With the Dodgers closing in on a new MLB record for placing the most players on the disabled list in a single season, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi have been doing a pretty good job of making the right roster moves that have kept the Dodgers within striking distance of the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants for most of the season. Now granted, the Giants post All-Star break slide has had as much to do with this than anything else, but you have to admit that F&Z have done a pretty good job keeping the team afloat – especially with the loss of staff ace Clayton Kershaw.

With the loss of Kershaw etc. etc. to the disabled list, Friedman and Zaidi have been forced to not only dig deep into their (thankfully) loaded minor league farm system (for both starters and relievers), but they have also had to go outside and trade for a few additional pieces in hopes of capturing a fourth consecutive NL West title. And while it has been guys named Kenley Jansen and Joe Blanton and J.P. Howell and Adam Liberatore (until recently) who have kept the Dodgers in the hunt, the recent trade acquisitions of Jesse Chavez and Josh Fields has helped fortify a very overworked Dodgers bullpen heading into the final seven weeks of the season.

But there’s another recent addition to the Dodgers bullpen, this one from down on the farm. And judging by the early returns, he may very well be a difference maker in the Dodgers not only returning to the postseason for a fourth consecutive time, but actually going deep into it. That guy is 28-year-old left-hander Grant Dayton.

For those who don’t know the story by now, Dayton was acquired by the Dodgers on July 15, 2015 in the trade that sent Dodgers 2011 first-round draft pick Chris Reed to the Miami Marlins. And while it’s always risky trading away a first-rounder, it appears that the Dodgers won the trade when they landed Dayton.

Although the sample size is small, Dayton has been outstanding in his first eight innings of work.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Since his July 21 call-up to the Dodgers (which included being sent back down to Triple-A Oklahoma City on July 24 and called back up again on August 4), the Huntsville, Alabama native and Marlins former 11th-round draft pick has appeared in five games for the Dodgers. In those five games he allowed only one run (a home run to Phillies slugger Freddy Galvis) and only two hits in his eight innings of work. During that time he has faced a total of 28 batters and struck out 13 of them while walking only one and hitting a batter.

Among Dayton’s 13 strikeouts were Red Sox sluggers David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez during the recent interleague series against Boston at Dodger Stadium. And though Dayton has yet to record his first major league win (or loss), he owns a team-best 1.13 ERA. Here again, eight innings pitched is an unfair barometer on which to gauge, but it’s difficult not to like what you see in Dayton – especially if you happen to be his manager.

“You look at his outings, he made one bad pitch to Galvis – he yanked a fastball and got a homer – but outside of that, Grant has been as good as we could have expected,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after Dayton’s two scoreless innings of work on Sunday during which he allowed one hit while striking out three. “To give us two innings today, left [hander] or right [hander] doesn’t really affect him, so yeah, he’s a nice piece to have in the pen.”

Although the Dodgers lost ugly to the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 11-3 on Sunday, Dayton isn’t about to let that get him down and he knows exactly what is expected of him whenever his manager hands him the ball.

“I’m just trying to do my job, go in there and put up a few zeros on the board and hopefully give us a chance to come back and win the game,” Dayton said. “That’s part of my job, that’s all I’m trying to do.”

Although Dayton certainly did his job, the early 5-0 deficit at the hands of returning Dodgers starter Brett Anderson was too much for the Dodgers offense to overcome, as were the single runs allowed by right-hander Brock Stewart and left-hander J.P. Howell and the four runs allowed by newly arrived right-hander Josh Fields.

With the Dodgers about to begin a three-game series against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, followed by three against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, and with the Giants holding onto a slim half-game lead over the Dodgers heading into play on Tuesday evening, it’s probably safe to say that Dayton is going to play a big part during this six-game road trip that could find the Dodgers in sole possession of first place in the NL West as early as Tuesday night. And should the stars align just right and things go the Dodgers way, they might even return home with a significant lead over the Hated Ones. This would be a very good thing, being that the Dodgers will face those same Hated Ones for a three-game series upon their return home.

Welcome to the Dodgers, Grant. Nobody said it would be easy.