Amed Rosario was one of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ trade deadline acquisitions to upgrade their offense that has been missing key players and relying on below league-average options in multiple spots.
Rosario was in the midst of a strong season with the Tampa Bay Rays, batting .308/.332/.421 with a 116 wRC+. Although he would have the best offensive numbers among most of the current lineup, Rosario has not yet started a game for the Dodgers.
When asked why Rosario has been limited to a bench role, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained the club views him as just a platoon option, rather than an everyday player for the time being, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“Honestly, to be quite frank, he’s not on this team, and we didn’t acquire him, to be an everyday player — he didn’t play every day in Tampa — and to hit righties,” Roberts said when questioned on the topic Saturday. “That’s just kind of the way I see it.”
With Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas out, the Dodgers have utilized Kiké Hernández, Nick Ahmed, Cavan Biggio, James Outman and Jason Heyward to fill out their lineup.
The results on offense have left a lot to be desired.
Since Betts went on the injured list, all of the aforementioned names have had a below league-average wRC+, with Biggio the highest of the group at 91, boosted by a strong series in Houston. Ahmed (71 wRC+), Heyward (70), Outman (67), Hernández (63) and Andy Pages (62) have all been far below average.
Despite some of the league-worst production from their group, Roberts has still declined to play Rosario because of the Dodgers valuing their contributions:
“I love Kiké’s defense at third,” Roberts said. “Jason’s been a mainstay in right field versus left and obviously Teo (Hernandez has also played right field). Gavin (Lux) has been swinging a really hot bat and the defense for Nicky Ahmed I think is as good as anybody in baseball.
“We acquired Amed to hit lefties, and his track record has echoed that. But yeah, he’s played good baseball this year. He really has.”
Rosario does have splits against left-handed and right-handed pitchers, but he has still been strong against both sides. Against righties, Rosario is batting .299/.324/.395 with a 107 wRC+, while he’s hit .323/.346/.465 with a 131 wRC+ against lefties.
If the entire Dodgers team was healthy, keeping Rosario as a platoon player would make more sense. However, that is not the case and the Dodgers offense has struggled often over the last few weeks.
Where can Amed Rosario play?
While positional versatility could be a reason for the lack of playing time for Roberts, the skipper said he trusts Rosario at multiple positions, making it all the more baffling he is not getting starts.
“He was having a really nice year in Tampa, been very good versus left and he’s a baseball player,” Roberts said after the trade. “Honestly, I trust him at short, third, second and in the outfield.
“I’m excited to get him back. Knowing him as a person, he’ll do whatever we ask of him.”
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