Dodgers: A Christmas Wish List for Dodgers Santa

1. Someone to emerge as a replacement for Brandon Morrow

Dear Dodgers Santa,

The Dodgers could use a replacement for Brandon Morrow.  Morrow was a key member of the 2017 Dodgers and a big reason why they were able to get to the World Series.  He even appeared in all seven games of the series!  Morrow went 6-0 with a 2.06 ERA while not allowing a single home run during the regular season.  Although he faltered a bit in the World Series, that doesn’t rule out the fact he was the bridge to Kenley Jansen.

The Dodger have some internal options to replace Brandon Morrow.  Pedro Baez had a disastrous September that knocked him off the playoff roster, but before September, he had a very good season.   Overall he finished with a 2.95 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 64 innings.  If he could speed up his pace and not walk as many hitters, he is the favorite to emerge as the new eighth-inning setup man.

The Dodgers also have another pair of potential replacements in new signee Tom Koehler, and Yimi Garcia.  Koehler is an average starting pitcher, but after moving to the bullpen with the Blue Jays, he posted an ERA of 3.00 with eleven strikeouts in twelve innings.  He induces ground balls and could be a key member of the Dodgers 2018 bullpen, possibly even becoming the next bargain bin reliever to have a big season with the Dodgers.

Yimi Garcia is also going to return from Tommy John surgery.  Before his injury, Yimi was an emerging reliever who has a fastball with a lot of life.  He will still be 27 years old for most of the 2018 season so he is still a relatively young reliever who could become a key setup reliever for the Dodgers.  While the Dodgers could sign another reliever, they have a few internal options to replace Morrow.