Los Angeles Dodgers
Make no mistake, the Dodgers remain formidable. That’s true even with the loss of ace Trevor Bauer.
But it is also increasingly evident that the Dodgers are a team with a potentially fatal flaw. There is one standout weakness, and it’s an area that has sunk better teams with post-season aspirations: the bullpen.
The closer, Kenley Jansen, is carrying a respectable 2.97 ERA. But Jansen is just 1-4 and he’s allowed 1.4 baserunners per inning, largely due to his unreliable control. He’s walked 27 opponents in less than 40 innings this season.
The supporting cast – Blake Treinen, Joe Kelly, David Price, Jimmy Nelson — is veteran-laden. But their performance, too, has often been in-and-out.
The sum total of Dodger bullpen efforts in 2021 works out to -2.6 WAA. By MLB standards, that’s bottom third. Compare that with the far more reliable Dodger starters, who are at +5.6 WAA. Overall, Dodger pitchers remain an asset, but a compromised one.
Relief pitchers are an abundant asset on the trade market this week. Some, notably Andrew Chafin, have already been claimed but others remain available. It will be a major surprise, and a major mistake, if Dodgers’ team President Andrew Friedman doesn’t lay claim to at least one big-name arm by week’s end.