After disappointing finishes the past couple of years, many believed that the Dodgers would finally raise the Commissioner’s Trophy at the end of this season. They had traded for one of the best players in the game in Mookie Betts while adding a still capable veteran arm in David Price.
A team that had won 106 games just last year got much better to the point people could refer to it as a super team. Not only did the Dodgers add those to key pieces to the puzzle, but their team has the depth to outlast anyone in baseball over a long 162 game season.
The arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic has, of course, halted the 2020 MLB season for the time being but talk has gotten louder of a revived shortened season. Many believe the Dodgers’ advantage of being the deeper team in baseball evaporates with a shorter season and having a shorter season means every game is even more vital making it a much more difficult road to the postseason. Dave Roberts recently spoke on the issue stating that he doesn’t think the Dodgers will be negatively affected.
“I absolutely agree from that side of things. When you shorten the season, less variables come into play. The smaller the sample size the more it brings other teams into play, which is great. But I do think when and if we start the season the expanded rosters will ultimately help our club.”
That shouldn’t be the case for our boys in blue. When baseball does return, clubs will have a 21-to-25 day period to get ready for the season and rosters will be expanded from the original 25-man format to a 26-man one that was already previously agreed upon. The rosters may even be expanded more than that which gives the Dodgers back that advantage. In a shorter season, there are fewer days off and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has also talked about squeezing in as many doubleheaders as possible.
The Dodgers will be able to keep their team fresh throughout the season. This becomes crucial to protect veterans like Justin Turner or Clayton Kershaw who have suffered injuries the past couple of seasons. They can utilize guys such as Matt Beaty, Kiké Hernandez, Chris Taylor, Edwin Rios, AJ Pollock, etc. to give the starters a rest. They can also dip into a deep farm system and call up guys like outfielder DJ Peters, infielder Jacob Amaya, or catcher Keibert Ruiz.
Fewer off days means that the Dodgers will have to get creative with their rotation to ensure they don’t overwork their pitchers. They can turn to a six-man rotation of Kershaw, Walker Buehler, David Price, Alex Wood, Julio Urias, and Dustin may. They can also call on Ross Stripling, Tony Gonslin, Jimmy Nelson, and when he’s ready, prospect Josiah Gray.
No matter what way you look at it the Dodgers are still built to last a season such as this one. It’s just a matter of when not if the season will start. What we do know for sure is that the Dodgers’ will be ready again to try and bring home what should’ve been ours in 2017, a World Series title.
