Relief Help On The Way?

I have not been shy about stating how I feel about the bullpen.  And I do understand that recognizing that there may be a problem and doing something about it can be and often is two different things.  Maybe with the way the starting pitching is performing, this will become less of an issue, but I prefer to plan rather than to react.

I have never disagreed with Mark about how fickle a reliever can be, but at the same time I also recognize that there are some seasons where the reliever is on and it is best to ride that horse while you can.  During the season, I would much rather trade for a reliever who was having a good season at the deadline rather than for a reliever who was not having a productive season.  We know that did not happen last year, and while I do not blame the bullpen for the WS loss, the team sure did not have a reliever who could have helped.

2019 is a different season, and to Mark’s point some of the pitchers who were hot last year are not so hot this year, and this year brings a new list of potential trade deadline candidates who are having good 1^st halves.  I have my favorites, but I have no doubt that many of them will not be available, and some are in the NL West, specifically with the Giants, who will not trade with the LAD.

As an aside, after the 2017 season, the Dodgers had a choice of adding Scott Barlow to the 40-man roster or letting him become a FA.  I was very disappointed that the Dodgers did not select Barlow and said so at the time.  The Royals signed him and added him to the 40-man roster. Later in the offseason the Dodgers traded with the same Royals organization for Scott Alexander.  The cost was Trevor Oaks and Erick Mejia.  Oaks is out due to hip surgery and Mejia is having a fine season at AAA with Omaha Storm Chasers.  Alexander was supposed to be a big-time ground ball pitcher to come in for DP.  Unfortunately what the Dodgers have primarily seen is the wild side of Scott.  I was not then nor am I now upset with the trade.  Meanwhile Scott Barlow is now one of the better relievers thus far in the AL.  14 games, 20.1 IP, 8 BB, 30 K, 1.77 ERA, and 0.984 WHIP.  No blown saves or blown holds.  He has inherited 15 runners and only 3 have scored.  In 5 games thus far in May, Barlow has come in with runners on in 4 of them; 1 with bases loaded, 2 with 2 runners on, and once with 1 runner on.  None of those runners have scored.  Can Dylan Floro and his 0.50 ERA say the same?

As Mark mentioned earlier, I was an advocate for Detroit’s Shane Greene during the off-season.  I have zero idea if the Dodgers pursued him or not.  I just believed he was a good late inning candidate, and he has proven to be so.  In contrast, I was also a huge advocate for Jose Leclerc, and he has been miserable thus far.  I would still be in favor of acquiring Leclerc at an appropriate cost. I also believed that Jesen Therrien would be a huge add on by June. I have no idea what is up with him. Others that I was in favor of at the time who will not be available this year…Ryan Pressly, Taylor Rogers, Brad Brach…The team is going to need to ride the bullpen until July when AF can determine whether there will be a reliever available better than what the team has.  I am not in favor of making a change just for the sake of change.

One other way of improving the bullpen is thru internal possibilities.  I thought I would take a look at what opportunities may exist in the Dodgers farm system…FOR THIS YEAR.   

I am not a strong advocate of taking a starting pitcher in the middle of a year and making them a relief pitcher.  I know it can work, but more often it does not.  I do recall a very bad Walker Buehler as a reliever in 2017.  Besides the Dodgers do not need a multi-inning reliever, which is where a starter would generally be reserved for.  The Dodgers have at least two in Stripling and Ferguson, and one potential depending on whether Urias goes to the rotation or stays in the bullpen.  If in the rotation, That would probably be a rotation of Buehler, Kershaw, Ryu, and Urias.  That makes 3 starting pitchers and probably 4 (Maeda and Hill joining Strip and Ferguson).  Still no late inning lock down reliever.  You could replace Hill for Urias, but then you have the same issue.

So who are the potential relievers from the farm.  Consider that the Dodgers will keep 9 relievers, besides the long men of Strip, Ferguson, Maeda, Urias or Hill.  That leaves 5 of Pedro Baez, Dylan Floro, Yimi Garcia, Joe Kelly, Tony Cingrani, Scott Alexander, and Kenley Jansen.  Who can the Dodgers look to in their organization to make that bullpen better

On the 40 man:

Dennis Santana  – Tough year thus far.  May need to make a decisions as to start or relief.

