After weeks of more rumored transactions than actual roster movement, the Los Angeles Dodgers addressed their pitching need over the span of one week.
The first domino to fall was Scott Kazmir signing a three-year contract, next was Brandon Beachy, and Kenta Maeda followed.
With the recently-acquired depth, the Dodgers bolstered their pitching to match the arms race in the National League West division; which was largely led by the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants.
While the Dodgers now have more starting pitchers than spots in a traditional rotation, team president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman didn’t rule out the possibility of changes. “I think we’re pretty well set in the rotation. That being said, anything can change,” he said.
“We’ve obviously had a lot of different conversations with a lot of different teams. That could pick up steam and that changes, but for the most part, I think we’re pretty much set. We’ll continue to canvas the market for bullpen arms and stay open-minded to anything that may make us better.”
Over the past few weeks the Dodgers were often linked to trade talks for Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez. However, the Marlins’ astronomical asking price for the prized right-hander hindered the chances of a deal coming together.
Nonetheless, in bolstering their pitching staff the Dodgers currently have 24 pitchers to 16 position players on their 40-man roster. The depth, albeit somewhat unbalanced, is something Friedman is confident in. “I think for the most part, if the season started today we would feel good about the group and depth we have on hand,” he said.
“That being said, we have a lot of time between now and Opening Day, and we’ll continue to have conversations, monitor the market and see what’s happening and if anything makes sense for us.”
Friedman, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi, and the front office have worked diligently toward improving the club while retaining prospects so that organization will be in a strong position moving forward.
