As Opening Day inches closer, the Los Angeles Dodgers are currently in the process of deciding who will occupy their final few spots on the 25-man roster to begin the season.
Some players who were originally not projected to make the roster like catcher Kyle Farmer and relievers J.T. Chargois and Pat Venditte have made it difficult on the front office and coaching staff as they have had strong showings in Spring Training.
The injury to All-Star third baseman Justin Turner opened up an extra roster spot, but there is still not enough room for everyone.
It appears switch-pitcher Venditte will be a victim of the numbers crunch, as according to Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A., the Dodgers have informed the 32-year-old that he will begin the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City:
Dodgers have told Pat Venditte, the last man standing among non-roster invitees in camp, that he will start the season in Triple-A Oklahoma City
— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) March 23, 2018
Venditte was signed to a Minor League contract this past offseason and was given an invitation to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. So he faced an uphill battle to begin with, as the Dodgers would have needed to clear a 40-man roster spot for him to make the big league roster.
Venditte has pitched to a 1.74 ERA in nine Cactus League games (10.1 innings), allowing two runs on seven hits, while striking out 13 compared to just two walks.
Venditte has struggled a bit in his Major League career though, yielding a 4.97 ERA in 50.2 career innings. So that could have played into him not making the roster as well.
Regardless, Venditte has a good chance of being one of the first relievers called up as he offers the unique ability to throw effectively with both hands.
