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4 Dodgers players who need to step up before it's too late
After what the Los Angeles Dodgers have endured through late June, it's almost a foregone conclusion changes are coming at the trade deadline. Fans already saw one minor domino fall this week when Tayler Scott was traded to the Red Sox for cash, which cleared up a roster spot for another reliever.
Speaking of the Dodgers bullpen, it's a major problem. Most might argue the team's positional depth is as well. The starting rotation is far from perfect. A lot of work needs to be done if the organization is serious about making a run in 2023.
Some problems can be solved internally, though. Someone like David Peralta rebounding after an awful first month to the season has been huge for the Dodgers on both sides of the ball. The team would perhaps like to see some situations fix themselves like this rather than watching Andrew Friedman have to do extensive dirty work to clean things up.
There's probably a month left before momentous changes are made, and these four Dodgers need to step up before it's too late. They could be on the chopping block in some manner if not.
4 Dodgers players who need to step up and resurrect their 2023 campaigns
Yency Almonte
If the Dodgers didn't have to conduct a makeover of the entire bullpen, that would sure be great. But players like Yency Almonte (even despite his recent run of form) have exacerbated that conversation. Almonte has a 6.03 ERA, 5.19 FIP and 1.44 WHIP in 32 games through Thursday's action. Not good at all.
His ERA is down nearly 2.5 runs since the beginning of May, but the Dodgers need Almonte to meet them somewhere in the middle with this year's performance and last year's performance (1.02 ERA, 3.17 FIP and 0.79 WHIP in 33 games). The Dodgers are seemingly on board with giving him as many chances as possible since they've allowed this (mostly) poor play to persist, and Almonte needs to turn it around before late July to ensure his spot on the roster.
Alex Vesia
Vesia was already optioned to Triple-A because of his unforeseen struggles and he's still yet to find a fix for what's been going on. His 7.58 ERA, 4.22 FIP and 2.42 WHIP are surely not major league stats and there's an argument to be had that he should be optioned again.
This one hurts most for the 'pen because of how impactful the left-hander had been the previous two seasons. He was the Dodgers' bulldog who got the team out of so many high-pressure situations. His emotion on the mound was electrifying. He was a nightmare for left-handed hitters.
But now he's a punching bag, for reasons unknown. Manager Dave Roberts says the team is "digging" for answers with Vesia, but time is not on their side. The advantage here is that Vesia has options remaining, so he can be stashed in Triple-A to work out his kinks if he can't get back on track.
The Dodgers have no desire to get rid of him, but he can't be in the bullpen for the entirety of this season if he's witnessing a complete 180 in his game to the point where he's unplayable.
Miguel Rojas
This offseason trade might've been ... really bad, despite our previous beliefs. When the Dodgers swapped top prospect Jacob Amaya for veteran Miguel Rojas in a deal with the Miami Marlins, it signaled the fact they didn't really believe in Amaya and that Rojas' versatility and clubhouse presence was more important (as evidenced by the extension he was given shortly after the deal).
Amaya has already gotten the call to MLB with Miami while Rojas is hitting .227 with a .535 OPS and 45 OPS+ while dealing with nagging injuries this season. His defense has been good, but his offensive contributions have subtracted 0.3 wins from the Dodgers.
Rojas' role was expanded unexpectedly when Gavin Lux went down for the season with a torn ACL and it's made the Dodgers' offseason decision look a lot worse. Even if Lux was healthy, LA had seen Rojas' bat declining for two seasons before making the trade.
This has now forced Mookie Betts to log infield reps, which, while it's been amazing to watch, probably isn't the best thing for the Dodgers. You don't really want your $365 million player jumping around the diamond to fill in where others are underperforming.
Would the Dodgers go as far as DFAing Rojas? Maybe not, but they can't afford to have a constant black hole in the lineup with how problematic their pitching staff has been as a whole.
Austin Barnes
In all seriousness, Dodgers fans are legitimately wondering what Austin Barnes' value to this roster is. Will Smith can catch Clayton Kershaw without issue, and the split stats don't show a discernible difference to give Barnes the nod.
Barnes bat has always been bad or below-average, but he's reached a new low in 2023. He has a -5 OPS+ heading into this weekend's series. He's hitting .107 across 30 games. His lone productive offensive season came in 2017, yet the Dodgers felt the need to give him a $7 million extension that kicked in this year. He's under contract through 2024 with a club option for 2025.
It was yet another failed micro investment from Andrew Friedman, a trend that's become rather disturbing when you realized how many of the low-risk, high-reward moves haven't panned out. They add up, and all the misses probably could've paid for one big-time, impact player.
Simply put, the Dodgers cannot have an active roster consisting of Rojas, Barnes, Trayce Thompson/Jonny DeLuca, and Chris Taylor. Taylor is probably where you draw the line: he stays because of his contract and versatility, but this many underachieving/inexperienced players can't possibly be part of the World Series equation.
The Dodgers have Hunter Feduccia at Triple-A and he's been raking. It's probably more worthwhile to give him a shot than watch Barnes wither away and not even make a difference when paired with the pitcher he was signed to catch.