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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Early last season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his bullpen was the best he had since taking over as the team’s skipper. That relief corps backed it up, turning into a key strength for a team that won a franchise-record 111 games.
Maintaining a dominant bullpen on a yearly basis is one of the toughest things to do in the sport. The level of volatility is much higher when it comes to relievers and how they perform from one year to the next.
In 2023, the Dodgers will be relying on a lot of the same relievers as they did last season. They will also be without some of them to start the season, as Blake Treinen (right shoulder surgery) will likely be out for the entire year. Daniel Hudson (torn left ACL, right ankle tendinitis) will start out on the 15-day injured list, though he seems to be trending toward a return sooner rather than later. J.P. Feyereisen (right shoulder surgery) and Alex Reyes (frayed labrum in right shoulder) don’t really have timetables for their returns.
Despite all of the absences early on, Roberts believes the bullpen could be a strength again in 2023. It’s a group that has a good balance of righties and lefties. One downside, however, could be that this bullpen doesn’t project to have the same quality of depth that last year’s team had.
A lot of the club’s success could fall on how dominant this bullpen can be. With eight spots available, let’s talk about how the bullpen could look like heading into Opening Day.
Locks (6): Yency Almonte, Caleb Ferguson, Brusdar Graterol, Shelby Miller, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia
This is the group that’s going to decide how good this bullpen is this upcoming season. Almonte has had a slow buildup this spring after experiencing right forearm issues last year, but he has made two Cactus League appearances over the last week and Roberts believes he’ll be ready for Opening Day.
Phillips is the Dodgers’ best arm of the group, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be the closer. In fact, it means he’ll probably get fewer appearances than the others in the ninth inning because the Dodgers value high-leverage situations early in games. Graterol has had a solid spring and will be in the mix for the unofficial closer’s job.
Ferguson and Vesia give the Dodgers two solid left-handers in the bullpen. Ferguson is another year removed from Tommy John surgery and has looked healthy this spring. Vesia has been an integral part of the ‘pen each of the last two seasons.
Miller could be the X-factor in this group. The 32-year-old right-hander has the stuff to strike out just about anybody, but he has also been hit hard over the last few seasons and this spring. If he can turn into a reliable multi-inning reliever, the Dodgers will surely benefit from that.
Overall, these six options are pretty good ones to have. Add in Hudson later in the season and the Dodgers have seven reliable arms.
Most likely (1): Phil Bickford
Bickford had a breakout 2021 season with the Dodgers, but his ’22 campaign was forgettable and he needs to show significant improvement heading into ’23. Bickford’s spot on the Opening Day roster is probably safe, as of now, given that he doesn’t have any more Minor League options and would need to be designated for assignment in order to get sent back down. That would be a surprise given Bickford is still a serviceable depth arm.
Options for the last spot (4): Jimmy Nelson, Justin Bruihl, Andre Jackson, Jake Reed
This is where it starts getting interesting for the Dodgers. Jackson is probably the best arm of the bunch, but he would only make sense if the Dodgers want a multi-inning arm out of the bullpen to start the season. If they don’t, Nelson, Bruihl and Reed could be some of the team’s realistic options.
Reed is a non-roster invitee so he would need to be added to the 40-man roster, but that shouldn’t be difficult given the amount of injuries on the team. Bruihl would give the Dodgers another left-hander. As for Nelson, it’s hard to find a pitcher that has had a more ineffective spring. The right-hander is at 90 mph and has a 15.43 ERA. In his outing in the Dodgers’ 6-3 loss to Oakland on Sunday, Nelson threw 14 pitches; 13 of them went for balls. At this point, it seems unlikely to see Nelson on the roster despite him being healthy for the first time in years.