Dodgers: How Long Will the Front Office Wait to Make a Move?

The Dodgers will wake up Tuesday morning glad that the calendar is flipped to May.  The Dodgers month of April could not have gone any worse.  After numerous injuries, May could be even worse.

The Dodgers finished the month of April going 12-16.  While it is not the first time they have struggled in the first month of the season, this time it is far more serious.  Corey Seager is out for the season after Tommy John surgery, Yasiel Puig is on the DL, and Justin Turner is yet to appear in a regular season game for the Dodgers this season.  Logan Forsythe has also been on the disabled list which makes it four starters from last year’s World Series team that are out.

Excluding the pitcher’s spot that is exactly half of the Dodgers position players from last year that are out.  While Turner, Puig, and Forsythe figure to return within the next two weeks, Seager will not be back this year.  That puts the Dodgers in an interesting situation even though the season is still in its earlier stages.

The Dodgers 12-16 record leaves them eight games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  While it’s early that is still a pretty nice lead for the Dbacks to have after one month.  The Dodgers still have five more games left with Arizona in May so the Dodgers could either claw themselves back into the division race or fall into an even deeper hole.  That brings up the question of how long do Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi wait until they trade for reinforcements?

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Zaidi has said that the Dodgers will give their internal options the first crack at the starting shortstop role which is a good call.  The Dodgers front office wants to give their current players the gratification of knowing they are trusted.  Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor will get the majority of the starts at shortstop while Alex Verdugo and Joc Pederson will start in centerfield.

The other issue the front office faces is where do they upgrade?  The Dodgers bullpen was one of their main strengths last season but this season their ERA is approaching almost five.  Pedro Baez has continued to be awful since last September and Josh Fields and Tony Cingrani are working through their own struggles.  Even the dominating Kenley Jansen has struggled to begin the season.

Next: The Kiké Hernandez conundrum

The Dodgers could use upgrades at shortstop or centerfield, wherever they don’t plan on starting Chris Taylor and they could also use a bullpen arm or two to bolster their bullpen.  Whichever direction the front office chooses to go in, their clock is ticking.  The Dodgers are already eight games back in the division and while they have done this in previous seasons, this years team is not as strong without Corey Seager for the rest of the year.