With the start of the 2018 season just around the corner, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and the front office face a few tough decisions in regards to who will earn the final spots on the club’s Opening Day roster.
That was recently made tougher, as All-Star third baseman Justin Turner suffered a broken wrist after being hit by a pitch. The Dodgers will not publicly reveal a timetable for Turner’s return, but it can be presumed he will miss an extended period of time.
The Dodgers have plenty of depth to get by without him for the time being, and the current plan is for Logan Forsythe to move over to third base. That will leave Chase Utley, Kiké Hernandez and Austin Barnes to play second base.
But with Turner out, that opens up an extra spot on the roster, so who will that go to? Will the Dodgers opt for an extra pitcher? Will they carry an additional catcher since Barnes might play some second base?
The DodgerBlue.com staff debated all of that and more in predicting the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster. Players in each position group are listed alphabetically.
Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand):
Starting pitchers (5): Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alex Wood
Relief pitchers (7): Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Yimi Garcia, Kenley Jansen, Ross Stripling
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Kyle Farmer, Yasmani Grandal
Infielders (4): Cody Bellinger, Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Chase Utley
Outfielders (6): Kiké Hernandez, Matt Kemp, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor, Andrew Toles
While the original plan was to carry eight relievers, I think the injury to Turner and emergence of Farmer this spring shifted those plans to only seven relievers and an extra position player in Farmer, who can serve as depth at third base and the backup catcher with Barnes playing more second base.
A couple tough omissions for me were Trayce Thompson and Wilmer Font, who are both out of Minor League options. For Thompson, it was just a matter of there being too many outfielders ahead of him on the depth chart, so hopefully, they can find a trade partner and get something for him instead of losing him outright to waivers.
Then with Font, it was as simple as he didn’t pitch well enough this spring to earn a Major League roster spot. Roberts gave him every opportunity to warrant a spot in the bullpen, and he didn’t take advantage of it.
There is enough starting pitching depth with the likes of Stripling, Brock Stewart and Walker Buehler that taking up a 25-man roster spot for someone like Font doesn’t make all that much sense.
Some more tough omissions in the bullpen were relievers J.T. Chargois and Pat Venditte as both of them pitched well enough this spring to earn Major League roster spots. I imagine we will see them sooner rather than later though as the Dodgers cycle arms in and out almost daily throughout the course of the season.
Matt Borelli (@mcborelli):
Starting pitchers (5): Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alex Wood
Relief pitchers (8): Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez, J.T. Chargois, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Yimi Garcia, Kenley Jansen, Ross Stripling
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Kyle Farmer, Yasmani Grandal
Infielders (4): Cody Bellinger, Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Chase Utley
Outfielders (5): Kiké Hernandez, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor, Andrew Toles
No surprises in the starting rotation. In the bullpen, I opted for eight relievers, rather than the traditional seven-man setup.
Two left-handers in Alexander and Cingrani made the cut, while Stripling gets a spot for his versatility as a spot-starter that can log multiple innings.
Baez, Fields and Garcia are all capable of serving as the bridge to Jansen, though the eighth inning vacancy is still wide open. Chargois is an interesting wild card, as the former Minnesota Twins top prospect has looked dominant this spring and could finally be taking the next step in his career.
In addition to Barnes and Grandal, I included an extra catcher in Farmer on the Opening Day roster. With Farmer’s presence, it will enable Barnes to play some second base in Turner’s absence.
That means Forsythe will presumably see the most reps at third base for the time being, while Hernandez and Utley figure to receive an increased workload at second base as well.
Finally in the outfield, I made the difficult decision of omitting Pederson from the roster. With the emergence of Kemp and the return of Toles, he’ll likely begin the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Hernandez will continue to play all over the field while Taylor and Puig figure to once again reprise their starting roles in center and right field, respectively.
Jeff Spiegel (@JeffSpiegel):
Starting pitchers (5): Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alex Wood
Relief pitchers (8): Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Wilmer Font, Yimi Garcia, Kenley Jansen, Ross Stripling
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Kyle Farmer, Yasmani Grandal
Infielders (4): Cody Bellinger, Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Chase Utley
Outfielders (5): Enrique Hernandez, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor, Andrew Toles
With the loss of Turner, there weren’t a ton of big decisions to be made here it seems. I think the two biggest ‘surprises’ on my list would be Font and Farmer.
With Turner out, I imagine that Barnes sees more time at second base, which means the team probably would want a third catcher — especially considering Farmer’s performance this spring. They could, of course, move Taylor or Hernandez into the infield and take an extra outfielder instead of Farmer — but my guess is they opt for Farmer.
As for Font, he’s out of options, and he just seems too valuable given last year’s success to cut at the moment — even despite his brutal spring. I think he gets a shot in the bullpen to start the year and the team goes from there.
Jared Massey (@JarredJMassey):
Starting pitchers (5): Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alex Wood
Relief pitchers (7): Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Wilmer Font, Yimi Garcia, Kenley Jansen
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Kyle Farmer, Yasmani Grandal
Infielders (4): Cody Bellinger, Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Chase Utley
Outfielders (6): Kiké Hernandez, Matt Kemp, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor, Trayce Thompson
No surprises in the rotation, since it’s unofficially officially been revealed. It’ll be interesting to see if Wood can reproduce his prodigious first half from last season.
Some tough decisions to be made in the relief corps. Font’s lack of options keeps him on the big league squad, while Stripling will once again ride the shuttle back and forth between Triple-A and the Majors. Garcia should be back up when the season starts, as well as Adam Liberatore and Edward Paredes shortly after.
Farmer being on the 40-man roster gives him a leg up on the competition to replace the injured Turner. It doesn’t hurt that he’s played a fair amount of third base in the Minors.
Forsythe will move over to play third in Turner’s stead, while Utley likely gets the lion’s share of time at second. Hernandez can spell Utley against lefties.
The unthinkable may happen. Kemp could break camp with the Dodgers and actually have a somewhat meaningful role. Thompson is out of options and makes the club over Toles, who could use some seasoning while playing every day in Triple-A.
