Dodgers: 3 bullpen roster swaps LAD should already consider

2. Gerardo Carrillo for Alex Vesia

Another recent addition to the Dodgers ‘pen that just … isn’t quite working. We’re sorry! It isn’t.

In conjunction with White, Vesia was a big part of the dysfunction we watched last weekend in Milwaukee, and things haven’t exactly settled since. Even one of the Dodgers’ rare wins during this bleak period was a 13-0 game that became 14-11 in several blinks of the eye.

In three innings, Vesia’s ERA sits at an even 9.00, and his WHIP is a remarkably elevated 1.667. The barrel percentage is an elevated 16.7%, the hard-hit percentage sits at 50% … we haven’t enjoyed the cameo thus far, and Vesia’s 2020 was even worse.

Give us the 22-year-old, 5-7, 170-pound Carrillo, who’s gone seven innings thus far at Double-A (one start, one relief appearance), whiffing 12 in the process. Yes, this is Carrillo’s first cameo above Single-A. Yes, his promotion would be unorthodox. But we already know Vesia soaks up innings at best and soaks up loose gasoline at worst. Carrillo could be so much more valuable.

Carrillo, ranking 18th on the Dodgers’ Top 30 list, is projected to land at the MLB level at some point during 2021. Why not now?! If not now, when? We’re asking for dramatic shakeups. Something has to change prior to late August when Tommy Kahnle shows up. Let’s turn this bullpen off, plug it in, and recharge it.