In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, you probably realize that the Dodgers have a lot of pitchers with arm issues, and that this is something that plagues every team. They are trying to figure it out, but a lot of it was already in place before they were drafted, and then there is the desire to throw harder with even more spin. Now we hear that Roki Sasaki is trying to add more speed to his fastball.
Shohei Ohtani is not yet pitching after his latest Tommy John Procedure, and some think it might be July before we see him. By the way, I believe that this will be something we see every season for the next two or three years, at which time Ohtani will retire from pitching and be a DH for the rest of his career.
So far this year, Nick Frasso, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove, Edgardo Henriquez, Kyle Hurt, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Clayton Kershaw, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan, Blake Snell, Gavin Stone, and Blake Treinen have all been on the IL and Yoshinobu Yamamoto was on it for two months last year.
Right about now, it’s just a fact of life! Churn and Burn! By Wednesday, this may be the Dodgers Rotation:
- Yamamoto
- Sasaki
- May
- Gonsolin
- Knack
Then, Miller, Sauer, Wrobleski, and Casparius will act as the 6th starter to let Yamamoto and Sasake pitch on five days’ rest. The Dodgers are not using an actual six-man rotation. Snell and Glasnow are experiencing shoulder discomfort, which is likely preferable to elbow and forearm problems. In the long run, this may be a blessing! Frasso, Graterol, Ohtani, Treinen, Sheehan, Kershaw, Kopech, Snell, and Glasnow should all be back at some time. Some will and some won’t!
However, I like the Dodgers’ odds of having a whole staff come playoff time.
Raise your hand if you thought that Pages would be the first Dodger this year to win ‘player of the week’.
Actually, most Dodger fans wanted him gone!
Which only goes to show how many “fans” don’t really know that much about the game.
My comment is always, “The more you know about baseball the more you find there IS TO KNOW about baseball”. It’s a game of failure. Get a hit 3 of 10 times for your career and you’re a Hall of Famer.
It’s not basketball where you score every 5 seconds, 10 seconds if you’re a bad team!
The best thing for Pages is having a personal mentor named Teo who genuinely cares about him and works with him on the mental side of the game. Results are starting to show.
Nice
Good on Teo.
Back in ’23, Outman credited Justin Heyward for his guidance.
Always nice to have a mentor.
Snell received an injection to assist in treating his left shoulder inflammation Monday, Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation reports.
“This isn’t a significant update on the southpaw, who was expected to receive an injection after dealing with inflammation in his left shoulder. However, it’ll be worth keeping a close eye on how Snell feels in the days after the injection, as there isn’t currently a firm timetable on when he’ll be cleared to resume throwing”.
Noah Davis has a locker in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ clubhouse, per the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris.
“Since Davis was recently optioned to Triple-A, the only way he would be eligible to rejoin the team is if a player were moved to the injured list. All-Star Tyler Glasnow hasn’t officially been announced on the IL, but the fact that Davis is back in the clubhouse seems to hint that an IL move is imminent”.
Nooooooo
10:10 PM ET
Marlins (12-15)
Dodgers (18-10)
SP Edward Cabrera R
0-1 6.14 ERA
SP Dustin May R
1-1 3.68 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
LF M. Conforto L
C Will Smith R
CF Andy Pages R
3B Max Muncy L
2B Miguel Rojas R
63° Wind 9 mph Out
Treinen (forearm) has not yet been cleared to resume throwing, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.
“Manager Dave Roberts stated Monday that the club isn’t in any hurry to move Treinen along before he’s ready, and he’ll remain shut down for an undisclosed period of time. Treinen was officially placed on the 15-day injured list April 19 with right forearm tightness and is eligible to return later in the week, though it appears he’ll miss more than the minimum while on the mend”.
I feel badly for Tyler Glasnow. If fans are frustrated by his recurring injuries, I can’t imagine how he must feel. The Dodger front office signed up for this in certain respects. But, for Glasnow it must be difficult.
Like Mark, I am confident we will have a four man rotation good enough to win a playoff series by October but I would not want to place money on a bet as to who those four pitchers will be.
I am glad that the Dodgers have been patient with Andy Pages this year. For teams with payrolls like the Dodgers it is relatively easy to move off young players who struggle. Or, to block them with veteran acquisitions. Hopefully, he continues his improvement at the plate and in the outfield.
Great to see that the NL West is so competitive his year. It is a long season and with 40 games coming up against the Padres, Giants, and Diamondbacks, it will make for a more interesting summer. Not to mention 6 with the Mets and 3 more with Phillies.
I know we are not close to a move like this yet, but how long before we see Edman to center and Pages in left for Conforto when a lefty is on the mound? Likewise, how long does Muncy struggle before the Dodgers become truly concerned about his play both offensively and defensively? The Dodgers are loyal and there is a lot of history there but the signing of Nick Senzel was interesting.
Roberts said today that Casparius might move into the starting rotation, Davis will be optioned back to OKC after the game tomorrow with Gonsolin coming off of the IL to start Wednesday’s game. Muncy with 2 hits tonight and Tommy Tanks with a walk-off 2 run single. Nice win. Tied with the Giants for first place. Padres have lost 7 of their last 9.
Yeah, I have BC #5 right now.
Hilarious–guy gets night off and walks it off.
Will Smith also hit a game-winner on his “day off.”
One more and we have a trend…
Good call.
Let’s sit Conforto tonight 😉
Banda is no longer fooling anyone, and he is not missing bats.
