While depth has been put to the test for the Los Angeles Dodgers in seasons past, that was never more the case than in 2016 when the club put an MLB record 28 different players on the disabled list. Los Angeles nonetheless managed to win the National League West a fourth consecutive time.
Once again the Dodgers opened Spring Training with an abundance of depth at multiple positions, and arguably boast their deepest roster yet. There are currently 63 players in camp, which includes a 40-man roster full of players with Major League experience or Major League caliber talent.
That will make for some difficult decisions, particularly with the bench, once the Dodgers are forced to set their 25-man active roster for the regular season. According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said one designated spot will go to a backup shortstop for Corey Seager:
Zaidi said the club will probably carry an extra infielder with shortstop experience to back up Corey Seager.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently said that the team will carry 12 pitchers and 13 position players on the active roster. As it currently stands, seven of the eight starting spots on the field are accounted for, assuming Yasiel Puig is the team’s starting right fielder.
After his stellar play to close out 2016, Andrew Toles will likely get the first crack at starting in left field. Of the five bench spots, Andre Ethier, Chase Utley, Franklin Gutierrez and Austin Barnes are essentially guaranteed to be inclued on the active roster.
That leaves one final roster spot that, as Zaidi said, will go to someone with the ability to play shortstop. Candidates who are currently in camp that can fill that role are Charlie Culberson, Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor.
Hernandez has a bit of an advantage as among the trio he played the most Major League games last season. What’s more, he’s also capable of playing second base, third base and all three outfield positions. Hernandez has proven capable of handling left-handed pitching, but did struggle in that area last season.
However, last season Hernandez played 109 games overall with the Dodgers, but only two were at shortstop. Culberson played 34 games, with eight coming at shortstop, and Taylor was at short for six of his 34 games. Hernandez and Taylor are on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, whereas Culberson is not.
