Whereas the Los Angeles Dodgers went into Spring Training in recent years with a plethora of starting pitchers competing for one or two spots in the rotation, the picture was much more clear when camp opened five weeks ago.
All that was truly left to be determined was how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would align his starters come the regular season. Tea leaves were confirmed over the weekend, when Roberts said Clayton Kershaw would be followed by Alex Wood, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
That the Dodgers had their five starters all but set wasn’t so much a decision after evaluating options as it was dictated by circumstance. The depth they boasted over the past two seasons has all but been eliminated.
Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy were included in an offseason trade with the Atlanta Braves, and Yu Darvish signed with the Chicago Cubs. Moreover, Julio Urias is on the mend from last June’s anterior capsule surgery and Walker Buehler is facing an innings limit.
“We don’t have the starting pitching depth that we’ve had in past years,” Roberts acknowledged.
“We’re expecting to get Julio back at some point in time this summer, and obviously Walker Buehler is a guy we expect to make an impact as a starter this year, so there’s some depth there. We feel confident that Ross Stripling could make starts for us if we need him to.”
Roberts previously gave his pitching staff a vote of confidence, and reiterated that stance despite some durability issues in previous years with each member of the starting rotation.
“We feel very confident with the five guys we do have,” Roberts said. “We try to manage these guys individually to allow for them to get through a Major League season.”
As it has since 2011, the rotation will largely be predicated on the success — and health — of Kershaw. He’s suffered a back injury in each of the past two seasons, but without typical depth in starting pitchers, withstanding another prolonged absence may be more difficult in 2018.
