The Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen has been among the problem spots for the team amid an inconsistent start to the 2023 season.
The Dodgers’ relief corps enter play Friday with 0.7 WAR, which ranks 17th overall in baseball. The group has additionally posted a collective 5.18 ERA that is the fifth-highest among all teams.
The Dodgers bullpen is usually a strength as the unit posted the lowest ERA in the National League last year and lost only two notable relievers during the offseason.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is confident the Dodgers bullpen will get back on track but noted changes could come if their struggles continue, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“It definitely is volatile,” Friedman said of bullpens in general. “We’re at the point right now where we still very much believe in the group. We’re just not doing some things as well as we did last year that we’re going to lock in on. And obviously, at some point, if we’re not right about that then we’ll make changes and figure it out. But we’re still very optimistic in terms of where guys are, what those levers are to pull to help get them back to where they were.”
Phil Bickford, Caleb Ferguson, Brusdar Graterol and Shelby Miller have been among the Dodgers’ most valuable relief pitchers so far. Meanwhile, the likes of Yency Almonte, Evan Phillips and Alex Vesia are still trying to recapture the success they enjoyed last season.
If Friedman believes that changes need to be made, he could look to acquire some help from outside of the organization. The team also figures to benefit from the potential returns of J.P. Feyereisen, Daniel Hudson, Jimmy Nelson, Alex Reyes and Blake Treinen at various points later this season.
Dave Roberts confident Dodgers lineup will improve batting average
In addition to the bullpen, the Dodgers lineup has battled with inconsistency this season. L.A. has scored plenty of runs, but their batting average is in the bottom third of the league.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes his players will start hitting for more average as the year goes on and some of their batted ball luck starts to change.
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