With rotation depleted, Dodgers are searching
Julio Urias, the Dodgers’ starter Friday night, has become all the more valuable with the rotation shorthanded.
WASHINGTON >> The Dodgers’ starting pitching depth that looked so impressive in spring training continues to melt away in the heat of the season.
With MLB placing Trevor Bauer on administrative leave while it investigates sexual assault allegations, the Dodgers will have to replace him in the starting rotation for his final two scheduled starts before the AllStar break.
The Dodgers already lost a starter (Dustin May) to injury, converted two others (David Price and Jimmy Nelson) to bullpen roles and had their top pitching prospect (Josiah Gray) sit out two months with a shoulder injury.
“They’re going to be bullpen days,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Bauer’s scheduled starts Sunday and next Friday. “We’ll just kind of see where we’re at on those particular days and try to piece it together. That’s kind of where we’re at.”
Bauer on Friday was placed on administrative leave, which can last up to seven days (or be extended beyond that with the players union’s agreement). But his return to the Dodgers rotation even after that is very much in doubt.
Roberts acknowledged that going without five starters beyond the All-Star break and into the second half is not a palatable choice and the front office’s shopping before the July 30 trade deadline might be “more focused” now.
Gray has only recently begun throwing simulated games at Triple-A Oklahoma City and is “probably not” an option any time in the near future, Roberts said. Beyond Gray, the Dodgers’ most advanced pitching prospects — Ryan Pepiot and Andre Jackson — are both at Double-A Tulsa. Either would be making a big leap to the major leagues.
Closer to home, the Dodgers have Price, a starter throughout his career. The veteran lefthander has made three starts as an “opener” this year but has not pitched more than 2 2/3 innings in a game this season. Stretching him out to be a part of the rotation during the season might be challenging.
“It is possible. I don’t know if it’s practical,” Roberts said of that option. “It’s something we’ll probably talk about and just knowing where we’re at until we get to the break, it’s going to be two days where we need a starter. So there’s not a whole lot you can do in that time . ... That’s something that we’ll talk about, see if it makes sense.”
For now, the Dodgers recalled hard-throwing right-hander Brusdar Graterol from TripleA, where he was 2-1 with a 6.10 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings. Another reliever, likely right-hander Edwin Uceta, will be added in advance of Sunday’s bullpen game.
Among the starting pitchers speculated as possibly being available before the trade deadline are Rangers right-hander Kyle Gibson (6-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 11 starts), Rockies right-hander Jon Gray (a free agent this winter who is 5-6 with a 3.89 ERA), and Friday’s starter against the Dodgers, Max Scherzer.
Scherzer is in the final year of his contract, fueling speculation that the 36-year-old, three-time Cy Young Award winner might be moved by the Washington Nationals. But the Nationals’ recent surge back into contention makes that much less likely.