As anticipated, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced his second round of cuts on Thursday afternoon, trimming his major league clubhouse from 53 to 46. The cuts leave the Dodgers with 22 pitchers and 24 position players in major league camp, of which 11 are non-roster invitees.

As with Monday’s first round of cuts, there weren’t many surprises on Thursday, but there were a couple. Realistically, there was no way that top-ranked pitching prospects Julio Urias and Jose De Lean were going to break camp on the big league roster, this in spite of the fact that both are huge sentimental favorites among Dodgers fans. But it was the optioning of right-handed starting pitcher Ross Stripling and left-handed reliever Ian Thomas that came as a surprise to many.

Stripling, who is now two years removed from Tommy John surgery, was having a great spring and was among the best starters in camp. In fact, only two-time Tommy John recipient Brandon Beachy and Japanese superstar Kenta Maeda – both right-handers – were having a better spring than Stripling, but not by much.

Only Brandon Beachy and Kenta Maeda have better spring training numbers among all Dodgers starters than Ross Stripling. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Although the sample size is very small, Stripling has allowed zero runs and only one hit while walking three and striking out six through six innings of work. He held opposing hitters to a minuscule .056 batting average against (BAA) while posting a WHIP of only 0.67. These aren’t just good numbers, these are great numbers.

Thomas, who is often kidded about his striking resemblance to Clayton Kershaw, made three spring training relief appearances in which he allowed zero runs and only one hit while walking one and striking out four in his three innings of work. He held opposing hitters to a .111 BAA with an outstanding WHIP of 0.67 – here again, great numbers.

Of all the relievers in big league camp who have pitched three innings or more, only Louis Coleman has better numbers than Kershaw-lookalike Ian Thomas – and only fractionally.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

In contrast, left-hander Alex Wood – who Roberts has already said will be his number four starter – has allowed six runs on eight hits (including two home runs) while walking one and striking out three in five innings of work. His BAA is a rather uncomfortable .333 and his WHIP a lofty 1.80. But here again, the sample size is rather small, something that was undoubtedly taken into consideration when Roberts, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi decided who stays and who goes.

The real head scratcher and arguably the biggest question among Dodger fans is why on earth would Friedman, Zaidi and Roberts keep 41-year-old / 19-year MLB veteran Jamey Wright – a non-roster invitee – in major league camp while optioning Thomas? In his 3.1 innings of work Wright has allowed six runs on six hits (one a home run) while walking two and striking out three. His BAA is an ugly .400 and his WHIP 2.40. These are the kind of numbers that would get a guy cut from most minor league rosters, let alone a big league roster.

In addition to Stripling and Thomas, the Dodgers also optioned second baseman Micah Johnson and newly arrived Cuban right-hander Yaisel Sierra to minor league camp, which wasn’t unexpected. They also reassigned non-roster invitee catcher Jack Murphy – yet another huge fan favorite – to minor league camp.

Veteran minor league catcher Jack Murphy quickly became a fan favorite during his month in major league spring training camp. He was one of three Dodgers non-roster invitees to be reassigned to minor league camp on Thursday afternoon. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

It is well understood and excepted that cuts have to be made, especially with only 17 spring training games remaining before Opening Day (including two split-squad games). Not only must the guys who figure to make the Dodgers Opening Day roster get stretched out, but so too must the guys fighting for spots on the respective minor league rosters. But rather than optioning Stripling and Thomas to the minors, why wouldn’t the Dodgers brass simply move left-hander Brett Anderson and right-hander Josh Ravin to the 60-day disabled list and allow Stripling and Thomas to remain in big league camp?

Most Dodger fans will agree that allowing right-handers Mike Bolsinger and Brandon Beachy to fight it out for the fifth and final spot in the Dodgers rotation is the right thing to do. But where things get a little confusing is also keeping right-hander Zach Lee in the mix as well. No one will argue that like Urias and De Leon, Lee is a huge fan favorite and rightfully deserves his spot on the 40-man roster. But through eight spring training innings, Lee has given up four runs on seven hits (including one home run) while walking two and striking out four. And while his BAA of .233 and a WHIP of 1.13 are both very respectable, they pale in comparison to Stripling’s.

But alas, these decisions are not ours to make and their consequences (and subsequent blame) are not our responsibility. Unfortunately, this does little to lessen the frustration of Dodgers fans – and even more so for Ross Stripling and Ian Thomas – in knowing that Friedman, Zaidi and Roberts may have cut the wrong guys.

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