Dodgers quick hits: Kenta Maeda, Gavin Lux, Julio Urias

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 28: Kenta Maeda #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the frist inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on August 28, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 28: Kenta Maeda #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the frist inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on August 28, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 28: Kenta Maeda #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the frist inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on August 28, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Prior to Monday’s game a flurry of Dodgers news came out regarding the status of Julio Urias, Gavin Lux, and Julio Urias.

On Monday afternoon, a flurry of news came out for the Dodgers.  To begin, Kenta Maeda will be in the bullpen for Monday’s game and going forward.  The move makes sense since Kenta Maeda will once again pitch out of the bullpen in October.  This season, Kenta has thrown just one inning of relief and it was a scoreless inning.

In 2018, Maeda pitched 17 2/3 innings of relief posting an ERA of 3.57 with an opponent’s average of .269.  While that doesn’t sound overly impressive, he did have a strikeout rate of 13.2 K/9IP.  Dave Roberts also said that Maeda could be a candidate to close some games out with Kenley Jansen pitching once per series, regardless of the situation.

Transitioning Kenta Maeda to the bullpen now is a great move, it gives him a full month to transition back into the bullpen before pitching there in the postseason.  Given that he has limited right-handed batters to a .161 average as a starter this season, he should be very effective out of the bullpen against right-handed hitters.