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3 players on the Dodgers roster LA should move on from before playoffs
The Los Angeles Dodgers have one of the best records in the National League, and yet this season still feels like a slight disappointment. This was a team that was getting touted as one of the most talented in MLB history heading into the season, and the Boys in Blue have not played that way.
Part of the reason, outside of key injuries, is certain players not living up to expectations. While some players definitely deserve more time to figure it out and shouldn’t be moved on from for other reasons, there are players that the Dodgers should eventually cut bait with.
Andrew Friedman and Co. are always looking to innovate, and it does not matter if these players get replaced by trade deadline acquisitions or farm system call-ups. All that matters is the Dodgers moving on from them at some point during the 2022 season.
Here are 3 players on the Dodgers roster the team must move on from:
3. Hanser Alberto
The Los Angeles Dodgers brought in Hanser Alberto to be the team’s right-handed-hitting platoon bat, as that was something the team was greatly missing after trading A.J. Pollock and seeing Albert Pujols sign with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Alberto has not produced anywhere close to the level that Tio Albert was producing at last season, and has been a negative offensive presence whenever he is in the lineup. In fact, Alberto’s main contribution this season has been out of the bullpen, which is never a good thing for a bench bat.
Alberto is hitting .233 this season with a .599 OPS and a 64 OPS+, meaning that he is 36 percent below league average. His average against left-handed pitchers is decent at .255, but he does not walk and does not hit for power, as he has posted a .588 OPS against southpaws.
2. Phil Bickford
Phil Bickford has easily been the most disappointing member of the Dodgers’ bullpen this season. Bickford had a coming-out party last season in which he became one of the most reliable arms in the pen for Dave Roberts to call upon. This season has been different for Bickford, who has arguably been the worst member of the bullpen.
Even someone like David Price has added more value to the Dodgers, as he provides a left-handed presence and is actually pitching quite decently. Bickford gets used far more than Price does, but he is not proving that he deserves that much trust.
After posting a 2.50 ERA with the team last season, the 26-year-old right-hander has a 4.88 ERA this season in 24 innings pitched. That was after a solid start to the season as well. Over his last 20 innings pitched, Bickford has a 5.85 ERA.
The Dodgers are eventually going to get bullpen help, whether it be players returning from injury or relievers the team deals for at the trade deadline. The hope is that Blake Treinen returns at some point and, with another added reliever or two, Bickford becomes the obvious odd man out.
We are already starting to see the signs that the Dodgers might be looking to option Bickford, as he has not been getting the same high-leverage spots as he once was. That could simply be foreshadowing what is to come.
1. Justin Turner
Okay, this one is going to sting. The Los Angeles Dodgers should not move on from Justin Turner in the sense that they should trade him or release him. That makes no sense and, no matter what, he will be on the roster for the rest of the season.
However, the Dodgers need to move on from the idea that this is the same Justin Turner. That simply is not the case anymore, and there is no reason for Turner to be in the starting lineup nearly every single night.
Turner hasn’t just regressed, but he is actively making the team worse. It would be one thing if he played elite defense like Cody Bellinger, but he doesn’t. It would be easier to keep him starting if there wasn’t a prospect that is better than him waiting in the wings, but there is.
Outside of Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner is perhaps the biggest fan favorite on the Dodgers, and this is going to be a really hard thing for Dave Roberts to do. But if the team is still starting Turner nearly every night in October, then they are not showing a commitment to winning baseball games.
JT is hitting .217 with a .634 OPS and 75 OPS+. There are 131 players in the league that have logged at least 250 plate appearances this season. Turner ranks 121st in OPS and 124th in OPS+. Over 90% of the league is better at the plate than Turner this season, and the sample size is too large to ignore.
Miguel Vargas needs to be given his chance to play third base and hey, perhaps Turner could replace Alberto as being the Dodgers’ right-handed bench bat to come up in big moments.