3 risks Dodgers can still take to upgrade their bullpen

Alex Reyes, RHP

How has ... nobody bitten on former St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Alex Reyes yet?

It was just 2021 that Reyes, now in the bullpen full-time and still just 26 years old, managed to make the NL All-Star team. He threw 72.1 innings across 69 appearances -- truly throwing his starter past into the waste bin -- and struck out many (95) while walking many (52!!!).

What's holding up his market -- and what led to his non-tender -- is the shoulder injury that knocked his entire 2022 season off the map. Shoulders are finicky in the same way that elbow injuries are somewhat predictable. If Tommy John knocks a pitcher out, it's a massive bummer, but eventually, after thorough rehab, the stuff typically returns. After a few weeks or months of game action, so does the command. Boom. Back to your old self.

If a pitcher like Reyes, who relies on velocity and doesn't have phenomenal command to begin with, experiences shoulder issues, he might return diminished when all's said and done. That damage might be permanent.

Still ... the Dodgers bullpen is packed with unknowns. Is Yency Almonte now a staple? Is Daniel Hudson going to recover nicely from a torn ACL? Will Shelby Miller be ... anything? Adding Reyes wouldn't be a departure from their current strategy. It'd be par for the course, and his price appears to be dropping with every passing day.

Still just 28, too.