November 1st, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by 0799291000348 There are those who believe that the Dodgers bullpen in 2019 was not a significant problem, pointing to the group’s 3.85 earned run average (which ranked fifth in Major League Baseball) and 4.3 wins above replacement (ninth). But a deeper dive into advanced analytics (Baseball_Reference and Fangraphs) paints an entirely different picture of last season’s relief corps:
- The Dodgers bullpen ranked 24th out of 30 teams in leaving runners on base;
- Tied for fourth in most blown saves with the Cubs and Red Sox (28);
- Successful in only 60% of save opportunities (19th);
- 16th in holds; and,
- 29th (tied with Orioles) in percentage of inherited runners that scored (38%).
There were several relievers who performed well during the season, including starting pitchers who were also used in the bullpen: Kenta Maeda, Ross Stripling, Julio Urias, rookies Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May, and Casey Sadler and Adam Kolarek who were acquired during the season, pitched credibly for the Dodgers.
But pitchers who were expected to be late-inning, lock-down relievers in 2019 were, at best, inconsistent, including closer Kenley Jansen (eight blown-saves); setup man Joe Kelly (only eight holds, one save, five blown saves ); Pedro Baez (25 holds in 71 games, one save, six blown-saves); Yimi Garcia (four holds in 64 games, no saves, three blown saves); Dylan Floro (four holds in 50 games, no saves, three blown saves); and Caleb Ferguson (four holds in 44 games). Left-handed reliever Scott Alexander, who was injured for a good portion of the season with left forearm and thumb numbness on his pitching hand, pitched only 17 innings, and Tony Cingrani was injured all season, eventually undergoing labrum surgery on his left (pitching) shoulder in June and later traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jedd Gyorko.
(Video capture courtesy of Dodger Blue 1958)
There were bullpen ‘tryouts’ during the season, with pitchers Brock Stewart, Jaime Schultz, JT Chargois, Zac Rosscup, Dennis Santana and Josh Sborz failing to impress.
On November 1, 2019, the Dodgers have many more questions than answers for their 2020 bullpen:
- Will Alexander and Kelly return to full health, and effectiveness?
- Will Jansen return as the Dodgers closer or become an expensive set-up man, or will he be traded to make room for a new closer?
- What will be the pitching roles of Gonsolin, May, Maeda, Stripling, and Urias be, starter, reliever, or a combination?
- Will Ferguson return to his 2018 performance or was that season an aberration?
- The three-batter-minimum rule, which begins in 2020, effectively ends the lefty-one-out-guy (LOOGY) role in MLB. Can left-hander Kolarek adjust?
- Both Sadler and Garcia were left off the 2019 NLDS roster. Are they even in the Dodgers plans for 2020?
- Which bullpen prospect(s) step-up during spring training to earn a spot in the bullpen? Possibilities include left-handers Leo Crawford and Victor Gonzalez and right-handers Blake Gailen, Marshall Kasowski, Jordan Sheffield, Shea Spitzbarth, Jessen Therien and Mitchell White.
- Which free-agent bullpen pitchers will the Dodgers pursue?
Yes indeed, a plethora of bullpen questions with no firm answers on November 1. What is certain is that the Dodgers must have a better bullpen performance in 2020 in order to reach – and win – the World Series.
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Posted in 
“On November 1, 2019, the Dodgers have many more questions than answers for their 2020 bullpen”.
That pretty much sums it up!
Jansen, Kelly and Baez are locks to be in the bullpen if not traded, but lots of questions about how good they will be. Kenta Maeda, Ross Stripling, Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May, any/some of these guys could be starters instead of in the bullpen. The rest of the guys you mentioned are even bigger question marks.
Lots of talk on remaking the roster, the pitching staff needs to be priority one.
Anybody heard if SF has extended a qualifying offer to Will Smith?
Final date for QO’ers is Nov. 14, but I’m sure Giants will extend to Smith if they are not able to negotiate an extension
Has there been a worse off season than last years’ that landed Kelly and Pollock?
Hmmm, the year Dodgers signed Jason Schmidt; or Brian Wilson; or Kevin Brown; or Manny Ramirez>
Yeah, those were some real winners.
Can’t have this discussion without mentioning the Darryl Strawberry and Andruw Jones signings also. Free agency is the lazy mans way to build a team, let alone the riskiest way. It’s also the American way, just throw money at a problem to try and solve it. It rarely works.
Top notch scouting makes for opportunistic trades and investing in player development gives a team a steady pipeline of cheap MLB players. This is the way to build a team.
ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!
The new pitching rule requires a pitcher to face three batters unless the inning ends. There is still a role for a LOOGY if he enters an inning with two outs and successfully retires his batter. Whether that role is worthy of a roster spot is something for the FO to decide.
Fair point. I don’t think the Dodgers will keep a LOOGY for the few times in a season that might occur, only for the opposing team to pinch hit a right handed hitter – but your point is a good one; that is for the FO to decide.