Dodgers: Eric Karros Expects ‘Significant Difference’ in Next Year’s Roster
As the Dodgers head into the offseason a few weeks earlier than they had planned, they’re facing a lot of questions about next year’s roster. Even if L.A. had marched through the postseason to the World Series title like we all expected, they still would have had most of these questions.
What we end up with is the likelihood that the 2023 Los Angeles roster will look quite a bit different than 2022’s, and while the moves may seem reactionary after the postseason failure, chances are they were going to happen anyway.
Former Dodger and current analyst Eric Karros was on AM570’s Petros and Money show on Tuesday, and he talked about some of the changes that are coming.
“It’s gonna be different, there’s no question. I think there’s gonna be some significant difference as far as what Dodger fans have been accustomed to. And that’s just a guess, right, and the first thing you have to find out is who’s playing shortstop. Is Trea Turner gonna be playing shortstop for you or not? And then you kinda go from there. There’s some other [shortstops] out there, or are you gonna move Gavin [Lux] over to his natural position, play him at short?
“What are you gonna do for the pitching staff, the starting staff? Are you gonna try and trade? What’s [Clayton Kershaw] doing? You hope that Kersh comes back. Julio [Urias] is a number one, and you’ve got [Dustin] May and [Tony] Gonsolin.
“What are you gonna do with the outfield? Mookie [Betts] 100 percent is playing right field, and then what do you decide? Cody [Bellinger] — do you still run him back out there? It’s tough to give up on a guy or move on, he’s [27] years old, he’s a great talent, but on the flipside, where do you go? You didn’t play him in Game 4, you didn’t start him… What does left field look like?
“What are you doing with [Justin Turner]? That’s one year. For me, I’m bringing him back, but there’s so many decisions, and it all starts at short, right?”
Trea was going to hit free agency, win or lose. Same for Kershaw. JT’s team option and Bellinger’s arbitration offer were going to be hard decisions no matter what. Starting pitching was always going to be an area they wanted to address.
It’s crazy, but a team that won 111 games this year will likely come back looking significantly different next year, and that would have been the case even if they’d lived up to expectations this month.
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Yet the pitching handler derelict is still in the saddle. Dave must go…
I think it’s time to move on. Don’t try to resign the free agents and, instead, put the money int in Aaron Judge for the outfield; Carlos Rodon as a starter; and Edwin Diaz as a closer. to wit:
c: Will Smith
1B Freddie Freeman
2B Michael Busch
SS Gavin Lux
3B Miquel Vargas
LF: Aaron Judge
CF; James Outman
RF Mookie Betts
SP: Clayton Kershaw
SP: Dustin May
SP Carlos Rodon
SP: Tony Gonsolin
SP: Bobby Miller
SP: Ryan Pepiot
Closer: Edwin Diaz
Big changes are coming. You heard it here first.
So what’s your solution Eric? I would shake things up otherwise it’s going to be the same old story year after year, good enough for the regular season and choke in postseason. In 2020 they were lucky for Seager’s MVP performance, Urias bailing out Roberts, and Cash’s blunder. Roberts can’t manage in postseason, hitting coaches preaching bad philosophies, and a few players unmotivated to play team baseball. Need more young athletic ball players w/ energy, enthusiasm, and hungry to win. JT to retire, Belli had 3 yrs. to improve, inconsistent Muncy, CT too much KO’s, a weak bench, and no shut-down closer are few things that need to be addressed. For Trea and Kershaw, if your heart is not in LA and the money is more important I can understand that. That’s just my humble opinion.
I’m not blaming the early exit on Roberts. The manager definitely should return.
However it is time for Bellinger to go. Successive horrid years at the plate must result in Cody’s departure, unless he takes a massive pay cut to be a late-inning defensive replacement.
Sadly I suggest Muncy also needs to leave. After his injury he has not been as dominant. Perhaps offer him a job as a minor league manager or an MLB level coach. Max Muncy always will be loved by the Dodgers, but he has lost a couple steps and it’s now over.
Dodgers need a bullpen reset. However, LA lost three of four games because bats couldn’t succeed against SD, not because pitching was horrible.
Trying to fix the Dodgers problem by only addressing the on field talent and not looking into how the team is being run on all levels within the organization is like taking your car to the mechanic because the engine is misfiring and fixing the problem by only changing the tires.
IMO – need to move on from JT and Cody. Find out if Vargas & Outman are MLB players. Not always best to sign Free Agents for big money. Having young players who have energy and starting to establish themselves might give you wildcards in playoffs. Disappointed in some of the Dodgers star players not delivering against San Diego. Some of their comments did not show commitment and hunger – sadly makes me think since they got their money – even with the better pitching and pressure in playoffs – comments did not show they were all in. Need X-factor players in playoffs – even if they are like Joc -so so in regular season but coming up big in play-offs. In play-offs, one or two non-star players step up – last year Braves had Jorge and Rosario go off.