Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Los Angeles Dodgers are leading the major leagues despite having 14 players on the injured list, including key starters and their closer.
- A combination of deep pockets, strong scouting, and player development has allowed the team to replace injured stars with effective options.
- The next step for Los Angeles will be integrating their injured ace pitchers back into a rotation that has already proven it can dominate without them.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have 14 players on the injured list.
That’s a staggering number with enough players to fill more than half of a 26-man active roster. Most teams would have no chance of surviving that many injuries.
Yet the Dodgers keep rolling along after winning the last two World Series. Los Angeles’ 48-27 record is the best in the major leagues, and it has a nine-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the National West, which makes the Dodgers’ fifth consecutive division title and 13th in 14 seasons feel inevitable.
The oddsmakers have the Dodgers as the favorite to become the first team to win three World Series in a row since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000.
“Anything can happen in the postseason,” a rival MLB executive conceded. “But 1-26, no one has the talent to compare to the Dodgers. And if someone gets hurt, another good player is ready to step in. I don’t see anyone who can beat them unless something fluky happens in October.”
Who are the Dodgers missing?
A lot of players, but the most important are starting pitchers Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, and closer Edwin Diaz.
Snell started only once this season before going on the injured list with elbow problems. The left-hander had a medical procedure to remove loose bodies from the elbow in mid-May and isn’t expected to be activated from the injured list until at least mid-July.
Losing Snell would be devastating in most cases, as he is a two-time Cy Young Award winner. Yet the Dodgers’ 3.33 ERA ranks second in the major leagues, just .01 behind the Yankees.
Making the team ERA look even more impressive is that Glasnow, another frontline starter, andEdwin Diaz are on the 60-day IL with Snell.
The last of Glasnow’s seventh starts this season was on May 6. The big right-hander then went on the IL with lower back spasms that are still preventing him from throwing, leaving his status for the rest of the season in question.
The Dodgers’ biggest weakness last season was the lack of a reliable closer. Acerbic left-hander Tanner Scott bombed after being signed to a four-year, $72-million contract in free agency during the previous offseason.
The Dodgers thought they solved the end-of-game problem over the winter by signing Edwin Diaz to a three-year, $69-million contract as a free agent. However, like Snell. Diaz needed a procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow.
Diaz has pitched seven times this season, with his last outing on April 19. The Dodgers hope to have the three-time Reliever of the Year back in about a month.
How the Dodgers are replacing the injured pitchers
The Dodgers are filling the holes in the rotation with two left-handers, young Justin Wrobleski and journeyman Eric Lauer.
The 25-year-old Wrobleski has been quite a surprise, moving to the rotation in early April after one relief outing. He is 8-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 14 games this season. The Dodgers’ 11th-round draft pick pitched to a 4.81 ERA over 103 innings in his first two major-league seasons.
Obtained from the Toronto Blue Jays on May 17 in a straight cash waiver deal, Lauer has fit in nicely at the back end of a six-man rotation that includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Emmet Sheehan, Shohei Ohtani, and Roki Sasaki. The 31-year-old Lauer is 1-0 with a 3.22 ERA in four starts.
Five pitchers have recorded saves in Diaz’s absence. However, a resurgent Scott has emerged as the primary closing option with nine saves in 10 opportunities and a 2.32 ERA in 33 games.
How the Dodgers consistently fill roster holes
In a variety of ways, the top being that they have a lot of money. A whole lot of money.
The Dodgers spent a record $511 million in player payroll and luxury tax last season. They can afford to pay $141 million to two closers in Diaz and Scott.
The Dodgers also have excellent scouting and player development departments. A prime example is the unheralded Wrobleski, who will likely be selected to the All-Star Game.
Also, the Dodgers supplement their strong field staff with a robust analytics department. The math and tech experts identify players like Lauer who they feel could benefit from joining a new organization.
Put money and smarts together, and you have the Dodgers, the best team in baseball, and undeterred by major injuries.
“We talked about it in 2014 when I first came to the Dodgers, just the critical component of player development,” President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman told FanSided. “We’ve poured a lot of time, energy, and resources into it. For us, it is a testament to our amateur, international, and pro scouting staff, as well as our player development group. It’s the ability of all those different groups, with our front office and the major-league field staff, to work so well together and be integrated.
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