Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Addresses LA’s Need to Add Starting Pitching
For years the Dodgers have had the luxury of possessing great pitching staffs around Major League Baseball. It helped win them a ton of games over the years but thus far through the 2023 season, things have gone a little haywire. The pitching has been uncharacteristically poor in both the starting rotation and the bullpen. This has been due to multiple injuries that the staff has dealt with and just plain regression from some players.
As the trade deadline quickly approaches, the team has some questions to answer. Will they add pieces to this team to make a run? Or will they stay stagnant and hope that the guys they do have figure things out? Manager Dave Roberts spoke about his thoughts regarding the starting pitching and whether or not he thinks they need a change.
“I don’t think it’s a need. I think every year any team that’s in the race at this deadline, there’s always talk about potentially adding more pitching. So, I think our guys have shown in the past that if there’s a need we’ll fill that hole.”
Per AM570 LA Sports Radio
Roberts seems to believe in the guys already on the roster and for good reason. He has gone into battle with many of them a few times and seen the damage they can do. The Dodgers rotation when healthy is still one of the best in the league but the health of the players is the key.
Clayton Kershaw and rookie sensation Bobby Miller have been the only starters that can be relied upon each time out. Tony Gonsolin has been good but he is prone to having off nights every now and again. Julio Urías should be back soon but he hasn’t been the same this season. Dustin May and Ryan Pepiot are both currently injured and it remains to be seen just how effective they will be when/if they return.
The Dodgers needed a strong outing from a starting pitcher after Sunday’s bullpen game. Tony Gonsolin delivered. His (likely) final line:
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) June 14, 2023
6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 9 Whiffs, 90 pitches
His velocity was down but it didn’t matter. His season ERA is down to 1.93 on the year.
The Dodgers have some real concerns in their rotation as the season goes on. But if we know anything about how this team operates, they will make a move or two to give themselves a chance. They’ve shown it time after time and they should look to do so once again.
Los Angeles still remains in contention and despite all the struggles this season, they are only a few games back of first place in the NL West. They can afford to be somewhat patient but time is starting to run out as the trade deadline nears. We will see exactly how much the front office believes in this roster with the level of moves they make over the next handful of weeks.
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being without Buehler, May and Urias is to much for any team to overcome…if only they could stay healthy.