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What Else Do the Los Angeles Dodgers Need to do?

By Sunit Bhakta

Oct 17, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (23) talks with manager Dave Roberts (right) and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman (middle) during today
Oct 17, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (23) talks with manager Dave Roberts (right) and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman (middle) during today /
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May 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Alex Wood (57) in the first inning of the game against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Solving the Rotation Musical Chairs

As of right now, the Los Angeles Dodgers have 10 major-league caliber starting pitchers on their depth chart: Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urías, Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy, Brock Stewart, Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, and Hyun-Jin Ryu. However, that depth might not mean much, especially when taking into account the injury history of some of those pitchers in particular Kazmir, McCarthy, Ryu, and Hill along with Wood and Stripling to a certain extent. Because of this, a search for a reliable quality arm should not be off-the-table.

With the 10 arms available however, I believe that the rotation should be Kershaw, Hill, Maeda, and Urías as the top four with Wood, Stripling, and Stewart battling it out for the number five slot. The two “losers” can then be used as swingmen out of the ‘pen and serve as replacement starters when the team decides to give Hill, Maeda, and Urías breathers throughout the season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers should move on from Kazmir, McCarthy, and Ryu by trading them away while willing to eat up a portion of their contracts. Start fresh by trading them and replacing them with another reliable arm via trade. He doesn’t have to be an ace, but a solid, proven, mid-rotation innings-eater to resemble what the St. Louis Cardinals have in Mike Leake (not saying to trade for Leake) would be perfect. If they can pull this off, then the front office can view one from the Stewart, Stripling, and Wood group as expendable and use in a trade.

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