The Los Angeles Dodgers have lacked offensive options for the better part of the last two months due to various injuries, which has included Mookie Betts and Max Muncy missing extended periods of time.
In addition, Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor suffered injuries that landed them on the injured list, while Jason Heyward has also missed time this season and Freddie Freeman has been away from the team due to his son’s illness.
That has forced the Dodgers to rely on replacement-level players, including Kiké Hernández, Cavan Biggio and Nick Ahmed, while others on the roster have also failed to produce, such as James Outman, Andy Pages, Gavin Lux for much of the season, and even Heyward has not hit much.
However, the Dodgers were active at the trade deadline, bringing in Tommy Edman, Amed Rosario and Kevin Kiermaier, and many of their players are making progress toward a return.
In the coming weeks, the Dodgers should see Betts, Freeman, Muncy, Edman, Rojas and Taylor all make their returns, which is going to lead to a roster crunch.
Manager Dave Roberts said decisions on who to keep on the Dodgers roster may come down to who steps up over the next few weeks, via SportsNet LA:
“I think it creates both. I think the one person who’s probably the model of this in awareness-wise, is Kiké. I think he’s playing his best baseball that he’s played in a while, on both sides of the ball. That’s because, No. 1, he’s playing good baseball. But I also feel that he’s smart enough to realize there’s other guys that are coming.
“How do you keep getting opportunities? You perform. At some point it should be a meritocracy, and the best players will play. That’s the way it should be. Looking at our guys, many guys have had plenty of opportunities, so then you make decisions. But there should be a sense of urgency and competition.
“At some point, the rubber meets the road, and we’ve got to make some tough decisions. That’s never easy. In some sense, something always seems to happen, where you kind of kick the can or the decision is a little bit later. But we’ve got more guys coming than we have spots. That’s still a good thing for the organization.”
The Dodgers have six players expected to return over the next few weeks, and once you set the current roster locks of Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández, Will Smith, Austin Barnes, Lux and Rosario, that leaves space for one player from the group of Cavan Biggio, Kiké Hernández, Nick Ahmed, Kevin Kiermaier, James Outman, Pages and Heyward.
By September, the rosters will expand to allow one more player, but that still leaves room for just two of them. It’s also possible one or two of the players does not end up returning, such as Taylor, who has made the slowest progress of the bunch, but even if that’s the case, that would still leave four or five players on the outside looking in.
Outman seems like one of the first players to go because he has options remaining and was replaced by Kiermaier. It would be surprising if he’s not the move to add Freeman back to the roster.
After that, the Dodgers could chose to option Andy Pages, which might not be the worst idea as his struggles continue, or DFA any of Biggio, Ahmed, Kiermaier, Heyward or Hernández. When it’s all said and done, a few of them will likely be out of the organization anyways, with Ahmed seeming like the first to go, followed by Biggio.
However, as Roberts noted, the decisions should come down to who is playing well at the time, and they should also consider some of their track records as well.
Mookie Betts’ target for Dodgers return
Betts has been sidelined since the middle of June, but continues making progress toward. The eight-time All-Star was recently cleared to start hitting soft toss and off a tee and he is among the players that will participate in a simulated game at Dodger Stadium on Thursday.
Roberts said Betts could be activated off the IL as soon as Aug. 12 or 13, which would come during the next Dodgers road trip.
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