Dodgers’ 7 Disappointing Outcomes from Spring Training

The Dodgers have had an interesting Spring Training, to say the least. Too many players are already hurt or not showing much potential for the 2017 season.

Spring Training is all about getting into a rhythm and fine-tuning the rusty parts of your game. You have multiple breakout stars every year which you get excited and very hyped for but you have the opposite of that as well: Players disappointing and showing possible signs of regression due to poor play or injuries.

However, keep in mind that it is only Spring Training and nothing more. It is just a preseason so not too much stock should be put into the performances, good or bad. Even the great Clayton Kershaw has had his own disappointing preseasons. In 2013 he had a 4.18 ERA and in 2014 a 9.20 ERA during each respective Spring Training. Let that sink in, because in those two seasons he had sub-2 ERAs. However, Kershaw is otherworldly so he is not a fair example.

The message is that you should not worry too much about disappointing performances during the spring but rather be slightly cautious. With that being said, let’s take a look at the seven players who have produced the most disappointing outcomes of the 2017 spring.

Adrian Gonzalez

Adrian Gonzalez has had an off and on Spring Training thus far. At first, he was said to have something as minor as tennis elbow. He then went to go play in the World Baseball Classic for a few games, just to come back and have a sore elbow again. Gonzalez did play in Friday’s game, against the Diamondbacks, for the first time since leaving for the WBC.

Between Friday and Saturday’s games, Gonzalez went 3-6 with an RBI and a walk. Roberts has already let the media know that he plans on resting Gonzalez more this year than he did last. Gonzalez will be turning 35 this season and we have already seen his performance slowly start to decline. It’s hard to say how good of a season he will be capable of having due to injuries and time off.

However, just having the presence of someone like Gonzalez in the locker room is huge for the team. It’s hard to see the Dodgers getting rid of Gonzalez anytime soon, but with Cody Bellinger quickly making a name for himself, it’s pretty clear Gonzalez will be losing his starting job by 2018 (when his contract ends).

Depending on Gonzalez’s productivity, you never know what the Dodgers may try to do, considering they still need that power right-handed hitter. I don’t believe this is a huge possibility, but the Dodgers are in a win-now mode. If someone were to offer up the right price for the veteran first baseman, we may see Bellinger called up a little earlier than planned.

Scott Kazmir

It’s hard for me to call this one a disappointment because I have been done with Scott Kazmir for quite some time now. In his second start of spring, he was pulled in the second inning after only throwing one pitch. Roberts announced on Monday that Kazmir would begin the season on the DL due to his hip soreness. This is an injury we saw with Kazmir last season, so it could end up lasting longer than anyone expected it to.

Kazmir doesn’t deserve to be in the starting rotation but the Dodgers could still use him, whether it’s out of the bullpen or sending him down to further work on his mechanics. Kazmir showed dominance at times last season, so it would be nice to have him healthy just in case someone else ends up injured or needs an extra days rest. He would provide great insurance if he was firing on all cylinders.

This would be preferable than to pay a pitcher just to sit on the DL during the season. Unfortunately, the Dodgers overpaid for Kazmir from the start so there’s pretty much no possibility any team would be interested in him.

The Dodgers luckily have some depth for their starting rotation, so they will be fine for the time being until they figure out what’s really going on. Whether or not we ever see Kazmir play another game for the Dodgers will be up to Roberts. If the rotation stays healthy, I think Roberts will make plenty of fans happy by keeping Kazmir out of it.

Pedro Baez

A tough loss for the Dodgers is reliever Pedro Baez. Personally, I get nervous every single time he steps on the mound, but he has the potential to be great. Baez throws very hard and when he’s on, most guys can’t hit him. It’s the lack of movement on his pitches that hurts him the most.

He has been out for practically all of spring with a thumb injury he got while throwing live batting practice. At first, Roberts had said that this injury wasn’t serious and that Baez would be ready for Opening Day if needed. Now with Opening Day less than a week away, Roberts’ plan has been thrown a little off course and he might be losing another pitcher to the DL. This isn’t an injury to be too concerned about, as it seems like he just needs a little bit more time to allow it to heal.

The problem with Baez is he seems to crack whenever he is under pressure. He’s still very young, but this is also his third season with the Dodgers so he needs to start figuring that out. The Dodgers bullpen is always questionable, so losing a player like Baez is a much bigger deal than what many fans may think.

