Dodgers Roster News: Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry Officially Activated Ahead of Saturday’s Game
Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry are officially back with the Dodgers. After being out of the lineup and on the injured list since the second series of the year, fans finally get to see the former NL MVP. They also get to see McKinstry after a few weeks, a guy that has been a huge addition in 2021. And it couldn’t come at a moment too soon.
The Dodgers have gone with a rotation for Chris Taylor and Mookie Betts in centerfield in Bellinger’s absence. And while both of them filled in admirably, having him back in the lineup makes for a much better defensive alignment.
It also puts a big bat right back in the middle of the lineup. Bellinger is a huge power threat that will slot in perfectly between some other really good offensive weapons. The Dodgers lineup is suddenly looking very dangerous.
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Having McKinstry back also allows the Dodgers to move more guys around, almost like having another Chris Taylor. McKinstry was slashing .296/.328/.556 before hitting the IL with an oblique issue.
Heading into Saturday afternoon’s game, the Dodgers are just 1.5 games back of the Padres for first place. This comes even after a stretch where they went 5-15 and looked to be spiraling. If Cody can hit the ground running, Los Angeles should be in a very good position to win a lot of games.
DJ Peters and Sheldon Neuse were optioned to make room on the roster.
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The Dodgers should have kept Peters instead of Tsutsugo, they now have 6 lefty batters and 4 righty’s (not counting the catchers). Peters is a better outfielder, and has a much higher upside as a hitter (just my opinion). Taylor will be playing more left field now that Bellinger is back, and Peters is a good center fielder, if they needed Bellinger back at first base. So what did they need to keep Tsutsugo for?
Because Peters and Nuese have options. The team can bounce them back and forth while Tsutsugo would be a free agent unless he accepted an outright to the minors. The Dodgers want a longer look to see if he has anything they can work with.
I concur and Tsutsugo will be sent out eventually if he continues to falter however. I might have kept Peters or Neuse instead but the real problem is Dodgers carrying 14 pitchers and only 12 position players for the purpose of those BP games. This will haunt team if this roster arrangement stays as is.
Now all the Dodgers need to do is get ruin of Barnes!!!!
Lol, but the eye test shows Barnes is equal or better in offensive and defensive production to Betts right now. He can safety squeeze, clutch hits unexpectedly when opponents know the 9th batter in the hole, game tying home run off the bench, and an experienced pitch caller. Barnes a 1/5 pay of under-performing Betts is a more appreciative sight.
My math was off…. it is 1/10th the salary of Betts.
Barnes still sucks,