Only ten games have been played by the Dodgers in the 2023 Cactus League, still too early to make any definitive judgements, but there are early warning signs of possible roster issues.

The elephant in the dugout is the 2023 season-ending injury to shortstop Gavin Lux. The Dodgers were counting on Lux to be their regular shortstop, with highly regarded prospect Miguel Vargas at second base, and Gold Glove-caliber shortstop Miguel Rojas, who was acquired from the Miami Marlins on January 11, 2023, to backup both positions. Seemingly a solid middle infield combination.

Now, Rojas is the regular shortstop, utility player Chris Taylor is the middle infield and outfield backup, and Vargas is just now recovering from a fractured finger suffered early in Spring Training. To say that the Dodgers are thin up the middle is understated, and there is a corresponding loss of offense in the lineup.

The team is rumored to be pursuing trade options to improve middle infield depth, but it is likely that improvement will be marginal and come in the form of a backup middle infielder, not a replacement with the defense and offense of Lux.

Another area of concern is the offensive struggles of Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson thus far in Spring Training.

Taylor’s hitting struggles in 2022 are well known, including a 35% strikeout rate and below ML average run production (93 wRC+). CT3 was well above average in outfield defense, which made him overall a valuable member of the team. To date, Taylor has three hits in 16 at bats this Spring, while striking out in just over 20% of his plate appearances.

Thompson’s offense in 2022 was by far the best of his career with a 142 wRC+, but that came with an unsustainable .374 average with batted balls in play and a 36.5% strike out rate. Defensively, Thompson is ML average. In Cactus League play, Thompson has one hit in 13 at bats, with a 31% strike out rate.

At this point, outfield prospects Andy Pages (.400) and Jonny DeLuca (.429) have been much better offensively than either Taylor or Thompson.

Look for the Dodgers to make a trade (or two) to solidify their Opening Day roster and lineup, likely adding a middle infielder who will free up Taylor to be a full time outfielder.

New York Yankees infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been mentioned as a possible trade target for the Dodgers, but he comes with a $6M salary for 2023 and his offense is roughly the same as Miguel Rojas. 

The Dodgers have the pitching depth and possibly infield/outfield prospect Michael Busch as trade capital, so they may target a ready-now shortstop prospect from a team like the Tampa Bay Rays (Taylor Walls), or Cincinnati Reds (Matt McLain). A less likely target may be veteran shortstop Kevin Newman (Reds).

There are more than three weeks for Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman to make final roster decisions, but the pressure is unquestionably mounting for those players who have started slowly this Spring.

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