Back end of the rotation and bullpen

[duke1861]

We are in first place and a top team in baseball but the back end of the rotation and bullpen continue to hurt the team. I wish we had better pitching depth in the minors. Beachy is not the answer. I wish our drafted players would actually be given a shot for once. Instead of scrub pitchers, it would be nice to have our home grown pitchers step up. I have no idea why Lee hasn't been called up yet. How much more time do they want to give the kid?

The pen needs to get stable as well. Libertore and Peralta now have ERAs over 4.0. Not sure why this organization can't get the bullpen addressed. Its better than it was last year, but I can see the pen failing us again in the playoffs. Jensen's struggles aren't good either. Just not sure whats going on with our pitching right now. Kershaw and Greinke are outstanding, Anderson has been fine and Bolsinger has been a surprise for the most part. The 5th starter and pen are letting us down big time.

 

[duke1861]

We are currently 19th in bullpen ERA. Of course the 2 best teams in baseball are #1 and #2. We have to find a way to address this for once.

2015 MLB Team Pitching Stats - Major League Baseball - ESPN

 

[Villain]

National League Team Stats 2015 Relievers Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

WAR - Tied for 1st in NL
xFIP - 3rd best in NL
FIP - 2nd best in NL
SIERA - 1st in NL (Do yourself a favor and never look at ERA again, use SIERA instead)
K% - 1st in NL
BB% - 6th in NL (Only 1.3% back from NL leader - Pirates)
K-BB% - 1st in NL

Not saying the bullpen doesn't have room for improvement, but I don't see it as some kind of Achilles' Heel. This is a solid group. Back of the rotation, on the other hand, very obviously needs an upgrade. The Dodgers could very realistically trade for two top-of-the-line starters very soon. They will at least add one arm that might be considered to be an Ace on almost any other team - but here that guy will be the 3rd best. Bolsinger and Beachy aren't the worst, but the Dodgers are smart to try to improve upon those slots.

The Front Office is always worried about the bullpen. They are constantly adding guys who are ready to go in the minors. One guy down, another up. That's how Brandon League was able to be released. Brandon League isn't the best, but he's got value. Not here, though. The arms in the Dodgers bullpen are too good. They literally added another MLB-ready lefty reliever last week (Grant Dayton). He's in AAA. As soon as someone gets hurt or something, he'll be up in the bigs.

 

[lasportzphan]

National League Team Stats 2015 Relievers Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

WAR - Tied for 1st in NL
xFIP - 3rd best in NL
FIP - 2nd best in NL
SIERA - 1st in NL (Do yourself a favor and never look at ERA again, use SIERA instead)
K% - 1st in NL
BB% - 6th in NL (Only 1.3% back from NL leader - Pirates)
K-BB% - 1st in NL

Not saying the bullpen doesn't have room for improvement, but I don't see it as some kind of Achilles' Heel. This is a solid group. Back of the rotation, on the other hand, very obviously needs an upgrade. The Dodgers could very realistically trade for two top-of-the-line starters very soon. They will at least add one arm that might be considered to be an Ace on almost any other team - but here that guy will be the 3rd best. Bolsinger and Beachy aren't the worst, but the Dodgers are smart to try to improve upon those slots.

The Front Office is always worried about the bullpen. They are constantly adding guys who are ready to go in the minors. One guy down, another up. That's how Brandon League was able to be released. Brandon League isn't the best, but he's got value. Not here, though. The arms in the Dodgers bullpen are too good. They literally added another MLB-ready lefty reliever last week (Grant Dayton). He's in AAA. As soon as someone gets hurt or something, he'll be up in the bigs.

I agree with Villian as it relates to the bullpen. I would add that it's the back end of our starting rotation that creates issues for the bullpen as Frias/Bolsinhger/Beachy etc get pulled early. For example, Liberatore, Yimi and Baez being asked to pitch back to back innings has backfired on numerous occasions. In concert with the stats noted above and IF the Dodgers improve the backend of the rotation, well, a improved back end of the rotation will immensely improve the bullpen (scary thought) with fewer innings to tow.