The Dodgers did pick up Sergio Romo, who will most likely pitch the eighth inning. However, Baez not being able to help out in the seventh or possibly even the eighth, every now and then, could hurt the Dodgers. As always, the Dodgers depth makes this a little less worrisome.

Rich Hill

At first, I wasn’t too concerned with Rich Hill’s performances coming out of spring because everyone knows that it’s just Spring Training. But when you’ve just re-signed the now 37-year-old veteran pitcher to $48 million, it’s easy to be worried and think whether we got lucky last season. In a sense, the answer is yes because 2016 was the best year of Hill’s career.

To see him come out of Spring Training making five starts, and putting up an ERA over 8.00 isn’t very comforting for most fans. This is how Hill’s springs usually go, though, so there is hope that this isn’t the Hill we’ll see all season. With Kazmir starting on the DL, the Dodgers need their rotation to stay healthy and be key players in each game. Losing another starting pitcher, even due to poor performance, would not be good for the Dodgers at all.

Hill has the potential to have a great year if he can replicate what he did last season. Some people even believe there’s a shot that Hill has a better ERA than Clayton Kershaw before the year ends.

For me personally, Hill was a lot of fun to watch pitch last season, especially in the playoffs. He showed so much passion and fire every time he came to the mound, not to mention how lucky we were to see two dominant pitchers like Hill and Kershaw go back-to-back games with the possibility of seeing 20+ strikeouts between two games.

I think Hill will come out of this just fine. He seems to feel a little better after every start and just needs to get his timing back. But as soon as he puts that Dodger Blue on for his first game of the season, I don’t think he’ll have any problem locking in.

Andre Ethier

This one hurt just for the fact that everyone loves Ethier. Ethier has played his whole big league career with the Dodgers and is a fan favorite. After missing almost the entire season last year, Dodger fans were excited to see him make a comeback. By the way, he was playing, it looked like he was ready for his comeback a long time ago.

Once he broke into Spring Training he went on a tear. He was posting great numbers with his bat, drawing plenty of walks, and also running the bases like he was in his 20’s again. It was a lot of fun to see the Ethier that we all fell in love with.

Unfortunately, things took a turn when Ethier hurt his back and he hasn’t played since. Roberts again doesn’t think that this injury is serious, but the same was also said about Kershaw last season when he eventually missed 10 weeks. Ethier’s injury may be a more mild version of Kershaw’s, but Ethier also has age going against him. Having a veteran like Ethier back in the lineup could help take some of the pressure to produce off the younger players like Joc Pederson and Corey Seager.

Ethier won’t be playing on Opening Day and may not even be an option for the first week or so. All of us are hoping for the best with Ethier. At the same time, any sports fan knows with age comes injury liability but hopefully, this will be the last of Ethier’s for some time so we can enjoy watching him play the game again.

Chris Hatcher

This one absolutely kills me. What I mean by that is I wish the Dodgers got rid of this disappointment a long time ago. In eight appearances this spring, Hatcher has given up seven earned runs. He’s also allowed a few of the inherited runners that were left on base for him to score, which defeats the purpose of bringing in a reliever in the first place.

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Last season Hatcher was a complete disaster for the Dodgers posting a 5.53 ERA. Even though the Dodgers bullpen isn’t always reliable, I feel like there’s just no place for Hatcher in it. Losing a reliever for most teams would hurt them. For the Dodgers, they may actually be doing themselves a favor if they got rid of him.

I was waiting for the “Dodgers DFA reliever Chris Hatcher” notification all off-season but it never came. Even his attitude on the field, when he is struggling or doesn’t get a call he likes, just isn’t a good look for the team. I would be very surprised if Hatcher actually breaks the Opening Day roster, although he may due to Baez being hurt. However, I couldn’t imagine him staying there very long. Unless a miracle happens, Hatcher’s days as a Dodger may come to a close here very soon. Or at least we can hope.

Most of these disappointments could easily be turned around once the season starts and may not even be an issue anymore. Seager, Gonzalez, Baez, and Ethier, if healthy, will all be big contributors to the team, which they all need to be. While players like Kazmir and Hatcher aren’t a big concern if they aren’t playing, the Dodgers are still paying them. For this reason, I hope they get it together. Hill, I think will be fine once the season begins and he’s back in LA.

Next: Best New Baseball Rivalry?

Now is the time for the disappointments to take place because in a few more days what they all did in Spring Training will no longer matter.