting stated assist, whether or not it’s Lucas Giolito, Jordan Montgomery or Jack Flaherty, will come at some value.
In fact, making aggressive strikes is one thing Friedman hasn’t shied away from prior to now. He did swing a blockbuster commerce for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner simply two Deadlines in the past. When the Dodgers wanted a big-time shortstop, he landed Manny Machado.
Now it’s time for him to pounce on starting-pitching depth, or it may catch up in the long term.
“I’d be stunned,” Roberts stated when requested if his rotation will look the identical following the Deadline.