Dodgers: Dave Roberts Reveals Best Case Scenario for Tony Gonsolin
On Sunday morning as the Dodgers were getting to prepare for their season series finale against the Cardinals, Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts was speaking to the media.
In his session with the media, Roberts was addressing his postseason pitching plans. What angle will he take and what will he do with those coming back from injury?
Dodgers beat writer Jack Harris tweeted out what the 7-year Dodger skipper plans on doing concerning Dodgers righty Tony Gonsolin come October.
Some clarity from Dave Roberts this morning on #Dodgers postseason pitching plans:
* Tyler Anderson will likely start postseason games
* The ceiling Tony Gonsolin will be able to get built up to is four innings
* If Dustin May is healthy, a bullpen role is a possibility
— Jack Harris (@Jack_A_Harris) September 25, 2022
Gonsolin has been out of the rotation since late August due to a forearm injury.
The 4-year-Dodger has had the best year of his career and was on pace to get some first place votes in the Cy Young race.
In a recent interview, Roberts said Gonsolin was open to contribute in any role with the Dodgers come postseason time.
The 28-year-old sits at 16-1 with a 2.10 ERA in 23 starts this year. He’s pitched in 128.1 innings, has 116 strikeouts with a 0.86 WHIP. He was also named to his first career All-Star game that was hosted in Dodger Stadium.
Gonsolin has missed a good chunk of the second part of the season, so it’s impossible to ask for pre-injury Gonsolin. However, if he can get back to at least half of what he was then I think it’ll be enough for LA.
The Cat Man has been a game-changer for the Boys in Blue, so if 4 innings is what he can give us, we’ll take it.
Urias, Kershaw, and Anderson are the core starters going into the postseason. If possible, their pitch counts need to be kept low for remaining regular season games. Especially Kershaw. Everyone else on the pitching staff is in a supporting role. Hopefully Kimbrel has closed for the last time. Phillips has been the most reliable reliever. I would elevate him to the closer spot. But I doubt that DR will do that.
Entering October with just three reliable starters, one of which at least is a 5 inning guy, means the bullpen has to have both consistency and resiliency. Either that or the offense needs to be able to rack up 6 or more runs a game against the best starters the other clubs throw at them. Kimbrel, Kimbrel, Kimbrel. Where can you hide him?
It also looks doubtful Gonsolin or May will live up to the challenge given their injuries. May is also suffering from wildness and inconsistency, neither of which is an asset for a pitcher at this level.
Now the question is how will DR and the front office handle this challenge?
I wish that I had more faith in the ability of the “brain trust” to manage the pitching staff in the postseason.