The Los Angeles Dodgers had a lot of tough decisions to make with respect to their Opening Day roster as the start of the 2022 regular season is just days away and more than 30 players had proven worthy of being on the team.
Jake Lamb was among those fighting for a roster spot after a strong Spring Training, but he wasre-assigned to Minor League camp on Sunday. The Dodgers had opened a spot for a position player to make the club when they traded AJ Pollock to the Chicago White Sox for Craig Kimbrel, who filled their need for a closer.
With Lamb and Pollock no longer part of the equation to make the Opening Day roster, it paved the way for Edwin Rios to make the club, however Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stopped short of saying that is finalized, via SportsNet LA:
“I think it gave, potentially, Eddie Rios a runway to make this club. But I’m not going to put that in stone.”
MLB will also allow teams to carry two extra players on their roster with no limits on how many pitchers can be rostered during April. The rule is to help teams avoid pitchers from being overworked early after a short Spring Training due to the MLB lockout.
The Dodgers were previously discussing whether to carry 15 or 16 pitchers, but Roberts said they have decided to go with 16 to open the season:
“We’re going to go with 16 pitchers. I don’t want to divulge the entire roster, but it is going to be 16 pitches.”
On May 2, each club will be required to carry trim back to a 26-man active roster instead of the 28 that will be allowed in April, and the cap for pitchers will max out at 13.
Lamb believes he can revive career with Dodgers
Lamb performed well throughout Spring Training and pushed his way into the conversation for a spot on the Dodgers Opening Day roster. While he didn’t make the team for Opening Day, Lamb feels like he can end up being the next Dodgers success story in the long term, following in the footsteps of Max Muncy.
In 2018, the Dodgers sent Muncy to Triple-A despite a strong showing in Spring Training when he hit .286/.333/.571. In OKC, Muncy continued to perform well during his nine games as he batted .313/.421/.563 before the Dodgers promoted him the their Major League roster, and he never looked back.
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