Dodgers: With ‘Beaty-ed’ Breath, Awaiting the Coming Roster Crunch

The Dodgers are set to add a few familiar faces to the active roster today when they will welcome back super-utility men Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernandez, who both completed their rehab assignments.

Plus, don’t forget that Jedd Gyorko, the latest one from the Friedman grab bag of utility and platoon bats acquired at the 2019 Trade Deadline, is currently on the active roster as well. And along similar lines, so is new fan-favorite Kris Negrón.

So what to do about yet another impending roster crunch?

Luckily, I am not being paid to come up with an answer, but Dave Roberts is, and for once I am not envious of his position. How do you slot back in clubhouse regulars and fan favorites into a roster filled to the brim with emerging and exciting regulars and fan favorites?

Wouldn’t it be hard to tell Matt Beaty and his .341 August batting average that he had to ride the pine against lefties now in favor of CT3 or Kiké, neither of whom have been particularly important or impactful in 2019? Or even to tell “Negrón James” that his .250 AVG and stellar defense wherever he was asked to play were not enough to warrant keeping his 33-year old name on the 25-man roster?

No matter what the decision, it will be a tough one. That’s why I decided to peel back the layers of the increasingly complex and, well, layered, defensive and offensive compilation of seemingly incongruous pieces that make up the Dodger offense (and don’t even get me started on the whacky action coming out of the bullpen and starting rotation in recent days).

First, I’ll look at where Taylor and Hernandez should be playing, and then where Beaty and Negron (and I guess Gyorko…) should be playing, and then I’ll compare the two and try to provide some potential lineups and defensive arrangements.

Let’s get into it.