Dodgers: Constructing the ideal rotation for Los Angeles

Kenta Maeda

This was no doubt the hardest choice out of the other names on this list. In the end, my decision came down to Maeda’s track record and his contract. In reality, this spot will be rotated in and out as the Dodgers use the new 10-day DL to their advantage. But for the purposes of this article, the nod goes to King Kenta.

Kenta Maeda had us all worried sick when he came into to the new season looking awful. Through his first four games, he gave up 19 runs and 7 home runs. Since then he has had three starts in which he gave up a total of five runs. During this stretch, he almost had his first complete game shutout against the Pirates on May 10^th.

Currently, Kenta is on the disabled list and while his injury is in question, the 29-year-old will want to make as many starts as possible.  Kenta Maeda’s incentive-laden contract will make sure he gets as many starts as possible.

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Kenta will make $1 million if he reaches the 15 and 20 start barriers and $1.5 million for each of 25, 30, and 32 starts. He will also earn $250,000 whenever he hits 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, and 190 innings pitched and $750,000 for 200 innings.

By nothing more than respect and integrity for Kenta, the Dodgers will make Kenta their designated 5^th starter.

Like I said, this spot will be full of many different players as the team uses the disabled list, but Kenta gets the nod for this spot until someone else goes down with an “injury” to make room for another starter.

These Dodgers have a very good problem on their hands here and have been handling it very well. By utilizing the disabled list, the Dodgers keep their injury-prone players healthy and keep the hot hands in the rotation.

Next: Joc Pederson is the Weak Link

The rotation today will not be what it is next month, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s more of a sign that the team is full of strong options to take the mound for them every day.