Since the start of Spring Training, the Los Angeles Dodgers have taken the stance they have eight viable options to fill the starting rotation. Of course, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Trevor Bauer are locks to be starters come Opening Day.
The same was thought to hold true for David Price, but he’s expressed a willingness to pitch in any role. And prior to camp opening, it was reported the Dodgers had Julio Urias in the rotation over Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May. Jimmy Nelson, like Price, is open to any role.
Of the aforementioned pitchers, all but Gonsolin, May and Price have made at least one start this spring. In May’s case, he hasn’t pitched in a Cactus League game since throwing two innings against the San Francisco Giants on March 2.
However, the right-hander did get off a mound on Thursday. “It was just an inning to face hitters and check in on the delivery,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained. “There was a ‘B’ game that he just was out of sync, so he threw a ‘pen.
“Wanted to get him out there against some hitters to see how the stuff plays, so looking at it, it was a good outing. In two or three days he’ll thrown another ‘pen and we’ll get him into a big league game.”
The focus for May continues to be on secondary pitches that were inconsistent last year along with overall command. “I think it’s just being able to strike a breaking ball, locate the fastball, command the fastball, just stay in his delivery,” Roberts said.
“When he does that, everything comes out of the same window and he’s very effective against right and left.”
Kelly progressing, White still behind
From the time the Dodgers opened camp, Joe Kelly and Mitch White have trailed behind other pitchers in their respective progressions. White is still limited to playing catch, but Kelly is trending in a positive direction.
“There’s been some good improvement over the last few days,” Roberts said. “He threw a good bullpen a couple days ago. I think he’s going to get on the mound again soon and start spinning some breaking balls.
“But when he faces hitters or gets into games, that’s certainly still down the road.”
Roberts previously would not commit to declaring whether or not Kelly would be included on the Opening Day roster.
Ferguson, Kahnle recovering from Tommy John
The Dodgers don’t figure to have Caleb Ferguson available this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, but his recovery is going well. “Caleb has been throwing. All reports are really good, but as far as ETA, I really don’t know right now,” Roberts said.
“But he’s progressing nicely.”
Meanwhile, Tommy Kahnle has hopes of pitching this season but he is slowly moving along the rehab trail since his Tommy John operation. “Tommy is on a slower program,” Roberts said.
“He’s still kind of in the training room and weight room. Hasn’t picked up a baseball, so he’s certainly behind Caleb right now.”
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