Dodgers: Patience or Panic with Four Struggling Dodgers
By Ryan Vargas
Kenta Maeda
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Kenta Maeda had a solid start to his major league career last season, but the length of the regular season schedule got to him down the stretch. He faded fast and was not able to come through for the Dodgers in the postseason.
The biggest need for Maeda this offseason was to build stamina to withstand the long grueling season in the MLB. Coming over from Japan, Maeda was accustomed to the more extended rest in between starts. So far this season, it has been the Kenta down the stretch that has appeared for the Dodgers.
The righty is 4-3 with a 4.95 ERA this season and has been demoted to the bullpen as of late. This demotion was the right decision because he was not able to go deep into games and had already served up ten home runs in only about 50 innings of work.
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Maeda has not entered into a game since June 9th because Manager Dave Roberts does not seem to trust him in certain situations. Given his potential and lack of opportunities at the major league level, I believe that the Dodgers begin to entertain the idea of sending him down to AAA in an attempt to regain his form.