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Dodgers: Should LA take a flier on free agent reliever Tony Sipp?
The Dodgers are still sorting through who could join Julio Urias as a lefty in the postseason bullpen. Should LA take a flier on Tony Sipp?
From now until the end of September, the Dodgers are in tryout mode in terms of their potential postseason bullpen. While Julio Urias is a lock for the postseason bullpen, assuming he is kept in a relief role, the competition is ongoing for which southpaw reliever will join him in the bullpen for October.
The club acquired Adam Kolarek at the trade deadline hoping that he could be the left-handed specialist or LOOGY that they seek. Kolarek very well could end up the LOOGY they think he is but it wouldn’t hurt the Dodgers to add some depth. Scott Alexander could miss the rest of the season and Caleb Ferguson hasn’t been able to repeat his 2018 form this season.
One potential option became available yesterday as the Washington Nationals released left-handed reliever, Tony Sipp. Sipp has had a bad season and currently has a 4.71 ERA (3.55 FIP) in 21 innings, although his season has been an odd one. At home, in Washington, Sipp has a 9.00 ERA and an opponent’s average of .302. Away from Washington, he was a different reliever posting an ERA of 0.82 and an opponent’s average of just .167.
With home-away splits like that yo would think he pitched at Coors Field. Overall he allowed an OPS of .666 against lefties and .609 against right-handed batters. Sipp’s stats are nothing great this season but he was very good in 2018 and perhaps could rebound if the Dodgers take a flier on him. The one thing working for him is that he has postseason experience including a WS ring from 2017.
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In 2018, Tony was very good as he pitched to an ERA of 1.86 and held the opposition to an average of exactly .200. Left-handed batters hit just .191 against Sipp last season while right-handed hitters hit .209. He also allowed just one home run across 38 2/3 innings last season. Even this year through his struggles, Tony Sipp has allowed just one home run.
One of the few missing pieces left for the Dodgers to figure out is who will be their lefty specialist. Julio Urias is far too valuable to use in a limited role such as a lefty specialist. Andrew Friedman is hoping that Adam Kolarek becomes the LOOGY but having another option in place would be smart given that there is no longer an August waiver trade deadline.
At this point in the Dodgers’ season, it wouldn’t hurt taking a flier on Tony Sipp. If he flops they could easily cut bait and let him back into free agency. If he performs well, then the Dodgers’ bullpen takes another step closer towards being postseason ready.
Next. Joe Kelly returns to World Series form. dark
With an insurmountable lead in the NL West, it wouldn’t hurt the team to try to find another low-risk high reward opportunity like Tony Sipp. The Dodgers have another intriguing option in Victor Gonzalez, but if they are not going to promote him, signing Sipp makes sense. After all, the Dodgers have so much to gain and really nothing to lose coming off of two straight World Series losses.