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3 Dodgers who will benefit most from teammates playing in World Baseball Classic
The 2023 World Baseball Classic is officially underway and there are several players from the Los Angeles Dodgers that are representing their respective countries in the tournament.
Mookie Betts and Will Smith are representing USA, Freddie Freeman is representing Canada, Julio Urias and Austin Barnes are representing Mexico, and Trayce Thompson is representing Great Britain. Players not on the 40-man roster that are playing in the WBC include Jose Ramos (Panama), Adam Kolarek (Israel), and Liam Doolan (Australia).
This is going to be great theatre for baseball fans around the world, but unlike the Premier League with the World Cup, MLB is not stopping action for the tournament. There are still Spring Training games to play and several players on the Dodgers roster will benefit from their teammates going to the WBC.
3 Dodgers who will benefit the most from more playing time thanks to the World Baseball Classic
3. Diego Cartaya
Both Dodgers catchers on the active roster are going to the WBC, so top prospect Diego Cartaya is going to get plenty of time to get his feet wet against MLB-level competition. Cartaya is not going to make the MLB roster any time sooner than September, but this will be a great chance for him to get reps and for Dodgers fans to become familiar with him.
Cartaya is the 14th-ranked prospect in baseball on MLB Pipeline and is yet another example of the Dodgers cashing in with talent behind the plate. In 95 MiLB games last season Cartaya slashed .254/.389/.503 with 22 home runs and 72 RBI.
While he's produced at a high level in the minors, there's reason to believe that he's only going to get better. Cartaya is still just 21 and won't turn 22 until September. If the 21-year-old can succeed in his Spring Training chances, then it will be a great sign for his big-league future.
2. Michael Busch
Michael Busch has somehow become the top Dodgers prospect that fans have forgotten about. Busch is a top-100 prospect in the sport and is the fourth-ranked prospect in the Dodgers farm system ... but he's not getting the intrigue that other young players are this spring.
This is surprising considering that all Busch has done in his pro baseball career is rake. In 142 games split between AA and AAA last season, Busch slashed .274/.365/.516 with 32 home runs and 108 RBI. Sure, his strikeout rate was a bit high (26%), but that's the nature of the sport in 2023.
Busch probably wasn't even going to make the Opening Day roster until Gavin Lux tore his ACL. The Dodgers losing a left-handed hitting infielder for the season opened the door for another, and now Busch is going to have a chance to shine.
Freeman playing in the WBC is going to cause the Dodgers to do some creative things at first base for the time being. Busch has played some first base in his minor-league career and could showcase his ability to be versatile in the infield.
Not only that, but the Dodgers could end up playing Max Muncy at first base more, moving Miguel Vargas to his more natural third base to give Busch some reps at second. Heck, Busch has never played third as a pro baseball player but I wouldn't put it past the Dodgers to try him there too.
The 25-year-old is big-league ready and has only gotten 11 at-bats up to this point in Spring Training. He should get far more than that with his teammates in the WBC.
1. Jason Heyward
The Dodgers are sending multiple outfielders to the WBC, giving the team more of an excuse to dish out more reps to Jason Heyward, James Outman, Andy Pages and Jonny DeLuca.
Some may say that Outman and DeLuca are the big winners of this, as they're going to get extended playing time against big-league talent. However, Outman should already be a lock to at least get an Opening Day roster spot (and probably should start). Meanwhile, Pages and DeLuca likely aren't in the running to be on the Opening Day roster regardless of their place on the 40-man roster.
Sure, getting big-league reps will help in the same way as it will develop Cartaya, but the outfielder who benefits the most is undoubtedly Jason Heyward. He's arguably been the biggest story of Spring Training for the Dodgers thus far as they may have unlocked something with his swing.
Heyward has already been getting decent playing time and has done well at the plate: 4-for-12 with two home runs and two walks. It's a small sample size, but the results have been promising.
Opening up playing time in the outfield will give the Dodgers a bigger runway to determine if Hayward's resurgence is legit. If so, it will be time to figure out how to make room for him on the Opening Day roster.