Remember those old E.F. Hutton commercials, the ones that ended with: “When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen?” Well if you are a Dodger fan who closely follows longtime Dodgers beat reporter Ken Gurnick (and let’s be real here, if you do not, you are really missing the boat), then you are very well aware that: “When Ken Gurnick writes it, Dodger fans better believe it” – period.

During Tuesday’s first – and much needed – scheduled spring training off day, and with 20 spring training games remaining, Gurnick released his first projected Dodgers Opening Day roster. Had I not seen it prior to preparing my own projected Opening Day roster, I would have thought that Ken had stolen my notes.

Here is Gurnick’s projected Dodgers Opening Day roster as of March 5th:

Although Ken’s projected Opening Day roster in extremely close to my own, there is a grand total of one discrepancy between his and mine, which is quite flattering for me. That lone discrepancy is the guy who (in my opinion) has proven that he absolutely belongs on the Dodgers Opening Day roster – 28-year-old right-handed reliever Yimi Garcia.

Although the sample size is ridiculously small, the Moca, Dominican Republic native has been lights out thus far this spring. We’re talking better than every other Dodgers reliever, again keeping in mind that the sample size is small.

In his combined 3.0 innings pitched thus far this spring, Garcia has yet to allow a run, hit, or walk, while striking out six of the nine batters he has faced, doing so on a grand total of 28 pitches.

By comparison, the guy that the Dodgers just signed to a 3-year / $25 million contract (plus incentives and an option for a fourth year) – 30-year-old right-hander Joe Kelly – has allowed one run on two hits with two walks and no strikeouts in his 2.0 innings pitched thus far.

But Joe Kelly most certainly is not the guy that I would swap out for Yimi Garcia. That dubious honor belongs to Dodgers right-handed reliever JT Chargois who, through his three innings of work thus far, has allowed two runs, two hits (including a home run), while walking one and striking out two. It’s not that the 28-year-old Sulphur, Louisiana native is bad, it’s that Yimi Garcia has been better thus far this spring.

But there is another reason why I would have Yimi on my Opening Day roster, one that is even more important than his (thus far) outstanding spring – Yimi Garcia is out of options. In other words, if he is not on the Dodgers Opening Day roster, he could – and undoubtedly would – be snatched up by another team … in a heartbeat. And don’t think for one second that every baseball scout on the planet isn’t well aware of this. The dilemma is that Chargois is also out of options.

This perhaps suggests that Chargois is on Gurnick’s OD roster over Garcia because Chargois is owed the MLB minimum of $555,000 in 2019, whereas Garcia will make (wait for it…) $710,000 if he is on the OD roster. This is, of course, absolutely absurd and something that Gurnick knows full well. There is no way that the Dodgers would even blink at this $155,000 salary difference; not when they just signed veteran outfielder A.J. Pollock to a 4-year / $55 million contract and just gave their ace Clayton Kershaw (who will most likely begin the 2019 season on the IL) a well-deserved 3-year / $93 million contract extension.

Chances are far greater that Gurnick knows something that none of us do. Keep in mind that Garcia underwent Tommy John surgery on October 25, 2016 and posted a 5.64 ERA in his 22.1 innings pitched in 2018, compared to Chargois’ 3.90 ERA in his 59.0 innings of work in 2018.

So, who stays and who goes?

Stay tuned…

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