May 2nd, 2017 at 4:06 pm 
by Ron Cervenka As a surprise to no one, the Dodgers made the first of what figures to several looming roster moves on Tuesday afternoon when they optioned struggling utility outfielder / first baseman Scott Van Slyke to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room on their 25-man roster for returning outfielder Franklin Gutierrez, who had been on the Dodgers 10-day disabled list for a strained left hamstring.
The 30-year-old Van Slyke, who has six seasons of MLB experience (all with the Dodgers), got off to a brutally slow 2017 season, going 4-for-31 (.129) at the plate in the 21 games in which he played. He did, however, have one of the Dodgers 27 home runs this season, along with one double and two RBIs
Before landing on the 10-day DL on April 11, Gutierrez was 3-for-13 (.231), with two of those hits being doubles. And though the 34-year-old Caracas, Venezuela native has yet to drive in his first run as a Dodger, he was signed by the Dodgers this past off-season specifically to give the left-handed-hitting heavy Dodgers an additional right-handed bat.
Although Gutierrez was acquired by the Dodgers specifically to combat left-handed pitching, he struck out in four of his 12 at-bats against lefties prior to landing on the DL on April 11.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
But Tuesday’s Gutierrez-for-Van Slyke roster move carries much bigger implications. Many had figured that the guy to go back to Triple-A OKC would be the guy who most recently arrived from there (excluding frequent flyer reliever Josh Fields) – 21-year-old outfielder / first baseman Cody Bellinger. But Belly has done everything that he can to make that not happen, with his week-old MLB slash-line of .320 / .393 / .600 for an impressive OPS of .993.
In addition to his smoking hot bat, Bellinger has shown remarkable baseball savvy by bunting to beat the defensive shift against him. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
That’s the good news.
The bad news – at least for Bellinger and his many fans – is that Dodgers everyday center fielder Joc Pederson and everyday second baseman Logan Forsythe are both expected to also be reactivated from the DL presumably on Friday, when the team kicks off a weekend series with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. What may help the extremely popular Chandler, Arizona native remain with the big club – with may being the definitive word – is that Dodgers veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and veteran and now Dodgers back-up second baseman Chase Utley are also struggling horribly right now as well.
AGon is clearly still dealing with nagging neck issues and even more nagging tendinitis in his right elbow. And though the unofficial team captain and clubhouse leader has never been on the DL even once over his 14-year Hall of Fame-worthy career, a stint there now could do both he and the Dodgers – and especially Cody Bellinger – a world of good; likewise for 15-year MLB veteran Chase Utley.
As noted, the Pederson and Forsythe roster moves will most likely occur on Friday prior to the weekend series with the Padres.
Stay tuned…
Posted in 
You’re 1 for 1.
It’s the next two hurdles that scare me.
Belly making his MLB debut at 1B tonight.
Another terrific game by Bellinger last night IMO has secured a roster spot and regular playing time. When Forsythe returns either Hernandez or Taylor will likely go back to OKC, my guess it will be Taylor where he can play every day but Kike is the guy who should go. Bottom line — Bellinger is the best all around OF’er on this team, PERIOD! He is a superior athlete to the other OF’ers with a high baseball IQ and his aggressive swing is tempered when just putting the ball in play is needed; sending him back to OKC makes no sense! In fact, I believe it would be good for Joc Pederson to be optioned back to OKC as a wakeup call that his inconsistent at bats and high K-rate are unacceptable and right now he is behind Bellinger, Toles, Puig, and Gutierrez on the depth chart. Agon could go on the DL, but it was mentioned by Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser last night that he was at the park early taking extra BP with Turner Ward, so the DL is unlikely.
Did you actually see an official depth chart (I haven’t been able to find one) or did you forget an “IMO”?
All that’s happened lately points to the coming of Cody Bellinger. Sooner or later he will be a big part of the Dodgers’ starting lineup.