Dodgers Team News

The Dodgers Position Player Roster is Set, What’s Left to Decide?

With the James Outman news today, the Dodgers appear to have the position player side of the opening day roster set. Barring any injuries or setbacks, the entire 26-man roster appears close to being decided as well. Before diving into the questions that remain, let’s look at where things are position player wise.

Catchers

  • Will Smith
  • Austin Barnes

Infield

  • Freddie Freeman
  • Miguel Vargas
  • Max Muncy
  • Miguel Rojas
  • Chris Taylor

Outfield

  • David Peralta
  • Trayce Thompson
  • Mookie Betts
  • James Outman
  • Jason Heyward

DH

  • J.D. Martinez

That makes 13 position players with the addition of Outman to the list. Jason Heyward is also expected to make the roster as an NRI on a minor league deal. How this roster shakes out in terms of an opening day lineup is still something the team will need to figure out, but here’s one possible lineup.



There’s also the strong likelihood that Chris Taylor and/or Trayce Thompson make the starting 9.

Let’s Talk Pitching

Where the question marks remain for the Dodgers is on the pitching side of things. There are two spots currently up for grabs:

Who takes Tony Gonsolin’s spot in the rotation?
Who gets the final spot in the bullpen?

The rotation competition for the injured Gonsolin’s spot is down to two. One of Ryan Pepiot or Michael Grove will get the job. Pepiot is the likely front runner with Gonsolin expected to miss ‘a few weeks,’ according to Roberts.

As for the bullpen, most of that group is set with the official word coming today that Daniel Hudson and Jimmy Nelson will open the season on the injured list. With four more pitchers opening the season on the IL, the options are thin for LA.

Here’s a look at the roster locks on the pitching side of things:

Rotation

  • Julio Urias LHP
  • Clayton Kershaw LHP
  • Noah Syndergaard RHP
  • Dustin May RHP
  • Ryan Pepiot or Michael Grove RHPs

Bullpen

  • Evan Phillips RHP
  • Brusdar Graterol RHP
  • Yency Almonte RHP
  • Alex Vesia LHP
  • Caleb Ferguson LHP
  • Shelby Miller RHP
  • Phil Bickford RHP

Shelby Miller and Phil Bickford have struggled this spring, but considering the healthy options left and the fact that the Dodgers can’t send either to the minor leagues, they’ll open the season in the bullpen.

In terms of healthy pitchers left on the 40-man, there are three names left. Victor Gonzalez, Justin Bruihl, and Andre Jackson. Gonzalez has been downright bad this spring (10.38 ERA, batters hitting .300 off him). Bruihl was bad (10.80 ERA in 5 games) and was just optioned to the minor leagues on Wednesday, so clearly he’s not in the picture. And Jackson, who has had a nice spring and offers the Dodgers a multi-inning reliever to open the season.

So, it’s obvious the last guy will be Andre Jackson.

Whoever doesn’t make the rotation between Pepiot and Grove will be optioned to Triple-A so they can keep their pitch count up. They will not be options for the bullpen. Gavin Stone was lights out this spring but the club wants him to continue his development at Triple-A to start the season.

Final Thoughts

So the opening day roster is set, right? Unless a non-roster invite like RHP Wander Suero sneaks his way into the bullpen or an unexpected trade comes between now and next Thursday, we pretty much know what the 26 man roster will look like.

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Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

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