3 overlooked Dodgers who deserve more credit for keeping issues from snowballing

The Los Angeles Dodgers haven't always looked like a well-oiled machine of late. While the club has righted the ship, taking care of the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates with consecutive sweeps, some of the the issues that were present during the club's seven-game losing streak earlier in August, as well as the lackluster showing against the Milwaukee Brewers persist.

While there are concerns, things would be so much worse if not for a trio of unsung heroes, who have stepped up and prevented things from getting out of hand. Each of these three guys have either righted a wrong or prevented things from spiraling completely out of control.

They're deserving of more recognition, and could have things looking even brighter when and if the Dodgers get their act together and completely clean up these weaknesses.

These three Dodgers have prevented weaknesses from becoming true emergencies

Edgardo Henriquez is stabilizing the back of the bullpen

Los Angeles has had lots of issues in the back end of the bullpen this season. Much of the focus has been on Edwin Diaz's struggles in between IL stints, and rightfully so. However, Evan Phillips struggled mightily once he returned to action, and Alex Vesia has a 5.27 ERA since the All-Star break. The Dodgers needed some stability.

Enter Edgardo Henriquez. All the young flamethrower has done is get outs since getting opportunities, and 2026 marks the first time he's gotten extended big league run. The right-hander as put his spring training struggles behind him, posting a 2.91 ERA over 52⅔ innings.

Now, he's beginning to get chances to perform in high-leverage situations, and though it's only been eight innings this season, Henriquez has been unhittable, yielding just an .048 batting average against.

Alex Call has quietly mitigated outfield production woes

The Dodgers have really been hurting for some outfield production. Kyle Tucker's confidence is shot, and Teoscar Hernandez's pop has nearly disappeared completely. The corner outfield spots are typically where the big boppers reside, but not in LA.

That brings us to Alex Call. The reserve outfielder was acquired at last year's trade deadline to provide additional depth in the outfield, but this year was the subject of trade rumors. Fortunately, cooler heads have prevailed, and Call is still here.

The 31-year-old has quietly put up an .867 OPS against southpaws this season, putting forth some semblance of production. At a certain point, one has to wonder when Dave Roberts sits Tucker down for good against lefties and let's Call mash. The offense would be all the better for it.

Hunter Feduccia has exceeded expectations

The trade deadline saw Andrew Friedman go out and get not one, but two catchers in an attempt to avoid disaster as Dalton Rushing joined Will Smith on the IL. Both Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia have familiarity with Los Angeles, but neither was expected to be an adequate threat in the batter's to hold the club over until Smith was ready to return.

Perception and reality are two different things, however, and in a star-studded environment, Feduccia has performed well. It's only been a short sample of 16 games and 38 plate appearances, but the former Tampa Bay Ray is slashing .235/.316/.382, which is good for a 95 wRC+.

That sort of offensive performance from a catcher is gold, and with Smith set to begin a rehab assignment, the Dodgers will have gotten exactly what they needed out of Feduccia.

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