With the Los Angeles Dodgers in the midst of their Cactus League schedule in Arizona, it means that Opening Day is just around the corner at the beginning of April.
For the first time this year, DodgerBlue.com’s Jeff Spiegel and Daniel Starkand took a stab at predicting the team’s Opening Day 26-man roster on the most recent episode of “DodgerHeads.”
A number of those spots are already locked up, but there are some that are up for grabs this spring, so the discussion centered around who is competing for those.
If the Dodgers carry two left-handed relievers, then Scott Alexander, Alex Vesia and Garrett Cleavinger are competing for the second spot behind Victor Gonzalez. While Alexander has the most experience of the bunch, is the upside of the other two enough to overtake him?
Then on the Dodgers’ bench, there are a number of players in the mix for just one or two spots. Spiegel and Starkand both gave those to Zach McKinstry and Matt Beaty. But that doesn’t mean that DJ Peters, Sheldon Neuse and Matt Davidson won’t also receive consideration.
Spiegel and Starkand also did a segment of “Stock Up, Stock Down,” where they discussed the springs of Gavin Lux, David Price, Joe Kelly, Dennis Santana and others.
They also looked at a few headlines from this week, including Dave Roberts’ thoughts on the growing rivalry with the San Diego Padres and Trevor Bauer pitching with one eye closed.
Price looks solid in debut
One of the biggest topics of conversation in this episode was the Spring Training debut for Price, who tossed a scoreless inning of relief in the Dodgers; 8-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday.
Price retired the side in order, striking out one and touching 94 mph on the radar gun in his first outing in over a year.
While Price looked good and may likely be in the Dodgers’ starting rotation to begin the year, it was also recently revealed that he spoke with the team’s brass before they signed Bauer about his willingness to pitch out of the bullpen if necessary.
That led to discussion on what the best role for him is, whether that be as a starter, reliever, or perhaps even the Dodgers’ closer if Kenley Jansen falters.
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