Interesting list. The Dodgers lead in both numbers of DL pitchers (16) and number of total DL days of these combined pitchers (896).Originally Posted by Sanlmar
There is a reason Ohtani didn’t choose LAD before. Angels still have playoff possibility and the owner is too dumb to rent Ohtani and get him back next year.
I looked at this today
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/injured-...team/pitching/
Dollar value of players on injury list by position pitching.
Once upon a time pitchers pitched to contact - went deeper into games and bullpens weren’t fried or 30 players deep.
Houston Vasquez springs to mind. We all look at K% when handicapping … “omg his K% is declining fade”. What if he is just changing pitch mix and reducing the 4 seam fastball that results in repeated foul balls? Whiff rate is all we care about.
Some team is gonna moneyball induced ground balls and not whiff rate. Original thinking like Royals began with Openers and bullpen games.
Even Dodgers can’t afford whiff rate - it’s not working for them.
I wish they would do a list for "days of projected starting five on DL", and I'm sure the Dodgers would easily lead there.
There is one upside to Julio Urias' problems this year -- both injury and ineffectiveness. This was his last year prior to free agency. Bore-ass is his agent, meaning that if Urias pitched well in 2023 without much injury, he would have been in line for huge money, and the Dodgers wouldn't have paid it.
If 2023 ends up being a complete disaster for Urias, his value will be very much in question, and it's possible he might sign a short deal with the Dodgers to reestablish himself.
Same goes for Walker Buehler, had he not hurt himself in 2022 -- though he's not a FA until 2025. Sometimes the best news for a team long term is a pitcher becoming questionable during a contract year.
Kershaw is past the point of going to another team. He's going to evaluate how he feels in each offseason, and either re-up with the Dodgers for another year, or retire.
The Dodgers have too many pitching needs in 2023 to fix with trades.
In 2024, they will still have Betts, Freeman, Smith, and Muncy under contract. They probably re-up with JD Martinez for a year, since he seems to have worked out. That's a good enough core to keep the runs rolling in, even if the rest of the players are kinda fail.
They'll try to sign Ohtani, but might also need to do a major rebuild on the pitching staff. Will be an interesting offseason, for sure. Won't surprise me if they end up dropping Mets-like money on the 2024 squad, hoping for a non-Mets-like result.
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