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State Of The Dodgers: Evaluating The Bullpen

Jeff Spiegel
6 Min Read
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

PAGES: 1 | 2

Returners: Luis Avilan, Pedro Baez, Carlos Frias, Yimi Garcia, Chris Hatcher, J.P. Howell, Kenley Jansen, Adam Liberatore, Juan Nicasio

If you’re a believer of the stats mentioned above that indicate this group was far better than their ERA says, then you’ll be happy to know the Dodgers return eight of their nine most-used relievers.

Included in that are the seven relievers who posted the highest WAR last season and the eight relievers who posted the best FIP (among those with 20+ appearances).

Honestly, there’s plenty to like here. Avilan, Howell and Liberatore will offer the new manager left-handed options, Baez and Hatcher offer a pair of hard-throwing setup men and Jansen remains one of the league’s best closers.

With fill-in types such as, Frias, Garcia and Nicasio, and, well, this group is in great shape heading into 2016.

Potential newcomers: Darren O’Day, Brad Boxberger, Jack McGee

With many relievers available, we’ll begin with Darren O’Day, whom the Dodgers and several other teams, are said to be interested in.

While almost 33, O’Day has been one of the league’s best relievers over the past four seasons and could solidify the setup role the Dodgers have desperately been lacking.

Imagine a bullpen with O’Day and Jansen on the backend, leaving Baez, Garcia and/or Hatcher to man the seventh inning, with Avilan and Howell available for the occasional left-handed batter.

Next on the list are Brad Boxberger and Jack McGee, a pair of Tampa Bay Rays relievers the Dodgers were linked to on Monday morning.

Whereas O’Day is a free agent, Boxberger and McGee would need to be acquired via trade. In two seasons with the Rays, Boxberger has posted a 3.03 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 34.7 strikeout percentage, while recording 43 saves as well.

McGee, on the other hand, had a 2.41 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 39 appearances last season. Of course, in addition to these three, there is always the potential for the Dodgers to add an off-the-radar piece from another organization via waivers or trade.

Jeff Spiegel was raised in California but currently resides in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from the University of Oregon, he worked in sports before entering journalism full time — first as a Sports Reporter and then as the Associate Editor of a local newspaper. Online, he has been writing about both the Dodgers and Raiders since 2012 — having written for DodgersNation.com and SBNation.com prior to joining both DodgerBlue.com and RaidersNation.com. He left full-time journalism in 2012 to become a pastor. Jeff can be found on Twitter at @JeffSpiegel. Favorite Dodger I'm going past and present (sort of) on this one. Recently, I was a die hard Yasiel Puig guy. The energy he played with was amazing and the hope and expectation he brought every single night was captivating. Whether it was a rifle from the warning track to throw a guy out at second, an aggressive bat flip or licking his bat, I was here for ALL of the Yasiel Puig era. Past tense, I'd go with Eric Gagné. This wasn't so much about Gagné himself as it was the experience of cheering for him. Yes, he was on steroids — but the dude was unlike any pitcher I've ever seen — he was NASTY. I still stand by the claim that if I needed one out and my life depended on it, and could choose any pitcher from any era to get me that out, I'm taking roided up Gagné in a heartbeat. Favorite Dodger Moment A few jump to mind immediately. Being born in November of 1988, I missed the last World Series by weeks — which also meant I didn't get to see the Dodgers win a playoff game until I was nearly 16. They had made the playoffs in 1995 and 1996, but were swept both times. In 2004, though, I got to see them win behind a complete game shutout from Jose Lima, and that was pretty freaking special. The next in-person moment that came to mind was the Manny Ramirez bobblehead night pinch-hit grand slam from 2009. Vin Scully claimed it was the loudest he had heard Dodger Stadium in 20 years, and it's hard to disagree. As far as ones I didn't get to see live, I'll throw one more out there: the back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs that tied a game against the Padres in 2006 (plus the walk-off from Nomar Garciaparra in extra innings) was an all-timer. Obviously, the impending Dodgers World Series will quickly jump to the top of this list...