As if Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Farhan Zaidi and field manager Don Mattingly didn’t already have enough on their plate trying to figure out who their utility infielders and outfielders are going to be, they are faced with an equally difficult decision as to who will fill the few available roster spots in the Dodgers bullpen come Opening Day.

Almost to the man nearly every Dodger reliever this spring hasn’t just been pitching well, they’ve been pitching exceptionally well. In fact, of the 26 relievers that have made an appearance in big league camp, 18 of them have yet to give up even one earned run:

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Granted, there are a number of these guys who realistically have zero chance of making the Opening Day roster, in fact most of them will not. But given the fact that guys like J.P. Howell, Brandon League, Joel Peralta and (eventually) Kenley Jansen are pretty much guaranteed bullpen spots, you begin to see the dilemma facing the Dodgers brass.

That being said, there are several guys on this list who have been absolutely lights out through the Dodgers’ first 10 spring training games, including a couple who are vying for the temporary closer role until Jansen returns. The front-runners to fill that position are Chris Hatcher, J.P. Howell (if healthy), Sergio Santos, or possibly Adam Liberatore. But in order to add one or more of these guys to the Dodgers Opening Day roster, guys like Paco Rodriguez, Dan Coulombe, Pedro Baez, Yimi Garcia, and Joe Wieland and the many other guys who still have options will have to be sent down to the minors to begin the 2015 season.

Sergio Santos has four strikeouts without allowing a walk in his three innings of work this spring. Santos had 30 saves with the White Sox in 2011 and is a strong candidate to fill in for injured Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen – if he makes the team, that is. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

And while 36-year-old left-hander Erik Bedard is a career starting pitcher and in camp as a non-roster invitee, the Dodgers might want to add the 11-year veteran to their 40-man and 25-man rosters as their long reliever and spot starter. The Ontario, Canada native pitched exceptionally well in his two appearances thus far this spring allowing one run on two hits while striking out two and walking one in his four innings of work. Realistically, Bedard is a long shot to make the team out of camp and he can opt out of his minor league contract if not on the MLB roster by May 1, but has already said that he is more than willing to accept a minor league assignment to remain with the Dodgers. As it stands right now, Bedard would probably be considered the Dodgers number six or number seven starter, but in the now famous words of Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter – “Pitchers break.”

In Thursday night’s 1-0 win over the San Diego Padres, Santos, Liberatore, Ravin and Gaudin all pitched exceptionally well, as did David Huff in his 1.2 innings of work in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. In fact Huff, a six-year major leaguer, is also a very strong candidate to be a long reliever but he, too, is a non-roster invitee on a minor league contract.

David Huff pitched exceptionally well in his 1.2 innings in relief of 18-year-old phenom Julio Urias, who lasted only 0.1 inning on Wednesday. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

With the first round of cuts likely to occur as early as next week, Friedman, Zaidi and Mattingly definitely have their work cut out for them in deciding who stays and who goes; and then they have to do it again a couple more times in the remaining three weeks of spring training.

Needless to say, these guy will be earning their money and as Dodger fans know all too well, one bad decision could spell disaster for the two-time defending NL West champs.