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Serendipitous:

adjective

1. come upon or found by accident; fortuitous: serendipitous scientific discoveries.
2. good; beneficial; favorable: serendipitous weather for our vacation.

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Flash back to Spring Training 2023:

• Dodgers ace starting pitcher Walker Buehler was six months into his rehab from flexor tendon surgery and his second Tommy John surgery.

• Reliever Daniel Hudson is eight months into his rehab from tearing the ACL in his right knee.

• Reliever Blake Treinen is just three months into his rehab from right (pitching) shoulder rotator cuff and labrum surgery.

• Starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot wins final spot in Dodgers 2023 starting rotation, but injures his oblique at the end of spring training and does not pitch for months.

• Starting pitcher Dustin May is shutdown by team after nine dominating 2023 starts. Ultimately, he is lost for the remainder of season as he undergoes his second TJ surgery in two years.

• In his second Cactus League game, heir-apparent shortstop Gavin Lux blows out the ACL and MCL in his right knee and is lost for the season.

• Second baseman Miguel Vargas breaks the pinky finger on his right hand during spring training infield drill. His offense never catches up and he eventually is optioned to minors.

• Platoon outfielder Trayce Thompson hits three home runs on Opening Day, but injures his oblique after 36 games; never returns to team and is eventually traded to Chicago White Sox.

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In addition, there have been other stints on the Injured List (IL) for a host of Dodgers players. For normal MLB team rosters, losses like these would be large obstacles to reaching the MLB postseason tournament. But “There’s no crying in baseball,” and the Dodgers know how to turn adversity into opportunity.

Losing pitchers Buehler, Pepiot, May, and later Tony Gonsolin, the Dodgers insert high profile pitching prospects Bobby Miller, Emmett Sheehan, and Gavin Stone into starting roles. Later, they trade for veteran Lance Lynn, then Pepiot returns from his extended stay on the IL – and he is better than ever.

Bullpen help has come from unexpected sources. Ryan Brasier (Boston Red Sox), Shelby Miller (multiple teams), and Gus Varland (Milwaukee Brewers) were castoffs from their previous teams who the Dodgers’ pitching gurus have turned into lockdown relievers. At the trade deadline the team acquired middling reliever Ryan Yarbrough from the Kansas City Royals, worked their magic, and turned him into an innings-eating, dominating lefty.

There is no doubt that losing Gavin Lux for the season was a blow to the Dodgers, but the player who made the team in his place is centerfielder James Outman. The rookie Outman has become one of the finest all around centerfielders in MLB with a 121 wRC+, 3.6 WAR, and one of the best defenders at the position in the sport.

Vargas was handed second base early in spring training, the position was his to lose. His struggles on offense and defense were unexpected, leaving the team with no other option than to option him to the minors for additional seasoning. The team acquired Cleveland Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario at the trade deadline, quickly moving him to second base, where his defense has thus far been flawless. Offensively, the team platoons Rosario against lefty pitchers with excellent results (.822 OPS).

The Dodgers replaced outfielder Thompson with veteran Jake Marisnick who quickly landed on the IL, followed shortly thereafter by Dodgers top prospect Jonny DeLuca. So the team brought back ever popular Kiké Hernández to reprise his role as super-utility player and a right-handed hitter who slays lefty pitchers.

Serendipity? No.

When adversity strikes, the Dodgers have an exceptional baseball operations staff that includes contingency planning and a developmental process that molds players into team assets. 

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