He just needs a mound hug from Doc. No, seriously he just needs a mechanical tweak here and there. Or a stint on the 10 day. It was May Day a little early. He looked good. Can’t wait for the Catman and the Knack to take down some valuable innings. Ok everyone it’s still April so don’t go joining…………..
The Chicken Little Society
Book em
DODGER MINOR LEAGUE STANDINGS 4/29/25
Oklahoma City AAA 19-8 1st place 5 games ahead
Tulsa AA 7-14 last place 7 games behind
Great Lakes A+ 11-10 4th place 3 games behind
Rancho Cucamongo A 14-7 1st place 6 games ahead
Most of the star power is at Oklahoma City and Rancho Cucamongo
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
Tulsa has very little but Great Lakes has Hope, De Paula, George & Wagner. Auger, Copen & Swan the arms.
Not impressed at all with George. Bad first round selection.
Edman bailed Kirby Yates out from blowing another game in the 10th inning with the walkoff hit.May was just OK last night.
Not exactly a blow save there.
Guy starts on second base.
If you give up one run you hold serve.
As you know, I am not a Yates fan.
Why not, he was arguably the best reliever in baseball last year?
Imagine that the 40-man roster was more fluid–and that management wasn’t as concerned with pesky matters like contracts.
The two hottest Dodgers are Pages…. and Outman!
One of the coldest is Conforto, carrying an OPS of .592.
Also hot: Alex Freeland
Cold: Max.
Won’t happen… but it would be fun to see a lineup with Outman replacing Conforto and Freeland replacing Max
Outman most probably isn’t the answer but is a decent insurance policy in case of injury. Our OF depth chart is pretty thin. He’s like Feduccia.
We saw Pages start to heat up.
Max had two hits last night.
Conforto is getting paid $17 Million because he knows how to hit.
In case no one knows, baseball is a game of streaks.
Outman is on a good streak, but his strikeout rate is 40% at AAA. That’s likely over 50% at the MLB Level.
Look at Nimmo. Mets’ fan dogging him then he blows up and all is forgiven.
On a Caribbean cruise but have excellent sat WiFi
Pages, smith and Two are hot. Top three are contributing. The names don’t matter as long as you have that combo. That and the excellent starters for at least 5 innings
Sasaski drives you crazy with the wildness but somehow gets the job done. Once in a while we have to accept him getting hammered until he gets his control in place. We desperately need a rh 3b to keep Max on the bench against lefties. I get it Doc, it’s hard to sit a gux like Max, but eventually he may have to
And not wait for the post season.
Enjoy.
Bote just couldn’t fit.
Hernandez, Taylor or Rojas could play 3rd. But that hasn’t happened yet.
Where in the Carribean?
Kershaw making his third rehab start for AAA Oklahoma City tonight.
James Outman wins Pacific Coast League player of the week
Third career minor league player of the week honor for Outman, who had 12 hits in 26 at-bats last week for Oklahoma City, including three doubles and two home runs.
Bote just couldn’t fit.
Was meant for Mushers re: 3b
“Los Angeles Dodgers future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw was scheduled to pitch on Tuesday in a rehab start at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
However, the Comets announced that due to the weather forecast, Kershaw will not be pitching any longer. The game, however, is still on as scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. local time in OKC”.
It’s unbelievable,another bullpen game will nearly a 400 million payroll and nobody from the minors that you can count on to give you length as a starter.
Leftovers for dinner again, Mom?
10:10 PM ET
Marlins (12-16)
Dodgers (19-10)
SP Sandy Alcantara R
2-2 6.56 ERA
SP Matt Sauer R
0-0 5.40 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
2B Tommy Edman S
CF Andy Pages R
LF M. Conforto L
65° Wind 10 mph Out
LA starting pitcher subject to change
04/29/25 Los Angeles Dodgers optioned RHP Noah Davis to Oklahoma City Comets.
04/29/25 Los Angeles Dodgers recalled RHP Matt Sauer from Oklahoma City Comets.
Watch Conforto catch fire in the #9 hole.
He’s due!
Jack Dreyer is starting the bullpen game for the Dodgers
https://x.com/Bnicklaus7/status/1917375748161298861
De Paula long HR
Don’t worry about the apparent “lack of starters” these bullpen games are a kind of audition
I’m still thinking about what some people are saying about how competitive the division will be… Do they really believe that? I don’t. What SF and SD have done “well” so far is just good luck. The same is true for LA, only the opposite: bad luck! At some point in the season, everyone will be healthy, and the waters will return to normal.
LA is changing the game.
Teams Don t need a “starter”.
Starters are completely obsolete.
They grab the best. Throw money at them.
LA uses the IL and bullpen pitchers to perfection.
LA haters only hope is if the bullpen falls apart.
But, they have 47 bullpen options! 😉
The Marlins absolutely stink.
Mail it in, Miami.
Haha
Bad team, man
Bad fucking team.
Vintage Barkley.
Meanwhile, Lux is hitting .352 and leading the National League.
Just saying
Mark wrote about Sauer in early March.
Every season the Dodgers seem to find another reliever that needs some polish and a tweak….
From Brasier to Banda and now Sauer.
Five innings, only one earned run. Scattered five hits. Zero walks, 4 Ks.
Conforto looks lost at the plate. He doesn’t even make hard contact. With his large contract of 17 million, the Dodgers will have to deal with it.Pages is working on stealing bases. Love it.
Imagine what we could do when (if) Max and Conforto come alive