The Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen is currently in shambles after Kenley Jansen went down with an irregular heartbeat that may keep him out at least one month. The bullpen blew leads in two of the first three games against the Colorado Rockies that Jansen was out.
The good thing though is that the Dodgers currently have an excess of starting pitchers with Alex Wood and Hyun-Jin Ryu set to return this week against the San Francisco Giants.
Because of that, they have the luxury of moving two of their starters to the bullpen, and they decided on Kenta Maeda and Ross Stripling given their past success as relievers.
While Maeda doesn’t consider the move as a demotion, he strongly views himself as a starter long-term, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Maeda said he didn’t “see being in the bullpen as a bad thing” but he “emphasized” to Roberts and the Dodgers’ hierarchy that he still sees himself as a starter. “We just had a meeting today,” Maeda said through his interpreter. “It’s going to take a little time to wrap my mind around it.”
The writing was on the wall for Maeda even if Jansen didn’t wind up on the disabled list. Considering his inconsistency as a starter and how good he was out of the bullpen during the postseason last year, the move was somewhat inevitable.
There is a slight issue though as Maeda has incentives in his contract based around innings pitched and starts made, which he likely won’t reach now that he isn’t in the rotation. Restructuring Maeda’s deal could be a priority for the Dodgers front office this offseason considering he is under contract through 2023.
Overall in 22 games (20 starts) this season, Maeda is 7-7 with a 3.80 ERA, 3.27 FIP and 1.28 WHIP while striking out 130 and walking 40 in 109 innings.
