The Dodgers’ first month was full of plenty of wins but also some recurring frustrations.
Over the next several weeks, they’re hopeful the return of two superstar players can help.
Shortstop Mookie Betts and starting pitcher Blake Snell are approaching returns from injuries; Betts from an oblique strain that he suffered a week into the season, Snell from shoulder fatigue that plagued him through the winter and forced him to begin the year on the injured list.
Snell has completed two minor-league starts already as part of a rehab assignment and is scheduled to next take the mound for four innings Sunday with Triple-A Oklahoma City. After that, the team will decide whether he’s ready to return or will need another minor-league outing to get further built up.
Betts, meanwhile, has been on a longer recovery track than he initially hoped. He said he recently experienced soreness following a batting practice session that forced him to temporarily slow his progression. However, he noted he remains on target for the four- to six-week timeline doctors gave him from the start, eyeing an activation sometime in mid-May.
“I think I’ve kind of started to turn the corner,” he said. “Where every day I’m starting to wake up and it feels good.”
While getting Betts and Snell back will be a boon for the Dodgers –– who started the year 15-4 but are just 5-7 the last two weeks –– it will create some tricky decisions elsewhere on the roster.
Good problems, Dodgers officials will note.
But, conundrums nonetheless.
Start with Betts. In his absence, Hyeseong Kim was called up from Triple-A to platoon at shortstop with Miguel Rojas, while Alex Freeland got increased playing time as more of an everyday second baseman.
Kim and Freeland, who battled for the team’s final roster spot in spring training, have capitalized on their opportunities. Kim is batting .296 with two doubles, a home run and five stolen bases, while also cutting his strikeout rate from 31% last year to 21% this year. Freeland has started to shake off a slow opening three weeks, hitting .308 with two doubles and three RBIs over his past nine games (raising his season batting average to .234).
When Betts returns, the Dodgers will likely have two options: Send Kim or Freeland back to the minors to continue getting regular at-bats, or cut veteran utilityman Santiago Espinal (who is 5-for-23 in limited playing time this year) and move one of the other two into more of a reserve role.
The Dodgers might be reluctant to the latter strategy. It wouldn’t preserve as much organizational depth. It would force one of the young hitters to effectively ride the bench. And typically, the roster works better when the 13th and final position player spot is filled by a veteran presence who can better handle (and not be harmed long term by) the exceedingly inconsistent playing time that comes with the job.
Thus, barring any other injuries between now and then, the team might face another Kim/Freeland decision before long.
The looming rotation question is equally debatable.
When Snell returns, the Dodgers will have their big four starting arms all together again, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-2, 2.87 ERA), Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.56 ERA) and Shohei Ohtani (2-1, 0.60 ERA).
However, it means one of the other three members of the current six-man group will have to be squeezed out.
Justin Wrobleski was originally the likeliest candidate for that, only joining the rotation a couple weeks into the season as a placeholder in Snell’s absence. But then, he went out and won all four of his starts since with a 0.69 ERA. That dominance might not be sustainable, especially for a pitch-to-contact lefty who has only 13 strikeouts in his last 26 innings. Still, it should warrant a longer look in a starting role.
Thus, the next few weeks could be crucial for Emmet Sheehan (2-0, 4.78 ERA) and Roki Sasaki (1-2, 6.35 ERA). Both began the season miserably. But both have made strides lately, with Sheehan rediscovering his typical fastball velocity and Sasaki altering his splitter to better find the strike zone.
Either of them could be optioned to the minors upon Snell’s return. Or, if they pitch well enough and Wrobleski suddenly stumbles, they could both keep their jobs while Wrobleski returns to the bullpen.
For now, it all remains on the table, providing some intriguing subplots as the Dodgers proceed into May.