Dodgers Place Stripling on DL on the Eve of the Deadline
Today the Dodgers placed All-Star Starter Ross Stripling on the DL with a toe injury. How does this affect LA’s deadline plans?
The Dodgers keep hearing two of the most feared words in baseball; disabled list. On Monday, Los Angeles placed Ross Stripling on the DL with a toe injury, and reports say he’ll miss about 12 days. With the Dodgers currently going with a 6-man rotation, and Stripling having just pitched the other day, he shouldn’t miss more than 2 starts.
The Dodgers, however, are in first by half a game, and every single one counts right now.
This injury is hardly a reason to jump on the trade train, but that is a ride the Dodgers already find themselves on. Even if Stripling was perfectly healthy, LA needs another solid starter. As of now, the only ‘postseason-ready’ starters are Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill. Both of their most recent outings were excellent. Hill tossed 7 innings of 3-hit baseball against the Braves on Thursday and Kershaw followed with a dominant 7 and 2/3 innings start in which he allowed only one run.
Ross Stripling may be an All-Star (rightfully so, I might add) but his most recent starts haven’t been great.
A player can decline during the second half of the season, and though I don’t think that’s what’s happening with Stripling, is it really worth the risk?
Julio Urias is on his way back from injury, but LA is hoping to make him a super-reliever out of the pen come October. Kenta Maeda is strong, but may not be strong enough to pitch in clutch October games yet ( but Kenta Maeda, the super-reliever is something I am always in favor of).
When it comes to hitting, the Dodgers are covered. They’ve got Matt Kemp, Max Muncy, and Manny Machado. They have an award winning first baseman who hasn’t even gotten hot yet, and they have an ace who can seriously hit.
Pitching, however, is where the Dodgers need a boost, one that can be found within the controlled chaos of the trade deadline. Last season they had Brandon Morrow to bridge the gap to Kenley Jansen. This season, they have strong, under-the-radar guys like JT Chargois, Erik Goeddel, and Scott Alexander, but they need something more. They need a 2017 Morrow. They need an epic combo with the goal of keeping hits few and far between.
The Dodgers need pitching no matter what, but what will take priority? Will they trade for a star starter and a reliable reliever? Will they trade another top prospect to bring the kind of strength to the pen that the offense already has?
I don’t know, but tomorrow will bring a lot of things for the Dodgers; changes, roster moves, tough decisions and, above all, answers.