Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Hoping to Have Cody Bellinger in at First Base
The Dodgers will finish up their series against the Rockies this afternoon in Los Angeles looking to take a series win. They’ll send out rookie Josiah Gray to make his first big league start going up against Colorado’s Jon Gray.
But the Dodgers will likely have to get the job done again without some key pieces. Max Muncy will remain out as he stays with his family in Phoenix after his wife gave birth to their first child. Mookie Betts is working his way back from a hip injury that has limited him the entire week.
And to top it all off, there is not a 100 percent Cody Bellinger will be in the Dodgers lineup. Dave Roberts seemed optimistic before Saturday night’s game when Cody had not taken swings in the cage yet. He hinted first base might be an option to cut down on running.
To eliminate some of the running might be beneficial. But we want to make sure also that the swing isn’t affected by it or the swing doesn’t affect the hamstring.
After the Dodgers win, Doc’s tone changed a little bit. It went from a strong possibility to more of a general hope that Bellinger would be back in the lineup at first base.
There’s a chance — depending on how Cody feels — for him to play first base tomorrow. I’m hoping that that’s the case.
All that really matters is that Bellinger is back in the Dodgers lineup. Despite not having a ton of success this year, he’s always a threat to break out at any time. He’s also no slouch at first base, the position he came up to the big leagues playing.
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Bellinger has not played an inning at first base this year, but he played over 1500 innings there in his first 2 years in the big leagues. He also played Gold Glove-caliber defense when he was there, much like he does in the outfield.
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Seriously Brook.the only thing worse than a good defensive centre fielders hitting 150 is a good defensive first baseman hitting 150.
My opinion all along has been to play Bellinger at 1B and Betts in CF. The Dodgers have a ton of guys for the corner outfield spots including Pollock, McKinstry, Peters, Reks, and Raley.
I look at this like I do in investing; buy low and sell high, and never fall in love with an asset.
Unless MLB announces soon that the DH will be coming to the NL in 2022, then they’d have to look at selling Muncy who they bought very low. His value will never be higher. He’s very average, at best, in the field so the AL is his destiny.
Since he’s also from Texas, anyone here for Muncy and a prospect for the Rangers RF Gallo?
The player’s Union should not agree toANY CBA without the DH in the NL. All the managers and GM’s in MLB want to protect their pitching. I’m sick of MLB having separate playing rules for each league. But Muncy isn’t going anywhere. Dodgers would have been worse off if he wasn’t here this year. Bellinger? WSS.
you are daft to consider trading Muncy. He is the most consistent power threat they have……
You are joking right? Muncy is one of the most disciplined hitters in MLB and ranks at the top for On-base plus slugging pct. His defense is ranked very high @ 1st and has greatly improved his mobility @ 2nd….very comparable to other top 2nd basemen. Also his leadership and on field smarts are irreplaceable. Right now, he’s the most consistent on-base hitter they have which they desperately need. Yeah, Gallo is a power bat, a lot of swing & miss similar to Bellinger, but w/out Cody’s Gold Glove.
Roberts needs to remember that Bellinger didn’t get hurt while playing the outfield.He injured his hamstring while running the bases.There are no guarantees that Bellinger is going to hit homeruns in his at bats,so he can cruise around the bases and not aggravate his hamstring.Maybe Roberts is thinking that he’ll most likely strike out in his at bats.
One needs to make contact and hit the ball before one can run the bases…
Might as well put him in the cleanup spot as well.