Alyssa Maldonado
Injuries are unavoidable in baseball, and the Dodgers have been hit with the injury bug all season. There was no need to hit the panic button at the beginning of the season when the Dodgers started with known injuries like Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May, as they had undergone major surgeries during the off-season. No big deal—the Dodgers were not too worried, considering they had depth in their pitching staff. They had just signed Shohei Ohtani to his infamous $700 million contract, knowing he was still recovering from elbow surgery and could only be used as a designated hitter.
Over the season, however, the Dodgers, who are currently 47-30 and leading the NL West by 9 games, began to see their lineup suffer tough losses as players like Max Muncy, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and potential NL MVP Mookie Betts went down. As fans remember, Muncy suffered an oblique strain on May 15th and has since only been fielding and throwing but has yet to swing a bat. Manager Dave Roberts recently reported that the third baseman’s timeline is still unknown and his recovery process has been “even slower than expected.” Over time, the Dodgers were able to get some of their injured players back on the field, like Jason Heyward, who had missed the beginning of the season due to a back injury.
The real panic set in when the Dodgers were hit with two losses in one week. It was announced that Yamamoto was diagnosed with a right rotator cuff strain, and Betts will be missing 6-8 weeks due to a fractured hand, thanks to a 97 mph fastball by the Royals’ Dan Altavilla. Betts is currently batting .304 and was not only the Dodgers’ everyday leadoff hitter but also was beginning to find his footing at shortstop since Dave Roberts announced Betts would be the primary shortstop at the beginning of the season.
This list of injuries has left fans wondering, and panicking to be quite honest, how the Dodgers will continue winning without some of their key players. However, there is something everyone seems to forget about the rest of the roster. There are players who may not have been everyday starters but can and have contributed to recent wins. It is time for the bench players, who are ready for an opportunity, to show why they put on that Dodgers uniform every day. Players like Miguel Rojas and Kiké Hernández are now called upon to fill in at shortstop.
Many fans have made it known that Rojas and Hernández are not their first picks to replace Betts. However, these two players have been given an opportunity to start these last few days. Even though it has only been four games, Rojas and Hernández have not disappointed and have really helped the Dodgers win. On his first night as the starter, Rojas went 3 for 5 at the plate with an RBI and 2 runs in that 9-5 victory Monday night. The following night he did not do as well at the plate, but he contributed to the memorable 9th inning when the Dodgers made their amazing late comeback. Rojas has improved to a .279 batting average and understands his role with the team as they face a little adversity without players like Muncy and Betts.
Not only did the loss of a shortstop affect two players, but it also gives others, like Chris Taylor and Jason Heyward, more playing time. Changes in the roster also offer players like Miguel Vargas more opportunities. Recently sent back down to OKC, Vargas was brought back after Betts’ diagnosis. Vargas is batting .304 in 23 at-bats and can be beneficial to the Dodgers if given more opportunities. In OKC, he is batting .290 with 8 home runs and 38 RBIs. It’s tough to transfer that to the MLB, but Vargas has had experience in the majors, and now, even due to unfortunate injuries, it is a perfect time for him to take advantage of any at-bat given.
At the end of the day, all baseball fans want the perfect ending to their season. This does not rely on one player. The injuries that have happened to the Dodgers are unfortunate, and I hope Betts recovers quickly to step back into the lineup. I am truly excited to see where players like Rojas and Vargas are right now and I think they can keep a spark in the Dodgers’ roster and help the team to collect more wins. The upcoming series against the Angels is a perfect time for this lineup to continue on this path and navigate the next several weeks after losing a couple of players to injury.