Adam McCreery – Closer to being DFA than added to roster.  Long shot at best.

JT Chargois – More likely than McCreery, but management does not seem to trust him.

Jaime Schultz – Is he better than anyone on the current roster?

Brock Stewart – Been there done that.  You can fool me four times, but not five times. 

Yadier Alvarez – By far the biggest disappointment in the entire organization.  Million-dollar arm and a one-dollar heart.

Josh Sborz – I would still like to see what he can do.  He was up for several days and did not get in.  Why???  13 games, 15.1 IP, 4 BB and 23 K, 5.28 ERA, and 1.43 WHIP.  Josh has been scored on in 5 of the 13 games including one horrendous outing where he allowed 6 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk, in 0.1 IP.  Take that game out, and the numbers get a little more reasonable.  But you do not get to do that.

Not on the 40 man but could be if needed:

AAA:

Joe Broussard – No better than Josh Ravin, Adam Liberatore, Grant Dayton, Jacob Rhame.  Organizational depth reliever.

Zach McAllister – Has not pitched well and is currently on the IL (?).

Stetson Allie – Just like Shea Spitzbarth a couple years back, seems to be a ST wonder, but cannot sustain it over a long season.  Saying that he is pitching poorly would be kind.

Kevin Quackenbush – A lesser John Axford.

Tony Gonsolin – IL and let him continue to start.  He does not need to be rushed.  Keep remembering Walker Buehler 2017.

Mitchell White – Is having a great rebound year. Let him keep doing what he is doing.  See Tony Gonsolin.

Other organizational depth – Daniel Corcino, Justin Grimm, Louis Head, Luis Vazquez, and Rob Zastryzny

AA:

Marshall Kasowski – He has a one pitch arsenal, but it is a good one with a quirky delivery.  Still has command and control issues, but of the relievers, he is closest to being someone who could at least apply for the role at the MLB level.  He should be moved to OKC and move some of the dead weight out.  The team is going nowhere, so why not push a legit prospect.

Jordan Sheffield – He was my dark horse at the beginning of the year, and he has not disappointed.  He pitched superbly in his first AA outing.  If he continues to pitch well in Tulsa, he should get a quick boost to AAA and possibly a September audition.  Jordan continues to be my dark horse.

Shea Spitzbarth – Is having a good year at AA.  IMO, he is like a younger Broussard and is organizational reliever depth.  However, he is young enough to continue to push.  I would like to see him get pushed to AAA.

Nolan Long/Parker Curry – Multi inning relievers.  Curry is now starting. 

Michael Boyle – Has been a surprising disappointment of late.  I was hoping that he would have a good year and get a September look.  It does not appear that he will.

Wills Montgomerie – He will be 24 next month and has pitched brilliantly at RC in long relief.  He has apparently been promoted to AA Tulsa, but additional roster changes still need to be made.  I am excited to see what he can do at AA.

Other organizational depth – Layne Somsen, Chris Nunn, Michael Bowden, and Yordy Cabrera.

Miscellaneous Relief:

Kenley Jansen – For those of you who believe that adding Craig Kimbrel is a possible solution, here is what Jansen has to say on the subject:

Jansen, the Dodgers established closer, said he wouldn’t mind Kimbrel as a teammate. 

“Why not?” Jansen told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. “We want to win a championship, right?”  But Jansen also made it clear that he wasn’t ready to give up the closing role to Kimbrel.  “That’s what I get paid for,” Jansen told Hernandez. “I get paid for closing ballgames. Why should I have to do anything different? That’s my question. It doesn’t make any sense.”

It does not look positive for a Jansen/Kimbrel duo.

Joe Kelly – What has changed with Joe Kelly post FA signing – One baseball writer wrote:

One major change the Dodgers have made with Kelly is they are having him throw his changeup more than he ever has. He’s using it 24.1 percent of the time, which is 13.1 percent more than his career average. His changeup has also graded as his worst pitch by Fangraphs’ runs above average stat.

