Examining The Various Options Available To The Dodgers Come September
As August winds down, playoff races intensify and teams hope to bolster their teams with help from their 40-man rosters. Rosters expand on Sept. 1 and players called up can remain in the Majors until the end of the regular season.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly or the front office hasn’t identified who will be promoted, but players are expected to arrive in multiple waves. Here’s a look at who you can expect to see coming up from the farm for the final month.
Arms Race
One of the Dodgers’ biggest struggles over the past few months is finding relievers who can consistently be called upon to hold leads. They’ve mixed and matched for the past few weeks, adding Luis Avilan and Jim Johnson via trade, but there are others in the Minors who could help.
Yimi Garcia has had an up and down year, but things have looked better of late, as he posted a 1.23 ERA in 7.1 innings in August. He was sent back down to Triple-A Oklahoma City when Juan Nicasio came off the disabled list, but look for Garcia to return to the club on the first day in September.
Adam Liberatore looked like a gem early in the season, not allowing an earned run in April and posting a solid 2.35 ERA in May. However, his ERA rose with the temperature and he was sent down to Oklahoma City in July, where he’s been solid.
Adding another lefty to the bullpen seems like a no-brainer and Liberatore will look to rediscover his early season success. Now, Oklahoma City is in the thick of their own playoff race and may not want to send all of their best arms to the big club days before they begin their postseason run.
NEXT PAGE: Other Pitchers Likely To Join The Dodgers
I would love to see Seager and Urias with the big club as soon as they can be added to the roster. I’m hoping Urias can bridge the gap to Jansen in the 9th and final frame. If he can pitch the 8th inning, I have faith in Kershaw and Grienke’s abilities to successfully pitch through the 7th, almost guaranteeing an automatic two wins to begin any series. I recall reading that Mattingly isn’t too interested in using Urias, however, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever!
Peraza is a lot more valuable than just a pinch-runner. He is likely gonna be a part of the Dodgers infield next year.
I’d think Seager will be up just like Joc was last September
I don’t understand why Mattingly refuses to bring up Seager and Urias immediately. Maybe he really is too stupid to manage a big league team!
You really think Mattingly is making that decision? Please…..
Just another BS reason for someone to bash Mattingly.
I get that that ownership (or the front office) is primarily responsible for those decisions, but the comments have been attributed to him specifically. He is responsible for making in-game decisions, however, that affect the outcomes of games they’ve lost.