March 29th, 2023 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka There is no kind or gentle way to put it – the Dodgers had a less-than-stellar camp this Spring.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that despite their less-than-stellar 14-13 Spring Training record, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts‘ team finished fifth in the 15-team Arizona Cactus League in what many people call ‘meaningless Spring Training games.’
Granted, Spring Training games are indeed ‘meaningless’ in that they have no bearing whatsoever on the regular season, and give kids from down on the farm an opportunity to showcase their wares. But finishing Cactus League play behind the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks and a mere .002 ahead of the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants is a tough pill for Dodgers fans to swallow.
But what those ‘meaningless Spring Training games’ did do was give Dodgers fans a very good look at guys like 25-year-old outfielder James Outman, 34-year-old returning Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas, and 23-year-old rookie second baseman Miguel Vargas, the three of whom who could very well be the difference in the Dodgers being in the 2023 National League Division Series or watching it on television.
And then there’s the Dodgers pitching in those ‘meaningless Spring Training games.’
Despite coming off arm and shoulder issues, just-turned-35-year-old (on March 19) Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw was… well… Clayton Kershaw-like this Spring. All the Dallas, TX native did was win two of his four ‘meaningless’ starts, while striking out a team-second best 20 batters behind Dustin May’s 24, and logging a team-second best 18.1 innings pitched, which was tied with May and 0.1 of an inning behind Noah Syndergaard‘s 18.2 IP.
Unfortunately, the uncertainty of Kershaw’s full recovery from those aforementioned arm and shoulder issues and a phenomenal 2022 season by 26-year-old fellow left-hander Julio Urías will keep Kershaw from adding to his current Dodgers franchise record of nine Opening Day starts, with Urías getting the very well deserved Opening Day 2023 start in his stead.
But there are no more ‘meaningless Spring Training games.’ At 7:10 p.m. on Thursday night, March 30, the 2023 regular season begins for the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Now every game is ‘meaningful.’
Play Ball!
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So how long is leash for Thompson, Taylor, and Heyward? 1 month? 2 months? What about Thor? My biggest concern is that they stick with underperforming players too long. AF hates to admit he is wrong and makes mistakes. He cops out and says that the deal just didn’t work out but was a good idea at the time.