However, it's obvious that the Dodgers need starters to chew up more innings. I'm surprised they have waited this long to make a deal but suspect teams asking price are very high. Perhaps more will shake out as we near the deadline.

 

[duke1861]

In the event that Price, Hamels and Cueto cost roughly the same, who do we go all in for? I would think that Hamels would go for more, but who knows. I almost think Price would be the better pick up given how well he is pitching this year. I am going to cry if we gut the farm for a rental pitcher. It will sting if they don't resign given that Funkhouser didn't sign and Buehler is going to have Tommy J surgery.

The fun is going to start when free agency begins. I doubt we can keep Greinke and the ace we pick up at the trade deadline.

 

[duke1861]

Anderson just went down with an Achilles injury. We should know more by tomorrow. We literally might need to trade for 2 starting pitchers.

I hope we don't gut the farm but I am just not seeing anyone in the Minors stepping up and grabbing one of these spots. I have no idea why we are holding Lee back at this point. Its possible he is leaving the organization via trade and the FO doesn't want to see his trade value slip. Also, I am not sure Anderson is ready yet either.

We simply can't afford to keep throwing Frias and Beachy out there. We need someone in the Minors to take the job that we haven't thought off (De Leon, Cotton). Or, we literally will have to trade for 2 starting pitchers. Lets hope Anderson's history doesn't come back and haunt him. He has been a decent pitcher for us.

 

[lasportzphan]

In the event that Price, Hamels and Cueto cost roughly the same, who do we go all in for? I would think that Hamels would go for more, but who knows. I almost think Price would be the better pick up given how well he is pitching this year. I am going to cry if we gut the farm for a rental pitcher. It will sting if they don't resign given that Funkhouser didn't sign and Buehler is going to have Tommy J surgery.

The fun is going to start when free agency begins. I doubt we can keep Greinke and the ace we pick up at the trade deadline.

My personal opinion is you do not trade blue chippers for rentals. So Cueto and Price are fine by me if we keep our core prospects in tact (even keeping JDL). That includes Puig. This talk of trading Puig is just silly. Two words: Roberto Clemente. He was traded by the Dodgers very young because he swung at too many bad pitches. Puig is so young and so raw, everyone needs to chill.

I disagree about Greinke. The Dodgers will pay and extend Greinke if need be. He likes Mattingly, he enjoys LA and most of his teammates. I truly believe the Dodgers will pay a Hamels and Greinke.

 

[lasportzphan]

Anderson just went down with an Achilles injury. We should know more by tomorrow. We literally might need to trade for 2 starting pitchers.

I hope we don't gut the farm but I am just not seeing anyone in the Minors stepping up and grabbing one of these spots. I have no idea why we are holding Lee back at this point. Its possible he is leaving the organization via trade and the FO doesn't want to see his trade value slip. Also, I am not sure Anderson is ready yet either.

We simply can't afford to keep throwing Frias and Beachy out there. We need someone in the Minors to take the job that we haven't thought off (De Leon, Cotton). Or, we literally will have to trade for 2 starting pitchers. Lets hope Anderson's history doesn't come back and haunt him. He has been a decent pitcher for us.

Word has it that Anderson was better than expected this morning. I agree with you (and why I doubted the Dodgers would make the playoffs and even if they do, it will be a repeat of the last few years) we have serious backend rotation issues. I don't see us trading for two front end guys as it is reported that Urias and Seager are untouchable.

Like I said, this team is a few years away from contending for a WS. We have some holes to fill and talent to develop.

 

[duke1861]

I read that Anderson might avoid the DL altogether which would be awesome. I agree about rentals, I am not interested in trading for a pitcher unless we can resign them.

The farm is finally getting back where it should be. No need to gut for a player who is going to pitch for a few months and then go sign with another team.

 

[Villain]

I don't know why you don't think that the Dodgers can't afford to re-sign Greinke and whoever big name arm they bring over in a trade. Why not? These owners have shown absolutely nothing to indicate that there's a price point that they're afraid of.

As to the question, who would I want out of Cueto, Price, or Hamels...? I mean, you can take your pick. Any one of those guys would be great. Any one of them can also be signed this winter if they're not traded for this summer (just like how Greinke was signed by Dodgers after being a rental for the Angels).