Dodgers Make 7 Massive Roster Cuts, Including Some Surprises Ahead of Japan
The Los Angeles Dodgers made one final round of roster cuts Tuesday before the team travels to Japan on Wednesday for the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs.
The Dodgers optioned/reassigned seven players to minor league camp, and made one big decision regarding one of their major offseason acquisitions.
The Dodgers optioned infielder Hyeseong Kim, while manager Dave Roberts announced he would open the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Dodgers also optioned right-handed pitcher Bobby Miller, while reassigning five players to minor league camp: Right-handed pitcher Giovanny Gallegos, catcher Dalton Rushing, infielders David Bote and Michael Chavis, and outfielder Eddie Rosario.
The biggest move is Kim starting the season in Triple-A. The Dodgers discussed potentially having their offseason acquisition start in the minors as he attempts to transition from the Korean Baseball Organization to Major League Baseball.
The organization has talked about Kim needing to catch up to the velocity in MLB, and after he hit just 6-for-29 this spring, they felt that it would be best for him to do that in the minor leagues. Thus, he won’t travel with the team to Japan, and will instead stay at Arizona to continue getting reps.
As for the other potential surprises, Bote has put together an impressive spring, and was making a serious case to at least be on the travel roster to Japan. Across 30 at-bats, he hit .400 with two home runs, nine RBIs, and an OPS of 1.171.
However, the team has elected to not bring him to Japan, meaning he could end up opting out of his minor league deal with L.A to find a major league opportunity this year.
As for the other players, Miller will continue to ramp up after getting hit with a 105.5 mph line drive in the Cactus League opener. Rushing was always going to start the season in the minor leagues due to the team’s logjam at catcher. And finally, Gallegos, Chavis, and Rosario faced an uphill battle to crack the Japan travel roster.
Why the Dodgers don’t necessarily need Shohei Ohtani to pitch to start the season
Twenty-eight days later, the Dodgers have packed up and left Camelback Ranch to embark on their World Series championship defense.
Their first stop: Japan, with the team flying out Wednesday ahead of its season-opening two-game series against the Chicago Cubs next week at the Tokyo Dome.
Because of that schedule quirk, the Dodgers’ spring schedule was abbreviated again. But even in just four weeks, much emerged about the state of the team.
As the club prepares to begin the season, here are five takeaways on how things went in camp.
Shohei Ohtani’s focus on DH (for now)
If there was one big surprise, it was the Dodgers’ decision to have Shohei Ohtani “slow-play” his pitching program over the second half of camp and focus — at least at the start of the season — on solely being a designated hitter.
Eventually, the Dodgers maintain, Ohtani will return to pitching this year, after being unable to last season while recovering from a second Tommy John surgery.
But, both manager Dave Roberts and pitching coach Mark Prior explained, Ohtani and the club made a collaborative choice to wait on fully building him up on the mound, halting his bullpen sessions once he began DHing in Cactus League games.
“There’s a little bit of a shift towards making sure he’s dialed in, ready to go from a DH standpoint,” Prior said last week. “I think this was a good time to just kind of like de-load and make sure he’s geared up, ready to go, and then continue to throw and then gear up once we get back.”
Roki Sasaki ready for MLB debut
Ever since he signed with the Dodgers this offseason, Roki Sasaki has been advertised as a supremely talented but unfinished product. At times early in camp, the 23-year-old Japanese phenom looked that way — battling shaky command and lack of feel for a third pitch in early bullpen and live batting practice sessions.
However, in two Cactus League outings, Sasaki combined for seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, flashing his upper-90s fastball and devastating splitter.
“To be able to pitch in Japan is going to be a special and unique opportunity,” Sasaki said through an interpreter after his final spring start Tuesday. “Obviously being able to pitch in the major leagues is something I’ve worked for a long time to be able to do. So I’m excited.”
Mookie Betts’ error-free spring
Twenty-eight times in his 11 Cactus League games, Mookie Betts was called to field a ball at shortstop.
Twenty-eight times, the converted right fielder successfully completed the play, posting an error-free spring as he moves back to shortstop.
Not every play Betts made was pretty. There were low throws and wide tosses. A few balls that nearly got past whoever was playing first base.
“Last year I felt I saw an elite athlete playing a premium position,” Roberts said. “Now when I look out there and watch him take grounders and throw it across the diamond, I see a shortstop.”
Pitchers (mostly) stay healthy
It was not an injury-free spring for the pitching staff.
Michael Grove was lost for the year because of labrum surgery. Edgardo Henriquez hurt his foot in an undisclosed off-field accident. Bobby Miller took a comebacker off his head, slowing his ramp-up for the season. Most recently (and notably), Tony Gonsolin tweaked his back while lifting weights in the gym.
“There’s no concerns,” Roberts said last week. “Very comfortable where we’re at as far as getting ready to leave.”
The best news, however, remains the fact that they haven’t had to dip deep into their over-abundance of depth yet, getting through the spring healthy enough on the mound as the season begins.
Lineup looking for balance
You’ll never guess which three Dodgers had particularly impressive springs.
Ohtani returned from his shoulder surgery to bat .333 with a home run in his first at-bat. Freddie Freeman came back from offseason ankle surgery and hit .280 with three home runs. And Betts, despite batting just .240 while committing much of his focus to his defense, didn’t strike out in 29 plate appearances.
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