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Dodgers Roster Projections 2.0: Who makes the Opening Day roster?
And we've already got one big change because Gavin Lux will be out for the entire 2023 after tearing his ACL. What's next for the Los Angeles Dodgers now that they've gone from Corey Seager to Trea Turner to Lux to Miguel Rojas?
The upcoming campaign was already going to be a challenge with all the lost talent, and swapping in different influential voices atop the locker room hierarchy. Losing your starting shortstop, who was a hopeful breakout candidate, is a death knell for most other teams.
But even with a "bleaker" picture for 2023, the Dodgers still have some respectable depth. It might be a "problem" for their standards, but it's still better than most ... even though much has changed since our first version of the Opening Day roster projections.
The start of the season is three weeks away, and some players you didn't think ever really had a shot of contributing might actually hold important roles. That's after ONE full week of Spring Training, too.
Dodgers Roster Projections 2.0: Jason Heyward, Welcome to Opening Day!
The Dodgers have a depth issue for the first time in a long time pic.twitter.com/jbZs8eZCzD
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 1, 2023
Starting pitchers (5): Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Noah Syndergaard
Nothing has changed here. The only thing to look out for is the health of Tony Gonsolin after he sprained his ankle on March 6 (he's now day to day and was scratched from his Wednesday start). That could thrust Ryan Pepiot into the rotation and/or thrust somebody else into consideration for a roster spot (Gavin Stone, anyone?!).
In better news, Noah Syndergaard has looked unreal so far this spring, so at least we can predict above-average depth from this unit.
Bullpen (8): Evan Phillips, Yency Almonte, Brusdar Graterol, Alex Vesia, Caleb Ferguson, Ryan Pepiot, Michael Grove, Tayler Scott
All of Victor Gonzalez, Daniel Hudson and Alex Reyes aren't expected to be ready for the start of the season as they rehab from injuries/build back up to full strength. The same is likely the case for Jimmy Nelson. That means, to weather the storm at the onset, the Dodgers might want Michael Grove to provide some spot starts/eat innings in longer performances out of the bullpen.
For now, we're giving the final bullpen spot to Tayler Scott, who has out-performed guys like Shelby Miller, Justin Bruihl, Phil Bickford, Tyler Cyr, Dylan Covey, Jake Reed and Adam Kolarek. The Dodgers love the fastball-slider combo, and we'll take a gamble on the possibility that they like what they see with Scott. Why not? Gotta have some fun.
Designated Hitter (1): J.D. Martinez
Obviously.
Infielders (8): Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Miguel Vargas, Miguel Rojas, Austin Barnes, Chris Taylor, Yonny Hernandez
Lux is out. Michael Busch could sneak back in, but he's underperforming at the moment, while Yonny Hernandez, who the Dodgers traded for in the offseason, is scorching. Andrew Friedman said Chris Taylor is expected to be the backup shortstop behind Miguel Rojas, who will now be the starter after being the projected utility man. The Dodgers can try a multitude of infield configurations over the next three weeks, but this seems to be the picture at the moment based on performances/injuries.
However, something tells us another trade/addition is coming before Spring Training ends.
Outfielders (4): Mookie Betts, James Outman, Jason Heyward, David Peralta
Taylor was supposed to be one of the regulars here, but Lux's injury changed that. James Outman and Jason Heyward are tearing the cover off the ball (and Dodgers fans might legitimately riot if Outman isn't on the Opening Day roster). Heyward's locker is next to Freddie Freeman's, which seems like a clear ploy to maintain continuity in leadership after Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger left.
David Peralta, who was signed shortly before Spring Training, is showing that his offseason back surgery won't be affecting him in 2023. So expect Taylor to get in the mix with these four as Trayce Thompson is booted from the picture. He's having a bad spring and can't hit lefties as effectively anymore, which will have the Dodgers prioritize three lefty bats in Outman, Heyward and Peralta.
Like we said, a lot different from last month's predictions.