Cody Snavely
Happy Monday, Dodgers fans, and welcome back to another edition of Dodgers Notes as we close out the first half of the 2024 Major League Baseball season and eagerly anticipate the all-star week.
While the all-star festivities are sure to be exciting and filled with plenty of Dodgers talent, it’s important to note that the team faced a tough challenge on their final road trip, losing five of the six games. This is a significant development as we head into the all-star week.
After dropping a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks but rebounding well against the Milwaukee Brewers, Dodgers fans were eager for a highly anticipated matchup with the National League-leading Phillies. However, that excitement quickly turned to anger and embarrassment as the Dodgers were swept out of Philadelphia.
After that, the Dodgers headed to Detroit for a three-game series, hoping to end the first half on a high note. However, after winning game one, the Dodgers’ bullpen blew back-to-back games, and the hot Tigers walked off the Boys in Blue for two straight days.
Besides, the games that were played also brought a slew of injury news, both good and bad, along with more trade rumors, as we are less than two weeks away from the 2024 trade deadline.
Week recap (7/8/2024-7/14/2024)
Phillies Recap: After securing a series win against the National League Central-leading Brewers, the Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off a six-game road trip out East, starting off with the National League-leading Philadelphia Phillies in what was a battle of the two top teams in the National League so far this season.
However, it could not have gone more poorly for the Dodgers as their starting pitching, bullpen, and inconsistent offense were all exposed during this series against an elite Phillies squad who sent three all-stars to the mound in Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Aaron Nola.
Game one was all Phillies, and Bobby Miller and the Dodgers were embarrassed. The sophomore righty was hit with nine runs against a Phillies team that activated Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber prior to the game. However, former Dodger Trea Turner did the damage, hitting a grand slam to give the Phillies an eight-run lead.
Games two and three were close as the Dodgers fell just short and were outscored nineteen to five in this three-game set.
- Game One: 10-1, L
- Game Two: 4-3, L
- Game Three: 5-1, L
Tigers Recap: After a terrible series in Philadelphia, the Dodgers hoped to rebound and end the first half of play on a high note, and they would get on the right track, taking game one against left-handed stud Tarik Skubal.
But it was the next two games that many Dodgers fans, including myself, made us check out until after the all-star break. The Dodgers bullpen, which had been elite all season, blew back-to-back games with a lead, ultimately costing the Dodgers a sweep and the series.
The Tigers, who were playing great baseball, taking three of four against the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians, kept the good vibes going, playing gritty baseball and shocking the Dodgers, sending them to the break, losers of seven of their last ten games.
- Game One: 4-3, W
- Game Two: 11-9 F/10, L
- Game Three: 4-3, L
MLB all-star week
Well, that was a fast couple of months, and just like that, the Major League Baseball season has finally reached the halfway mark with the mid-summer classics: the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the T-Mobile Home Run Derby.
While the Dodgers limped into this year’s all-star break, they will be well represented in Arlington, Texas, at Globe Life, the home of the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers.
Kicking off the festivities will be on Monday night as Teoscar Hernández will compete in the Home Run Derby and hope to be the first-ever Dodgers player to win the game.
Braves right-handed designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, who has hit twenty-six home runs this season, will be opposing him in the first round.
While the Dodgers have not shied away from the Home Run Derby, having multiple contestants over the years, such as Corey Seager, Joc Pederson twice, Yasiel Puig, and Mookie Betts last year, Hernández hopes to be the first Dodgers to win, and he has hit nineteen so far this season.
Before Teoscar Hernández announced on ESPN that he would do the Home Run Debry, many speculated if Ohtani would participate again, but after weeks of thinking, Ohtani and the Dodgers opted not to go through with it as the two-way start in rehabbing his elbow from Tommy John Surgery.
The Dodgers sent six players to the all-star game itself: Tyler Glasnow, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Shohei Ohtani, who will represent Dodger Blue in Texas.
Ohtani will be the lone starter for the Dodgers in this all-star game, leading the vote for National League designated hitter and edging out Phillies’ left-handed slugger Kyle Schwarber.
Due to injuries, Tyler Glasnow and Mookie Betts were replaced with substitutes but will still be named 2024 Major League all-stars.
As for Tuesday’s game, the Dodgers will have three active players on the roster: Teoscar Hernández, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith, all of whom left on a private plane to Texas.
Dodgers pitching collapse
During the offseason, a major emphasis was put on the depth of the starting rotation, a key area that the Dodgers struggled with during the 2023 season due to injuries and off-the-field issues.
Over the winter, the Dodgers brought in Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and veteran left-handed pitcher James Paxton while also having young righty Bobby Miller, Clayton Kershaw, and Walker Buehler‘s return on the horizon.
