Dodgers: Biggest Position Battles to Watch This Spring

The Dodgers have a lot of depth coming into this season. There are plenty of position battles to watch this Spring. Here are the best battles to watch out for.

The Dodgers got their first look against live competition this past weekend in Arizona. There were several takeaways from the first few games, including the top of the rotation dominance and the display of upside by the young prospects.

Spring training is the opportunity for young players to prove themselves against higher competition. But it’s also the time to settle position battles among players already on the 40-man roster. Here are some position battles to look out for this spring.

8th inning, Set-up role

With Joe Blanton signing with the Nationals earlier this week the Dodgers need to figure out who will fill the void. Dave Roberts has already expressed interest in managing the setup role as players by committee job. Let’s dive into the players competing for this role.

Sergio Romo

The Dodgers elected to move on from Blanton and signed Romo to a heavily incentivized deal. The signing of Romo presumingly put him as the frontrunner to bridge the way to Kenley Jansen. Romo is coming off of a good season last year with the Giants but only appeared in 40 games. Romo’s career success against right-handers and postseason experience is what intrigued the Dodgers this offseason. In his career, Romo has held righties to a .185 batting average with over 400 strikeouts. His slider is a nice change of style from Jansen’s dominant cutter.

Pedro Baez

Baez solidified himself this past postseason by only allowing 2 earned runs in 7 appearances. He’s a hard-throwing right-hander who is coming off a solid season last year. Baez had a 3.04 ERA in 73 appearances with a 10 K/9 ratio, including 23 holds. His issue is that his high 1.34 HR/9 rate brings nervousness to all Dodger fans.

Adam Liberatore

Liberatore could be another option. He held the role in the early part of the season and finished the year with 13 holds. Liberatore had a great start to his rookie season before getting injured. He only allowed 2 earned runs in his first 33 innings pitched, before undergoing elbow surgery. Liberatore will most likely be used in high-pressure situations against lefties. But his success early on should put his name in the conversation.

Honorable mentions:

Louis Coleman, Grant Dayton

Outfield

The biggest question heading to Camelback Ranch is — What will Dave Roberts do with all the outfielders? A simple enough question doesn’t have a simple answer at this point. The Dodgers currently have 9 outfielders on their active roster and every one of those 9 has a glitch to their game.

Joc Pederson

If there’s one sole assumption it’s at center field with Joc Pederson. Pederson is a gold glove caliber centerfielder and is still too young to give up on his potential. Pederson’s flaw is his struggles against left-handers. Last year, Pederson hit .178/.275/.324 in over 200 plate appearances against lefties. I think platooning him against lefties only marginalizes his ceiling and will hurt the Dodgers in the long run. But with all the options Roberts has, it’s tough to not see him platooning Pederson.

Yasiel Puig

The glory days of the 2013 “wild horse,” Yasiel Puig are far behind us. Puig is an electrifying, can’t miss player because of his ability to make amazing plays. But since 2013, Puig continues to disappoint Dodger fans.

Puig’s power, arm, and speed could without a doubt help the team. If Puig could regain a shade of his 2013 form he would take the Dodgers to the next level.

But my argument is, maybe Puig doesn’t have to be a Mike Trout-like superstar. If Puig could turn into a consistent everyday player he would help fulfill a huge void that hurt the Dodgers last season, hitting against lefties.

Last year we saw Puig hit the lowest point of his career by being demoted to the minors. But when Puig returned later in the season he showed brief flashes of the potential he showed back in 2013. Granted, he returned in a platoon role but had an OPS of .900 in the final 23 games of the season. It’s time to temper expectations for Puig and evaluate him as an everyday player, not an everyday superstar.

Andre Ethier

Ethier is the longest tenured Dodger on the roster. At 34-years-old and possibly entering his last season in a Dodger uniform, Ethier has a lot to play for this season. With all that said, Ethier likely has a leg up on his competition, if he’s healthy.

Ethier is coming back from a broken leg that made him miss most of the last season. If healthy, Ethier has proven to be a professional hitter who can play a prominent role off the bench or at the top of the lineup. He may not have the most upside of the group, but Ethier’s tenure and experience have (in my opinion) solidified a spot in left field if he proves to be healthy.

Andrew Toles

What more can be said about a surprise minor leaguer that helped the Dodgers clinch their 4th consecutive NL West division title? All Toles did in his 48 games was hit .314 with 3 Home Runs and 19 runs scored. Toles was a pleasant surprise last year, but he’ll have to prove it this spring by outplaying the veterans in the club if he wants to crack the starting lineup.

Franklin Gutierrez

One of the most under the radar signings the Dodgers made this offseason. Gutierrez is a veteran bat that fills a void that cursed the Dodgers all season long. The 34-year-old veteran outfielder hit .280 with 12 Home Runs and 32 RBI against left-handed pitching last season. Gutierrez is a spot start outfielder that can be used as a pinch hitter against lefties. As a Dodger fan, I like seeing Friedman making moves to address the team’s hitting issues last season.

Scott Van Slyke

Van Slyke seems to be the odd man out every year. With injuries plaguing his season last year, Van Slyke only appeared in 52 games. Van Slyke provides value to the club by playing both corner outfield spots and first base. He’s been one of the most reliable pinch hitters, but he’ll need to improve against lefties if he wants to crack the starting lineup.

Honorable mentions:

Trayce Thompson – Coming back from a serious back injury that ended his 2016 season. Thompson needs to prove he’s healthy before making an impact in the big leagues.

Kike Hernandez – The swiss army knife for the Dodgers this season. Hernandez will likely find most of his playing time giving Seager an occasional day off.

Back End of the Rotation

I’ve talked about solving the rotation questions in an article last week. The more news that comes out of Spring Training the less likely they are to throw Urias in the fourth slot of the rotation.

According to David Vassegh, it’s looking more likely that we will not see Urias in the majors until March at the earliest! Should those reports be true, the move is primarily to save Urias’ innings for the postseason stretch.

We already know about the top half of the rotation. Barring any injuries, the rotation will likely be Kershaw, Hill, Maeda, Kazmir, McCarthy. With Ryu and Urias starting the season in the minors and Wood starting the season out of the bullpen.

McCarthy is really looking to have a healthy season for his first time with the Dodgers. Kazmir was productive last year and looks to eat up innings while we wait for Urias to take his spot in the rotation. Both have been plagued by injuries and are average even at their best.

The Dodgers have a lot of depth in their rotation and their rotation may get even better with time. The only concern for me here is if we use up all of Urias’ innings before the postseason.

Next: Addressing the Starting Rotation Questions

Honorable mentions:

Julio Urias, Alex Wood