Looking to shore up the bullpen for the 2015 season, Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman accomplished that goal by acquiring setup man Chris Hatcher as part of the blockbuster seven-player trade with the Miami Marlins last December.
In 56 innings during his 2014 campaign, Hatcher posted a 3.38 ERA, 2.56 FIP and solid 60-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio, giving fans hope he would be the bridge to closer Kenley Jansen in 2015.
With Jansen sidelined on the disabled list until mid-May, Hatcher was given the first opportunity to assume the ninth-inning role for the time being.
On Opening Day against the San Diego Padres, he pitched a scoreless inning to cinch the win while registering his first career save.
The following game, he wasn’t so sharp. Without recording an out, Hatcher gave up two earned runs on three hits. Five days later in his next appearance, he yielded three earned runs on four baserunners while only retiring a single batter.
Despite the brief hiccup, Hatcher settled down and allowed three earned runs from April 14 through May 22 (2.03 ERA in 13.1 innings). He would pitch in seven more games until suffering a left oblique strain on June 14, which sidelined him for the next two months.
His first-half statistics were disappointing on the surface (6.38 ERA, 1.58 WHIP), but an unsustainably high .368 BABIP likely inflated those numbers quite a bit. Returning to full health, Hatcher looked to regain his form — and he did just that.
In 8.1 innings during the month of August, he allowed just one earned run while punching out 11 batters. For the remainder of the regular season, he would allow an additional two earned runs over 12.1 innings pitched — good for a 1.46 ERA in September.
After a forgettable beginning to the season, he rebounded nicely by finishing the second half with a 1.31 ERA and 0.92 WHIP.
Hatcher’s late success carried over into the postseason, as he tossed 3.2 scoreless innings against the New York Mets over the span of four appearances.
Though the series didn’t end well for the Dodgers as a whole, Hatcher emerged as a legitimate late-inning option and appeared untouchable at times.
2015 Highlight
On Aug. 31 against the San Francisco Giants, Hatcher was able to keep the Dodgers in the game long enough to ensure a walk-off victory in extra innings.
He tallied three shutout innings, pitching innings 12 through 14, allowing three hits, striking out four and earning the win.
2016 Outlook
Hatcher is arbitration-eligible for the first time in his career as a Super-Two and is in line for a hefty raise. Whether he returns next season as the primary setup man or moves over to a middle relief role depends on any free agent signings or trades that occur during the offseason.
