June 7th, 2023 at 10:00 am 
by 0799291000348 Everything considered, 2023 may be the best managerial performance of Dave Roberts‘ seven-plus year career as the on-field leader of the LA Dodgers. Although the team’s NL West second place .574 winning percentage is roughly 50 percentage points below their winning rate from 2016 through 2022, it has been accomplished under the following conditions:
- Pitchers Andrew Heaney and Tylor Anderson, center fielder Cody Bellinger, third baseman Justin Turner, and shortstop Trea Turner signed with other teams during free agency.
- Starting pitcher Walker Buehler and heir apparent shortstop Gavin Lux were lost for 2023 to season-ending injuries.
- Young starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot remains on the 60-day IL and has not yet thrown a competitive pitch in 2023. Highly regarded pitcher Dustin May is also on the 60-day IL with an uncertain future. And, staff ace Julio Urías has spent the better part of three weeks on the 15-day IL
- Back of bullpen relievers Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen are both on the 60-day IL with no scheduled return date
Even with those obstacles and after 61 regular-season games in 2023, the Dodgers win-loss record is 35-26, only two games behind their 2022 record of 37-24 at the same stage of that season. Roberts deserves credit for the team performance to date with this group of players and those who have shuttled back and forth between LA and Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Nonetheless, the roster is in need of additional help, whether from within the organization, or through acquisitions.
Where to start as we begin to consider roster improvements for the Dodgers?
Leading off is shortstop, which has been a subject of much debate amongst baseball analysts, journalists, and Dodgers fans from the moment it was announced that Lux would have season ending surgery.
Shortly after the injury to Lux, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman had a few cogent remarks about a shortstop addition (highlighting for emphasis):
- …finding improvements during the spring is challenging
- Spring Training typically isn’t the best time for those types of moves.
- …we’ll have conversations and see what is possible and what is not.”
- …trading an impact player is not something teams usually do [during the spring].
- We’ll [discuss] …various profiles that can fit…
Impact player … various profiles … possible or not.
Using those parameters, the Dodgers should ________ (fill in the blank).
Let ThinkBlueLA and our readers know which shortstop(s) the Dodgers should pursue and how he/they meet the parameters.
Have fun.
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Posted in 
The Dodgers should fix the bullpen. We can win with Rojas, Taylor, and Betts playing SS. The Astros won the WS with a weak hitting SS. We cannot win consistently and especially in the playoffs with a weak bullpen.
Roberts should not have had Ferguson pitching the 9th against right handers.
You are correct on all of your points.
Hudson should be back by June 18th.
Hudson can pitch the 8th and Phillips the 9th.
Terrific analysis. One encouraging sign, last night Daniel Hudson pitched a competitive inning for the first time in 2023. A baby step in that the competition was bunch of kids in the AZ Rookie League; a perfect inning only needing five pitches (1 K).
For shortstop, I don’t think the Dodgers need an “impact” player but perhaps a lefty swinging shortstop to face tough RH pitchers. Both Taylor and Rojas have bad stats against RH pitchers. Would the Dodgers trade for ex-teammate Zach McKinstry (doing well for the Tigers), or St. Louis Cardinals Tommy Edman? Both McKinstry and Edman can play other positions.
A less likely trade would bring Phillies second baseman (2022 shortstop) Bryson Stott.
Betts can play SS against righties.
Fair point, but I don’t think taking the top rated RF to SS is the best defensive alignment for the team if they can find a low cost, lefty hitting SS
Why don’t the Dodgers do what they should have done years ago, fire Dave Roberts.
They need a manager, not a cheerleader.
The lineup against righties when Betts plays SS has three LH outfielders. Muncy and Freeman are LH, so JD and Will Smith are always going to play regardless of the pitching. Is it possible to hide a great fielding (DRS) weak hitting SS? I think we all love the SS that can make the Wizard of Oz-like plays. And who can forget Alfredo Griffin and his .199 BA in 1988? We are all still really sore after last night’s debacle so the easy answer is add strength to the bullpen, which is what every team is always thinking. Hopefully Hudson will be back soon and can add relief. I wish we would have had the foresight to sign Aroldis Chapman, exactly what the doctor ordered, LH and flame thrower.
So, all that being said, I think the Dodgers should consider playing a little bit of small ball; move the runners over, bunting, and I think almost all fans like to see a suicide/safety squeeze every now and then. Mookie, Freddie, JD, Will, and maybe Muncy can swing away with runners on base and less than 2 outs, but all the rest, and I mean ALL the rest unless they are batting over .300 or slugging .900+ should be working on the little things that keep the team in the game.
Think about this: two of the top three pitchers are on the DL, your HOF pitcher had to deal with the passing of someone very near and dear to him, your fourth starter was on the IL to begin the season, and your fifth starter for right now is mentally toast (hopefully the ever hopeful “tonight will be the night” happens tonight). And if it wasn’t for a crazy meltdown last night, they would still be in first place with the best record in the national league. I will root root root for this bunch Bums (loving term)!
Top notch analyses.
Andrew Friedman is the problem. You can only blame Dave Roberts for so much.
I have long felt that Friedman is actually calling the shots and telling Roberts what to do and who to play. It’s job security for Roberts.
I also do not believe Roberts has free reins and that AF is actually calling most of the shots.
One thing is for certain, some things need to change. Starting with making Syndergarbage go away.
They also need to work on their approach at the plate. Make more contact, move runners over, play some small ball to manufacture runs instead of swinging for the fence on every pitch and every count. Especially KT3.
Fair point. We all know that Friedman is the architect of the Dodgers roster — the good (Betts, Freeman, Smith, etc), the bad (Thompson, Bickford, etc), and the ugly (Syndergaard). While Roberts can make some head-scratching moves, he can only play the roster that he has been given. I still believe Friedman is one of the best executives in MLB, but it is hard to understand the team’s roster game plan for 2023.
I do not belive AF will be removed easily.