• The Dodgers have won 15 of their 16 games played since the 2023 calendar flipped from July to August. While the team’s acquisitions* in the days before the trade deadline were not to the level of blockbuster many fans had hoped, the resulting impact to the win column has been nothing less than superlative.

• Starting pitcher Lance Lynn‘s value to the team is greater than his wins (3) and ERA (1.44). Pitching more than six innings per start helps rest and preserve the bullpen, and fearlessly attacking the strike zone with his assortment of fastballs, sliders, and changeups has set a bulldog example for young pitchers like Tony Gonsolin.

• Pitcher Ryan Yarbrough is the Yang to Lynn’s Yin. Lynn is the in-your-face, right-handed power pitcher while Yarbrough is a southpaw with a funky delivery, assorted breaking pitches, and a well below average velocity fastball. Nonetheless, he too has provided much needed rest to the beleaguered bullpen by pitching multiple, middle innings. 

• Team defense had some embarrassing moments earlier in the season but has become a modern-day example of The Dodgers Way to Play Baseball (1954, Al Campanis). Not only are they consistently making routine plays, but players also regularly make spectacular defensive plays for important outs.

• When the Dodgers went shopping for a hitter who would add offensive punch against left-handed pitching, Amed Rosario wasn’t a name commonly heard as one of their targets. But Andrew Friedman and his baseball operations staff have a strong track record of finding gems where others fail to look.

• Tony Gonsolin continues to implode in his role as a Dodgers starting pitcher. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has hinted that Gonsolin has been dealing with an unspecified physical issue all season. Considering that Shelby Miller, Jimmy Nelson, Ryan Pepiot, and Blake Treinen will soon complete their respective minor league rehab assignments, Gonsolin may be on the IL sooner than later.

• The Dodgers 40-man roster is not only full, but also on the verge of overflowing. In addition to Miller, Nelson, Pepiot, and Treinen, Walker Buehler‘s remarkable progression from his second TJ surgery gives hope that he will be able to pitch for the Dodgers before the end of the 2023 regular season. Some tough roster decisions must be made over the next several weeks.

• Teams are permitted to expand their active rosters to 28 on September 1. Will the Dodgers recall Miguel Vargas and/or Michael Busch, add more pitching, or possibly a third catcher? To be determined. 

*Starting pitcher Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly from the Chicago White Sox, super utility player Kiké Hernández from the Boston Red Sox, middle infielder Amed Rosario from the Cleveland Guardians, and spot starter/reliever Ryan Yarbrough from the Kansas City Royals.

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