Less than a week has passed since Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes stated that the team’s strategy for the July 30 trade deadline shouldn’t be impacted by their current injury problems.
Additionally, it has been a day since Monday, June 24, when Garrett Crochet pitched 5.2 scoreless innings against the Dodgers to lead Los Angeles 3-0.
Things shift quickly. The Dodgers reportedly expressed interest in Crochet after Clayton Kershaw experienced tightness in his shoulder during his recovery on June 24. This news was reported by The Athletic.
With Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler on the disabled list and Kershaw out, the Dodgers are starting to worry about their starting pitching.
Crochet is “a Padres target,” according to Ken Rosenthal, Patrick Mooney, and Katie Woo, who assessed the trade market for him in a report published on June 25. “The Dodgers also like Crochet.”
As of June 25, the Dodgers are already favourites to win the World Series because they lead the NL West by 8.5 games. According to FanGraphs, they have a 17.5% probability of winning their second championship in five seasons, and adding an ace could help them win it all, particularly if the injured players start playing again.
“Audition” by Garrett Crochet Aces Dodgers
Against one of the strongest offences in baseball, Crochet not only gave up zero earned runs but also struck out six and did not walk a single batter.
According to Sporting News’ Randy Holt, the start might serve as a Dodgers tryout.
In fact, he said, “Crochet was throwing harder than his average to date.” With the four-seam, he averaged 97.9 mph, while with the cutter, it was 92.1 mph. Everybody exceeded their season average by a full mile. Although he only occasionally threw his changeup and slider, their spin rates were also higher.
Crochet pitched to a 39% strikeout rate and a 71% ground ball rate, according to Holt. Crochet, on the other hand, has a still impressive 35% strikeout rate and 45% ground ball rate for the entire season.
The Rotation Injury Dreads of the Dodgers
The day before Kershaw’s second planned rehab start, the Dodgers made the decision to shut him down. Before the Dodgers played Chicago, manager Dave Roberts played down the seriousness of the setback in his pregame press conference.
Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports that Roberts stated, “This is part of the process, as far as anyone that goes through rehab, that goes through surgery, on their way back.” “The soreness is what he’s experiencing at the moment.”
Roberts continued, saying that Kershaw will be isolated for a week, but this shouldn’t interfere with the rehabilitation process’s building blocks.
Barely more than a month after activating Buehler from Tommy John surgery, the Dodgers placed him on the injured list on June 19. Due to his short time, Buehler struggled, and the Dodgers moved him to the injured list due to irritation in his right hip. There is no schedule for his comeback from the team.
Regarding Yamamoto, Gomes stated that it is “way too early” to determine how much time he will miss due to the shoulder ailment that forced him to the injured list a few weeks ago.
He did, however, note that the Dodgers wouldn’t change their trade deadline plans since he believes Yamamoto will return this season.
However, that was before to Buehler’s IL, which caused Kershaw to be closed down. Right now? Everything is up for grabs.
Be the first to comment