NFL
By: George Lopez
The Los Angeles Dodgers wrap up their Cactus League portion of spring training this week as they prepare to travel to South Korea to take on the San Diego Padres in a 2 game series in Seoul. The Dodgers have had an impressive spring training overall, with a 13-4 record with one more game remaining in Cactus League play. There has been a tremendous amount of buzz with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow debuting with the team this spring. While fans have been excited by the play of Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Tyler, the club still has questions it will need to answer in terms of the back of the end rotation and what to do with Gavin Lux.
For the opening series in Korea, Glasnow and Yamamoto have been named the starting pitchers for the Dodgers. In his final Cactus League start, Glasnow was very impressive, pitching 5 1/3 innings of no-hit ball while only throwing 70 pitches while lowering his E.R.A to 0.90. Though Yamamoto struggled in his 2nd spring training start, fans, players, and the Dodgers coaching staff have been very impressed with what Yamamoto brings to the mound and his attention to detail when working on his mechanics.
With Glasnow, Yamamoto, and Bobby Miller slated to fill 3 spots in the starting rotation, the question remains who will take the remaining spots in the rotation? Walker. Buehler will not be in the starting rotation to begin the season as the team does not want to rush him back too quickly as he comes back from his 2nd Tommy John surgery. It is expected Buehler will rejoin the rotation sometime in April or possibly early May. Emmet Sheehan was a strong candidate to grab one of the remaining spots in the starting rotation. The Dodgers announced this past week that Sheehan will begin the season on the injured list due to shoulder soreness. Gavin Stone has looked impressive in his spring training outings and should be in serious consideration to join the starting rotation to begin the season. With the team announcing they plan on using a 5 man rotation, that leaves James Paxton, Michael Grove, and Ryan Yarbrough to compete for the final spot. With Grove and Yarbrough showing last season they are capable of pitching in relief, Paxton would appear to be the front-runner for the 5th spot in the rotation. Buehler and Sheehan are both expected back early in the season and should slot into the rotation upon their return. Clayton Kershaw is not expected to return until after the All-Star break but more realistically, not until early August to help give the rotation a fresh arm in the 2nd half of the season.
One of the biggest questions the Dodgers are facing is Gavin Lux. Returning from an ACL injury that cost him the entire 2023 season, Lux was penciled in to be the starting shortstop this season. Lux has looked shaky at shortstop all spring, particularly with his throws. Multiple times, Lux has not been able to make the routine throws to first as his throws are either wide or bouncing to first. A simple answer is Lux is not following his throws which would enable him to make a stronger throw. The issue has become so worrisome, that Manager Dave Roberts announced this past week that Mookie Betts will be the starting shortstop with Lux being moved to 2nd base. This is not what the team envisioned going into the season. The Dodgers do have some flexibility with Chris Taylor, Kiki Hernandez, and Miguel Rojas on the roster to play some games at shortstop. The Dodgers are still rumored to be interested in trading for Brewers shortstop Wilie Adames, though the trade does not appear very likely at this point.
The Dodgers are ending their Cactus League portion of spring training relatively healthy. The offense has looked impressive, having only been shut out once this spring. The team still has questions they need to answer as they approach not only the opening 2 game series in South Korea but the March 28th season openers for the rest of MLB. The coaching staff will be hard at work to improve Gavin Lux’s mechanics on the field as well as rounding out their starting rotation to start the season on a strong note.