When Kelly was dominant, he was relying heavily on his high-spin curveball and fastball, then mixing in his changeup. This combo was effective at getting swinging strikes for Kelly. Now, batters are making 10 percent more contact on pitches outside of the zone and 8.3 percent more contact on pitches inside the zone. His total swinging strike rate has dropped 3.4 percent from last season.

His fastball velocity still ranks in the 98th percentile of major league pitchers and his curveball spin also ranks in the 98th percentile. He has two great pitches that are being used less in favor of a worse one.

Kelly is a case of multiple things going wrong at the same time. He has been unlucky, he hasn’t executed his pitches, and he has made a change that hasn’t worked. A lot of his numbers look worse due to his small sample of work, but it’s clear their new usage plan for Kelly hasn’t been working. Luckily for Kelly and the Dodgers, there is still hope for him.

Besides for having patience while waiting for his luck to turn around, the Dodgers need to let Kelly go back being a single-inning reliever who relies on his fastball and curveball combo. When that happens, the Dodgers might have the reliever they thought they signed.

Maybe Shane Greene, but I do not know who else will become available. I do not see a savior in any of the affiliates. It looks like the Dodgers are going to need to make due with who they have.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT by AC

OKC 9 – Omaha Storm Chasers 11 (KC)

Welcome to the PCL Mitchell White. With three singles and a walk followed by a 2 out grand slam, White had surrendered 5 runs in his 1st inning. After the 1st, he had an excellent 3 innings allowing only 1 single before he hit the wall in the 5th. After one out, he gave up a single and 2 doubles for 2 more runs before he was done for the night. Adam McCreery and Justin Grimm did not help matters as they combined to allow 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 1.1 IP. Stetson Allie, Louis Head, and Shaggy mopped up with three shutout innings.

Cameron Perkins went 3-5 with 2 doubles (12). Will Smith (6) and Zach Reks (2) each hit HRs for the Dodgers.

Tulsa Drillers 4 – Arkansas Travelers 5 (Mariners)

Logan Bawcom started and pitched 4.0 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 6 hits. Parker Curry followed and in 1.2 IP he surrendered 1 run on 3 hits. Michael Boyle and Marshall Kasowski each pitched 1.2 shutout innings. Boyle had 3 Ks and Kasowski had 4. Somsen surrendered the unearned run in the 10th for the loss. With a runner on starting on 2nd, a groundout and a sac fly, and the winning run came across. The Drillers could not answer in their half of the 10th.

Cristian Santana went 3-5 with a double (6). Cody Thomas also went 3-5 with a triple (3). Gavin Lux, Keibert Ruiz, and Angelo Mora each had 2 hits. Ruiz now has his average up to .286.

RC Quakes 3 – Modesto Nuts 10 (Mariners)

It is hard to win a game when you have more errors (5) than hits (4). Edwin Uceta pitched 5.2 innings and gave up 3 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits. He did not allow a walk but did get 7 strikeouts. Connor Strain followed with .2 IP and surrendered 1 run after the batter he walked came home to score with a bunch more when Wes Helsabeck relieved. 6 runs on 5 hits. The one bright spot for the Quakes was Melvin Jimenez going 1.1 innings in his 2019 debut. He had 1 hit, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts.

The Quakes had 4 singles, 2 by Jeter Downs who now has his average up to .252. In his last 10 games, Downs is batting .395 (17/43) with 2 HRs and 10 RBI.

Great Lakes Loons 4 – West Michigan White Caps 3 (Tigers)

The Tigers scored four runs in the 5th with 2 outs on 2 walks, an RBI single by Miguel Vargas, an RBI single by Hunter Feduccia, and a 2 run double by Niko Hulsizer. That was all the Loons needed. Stephen Kolek started and wen 5.2 innings allowing all three runs on 5 hits. Joel Inoa and Brett de Geus finished up the final 3.1 innings with only one hit allowed.