Fast-forward to the first two months of the 2024 Major League Baseball season, and the Dodgers rotation, minus a few hiccups with Bobby Miller, was excellent as promised. Glasnow led the team in innings pitched and strikeouts. Despite a slow start, Yamamoto came into his own and had a 2.92 ERA before his injury.
As the team enters the all-star break, that strong starting rotation is a shell of itself. Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Buehler are on the injured list, Bobby Miller was optioned down to Triple-A after having an ERA over eight, and James Paxton, who has a 4.95 FIP, is the “most dependable” starter.
The Dodgers’ bullpen, which has been fantastic the whole season, has been overworked, leading to fatigue and an increased ERA. This has dropped them from the number one spot in the National League to second under the Braves.
So far this season, the Dodgers have placed fifteen players on the injured list, twelve of whom are pitchers. Currently, that starting rotation is filled with journeymen and minor leaguers, which explains the fifteen straight starts without a quality outing from the rotation.
In the fifteen straight games the Dodgers haven’t recorded a quality start, their starters posted an 8.22 ERA and 1.79 WHIP while averaging just over four innings pitched per game.
The past two weeks have been especially brutal for the team as they have posted a league-worst 6.89 ERA over their last fifteen games.
Over that stretch, the Dodgers bullpen has pitched more innings than the starters. After the bullpen blew back-to-back leads, which led to a walk-off win for the Detroit Tigers, the Dodgers and their pitching staff get a much-needed break this week.
Injury notes
There were many injury updates in Dodger Town this past week, starting in Philadelphia, where Dodgers manager Dave Roberts dropped two bombshells on the media.
First, the Dodgers placed right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow on the 15-day injured list retroactively on July 7th due to back tightness prior to the start of the Phillies series.
Glasnow, 30, was having a career year with an 8-5 record and a 3.47 ERA and was on pace to shatter his previous career high in innings, which was set last year at one hundred twenty.
Roberts stated that the injury was not too serious, and the break allowed Glasnow to get an extended rest period before the second half kicked off.
Left-handed starter Clayton Kershaw showed promising signs in his second rehab outing, tossing three scoreless innings, striking out five batters, and maintaining an average of around 90mph on his fastball. His performance hints at a strong return.
The veteran lefty’s next step will be how he feels in the coming days after this start. If all signs are good, Kershaw could rejoin the team after the all-star break during the San Francisco Giants series from July 22nd to 25th.
Right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was placed on the 150-day injured list in June, was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for Brett Honeywell. This puts the earliest date for him to return on August 16th.
Encouragingly, Yamamoto has initiated his recovery process by starting to play catch this week. This marks a vital first step in his journey back from a strained rotator cuff, and this progress gives hope for his return.
Joe Kelly, who has missed most of the season with a shoulder strain, has been through multiple rehab starts and simulated games and will be activated after the all-star break and return to the Dodgers bullpen.
Right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol, who has been absent from the team since spring training, is getting close to a rehab assignment and could return by the end of July.
Left-handed hitting third baseman Max Muncy is still dealing with soreness in his oblique injury and has not ramped up progression since he was shut down from all baseball activities again a few weeks back.
While the Dodgers hope Muncy will return by the end of August or early September, they are also preparing for the possibility of not having him for the rest of 2024.
2024 Major League Baseball Draft
With the start of the all-star week, the 2024 Major League Baseball draft also kicked off, with the Dodgers set to pick with the twenty-third pick in the first round.
With that pick, the Los Angeles Dodgers selected high school prospect Kellon Lindsey of Hardee High in Wauchula, Florida.
Lindsey was a dual sport athlete, splitting time in the fall and winter, playing football as the starting quarterback and defensive back while focusing on baseball afterward.
By mid-spring, Lindsey transformed from a little-known player to a first-round prospect. Now, he faces a tough decision: turning pro or attending his dream school, the University of Florida. Lindsey’s impressive athleticism, particularly his speed, has been a critical factor in his rise. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound shortstop has been timed at 6.57 in the 60-yard dash, making him one of the fastest players in this year’s draft class.
That speed and athleticism led many scouts to compare him to former Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner, who, when drafted, had issues with his power but, over time, became one of the actual five-tool players in baseball.
It is two seasons in a row in which the Dodgers have taken a defensive first speedster in the draft’s first round. In 2023, the Dodgers selected speedy outfielder Kendal George, who is currently in Single-A with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
Check out Steve Webb’s latest article below for more on the Dodgers 2024 first-round draft pick.
Second-half outlook/trade deadline
As the Dodgers approach the all-star break and the 2024 Major League Baseball trade deadline, the significance of the following steps toward October becomes increasingly palpable.
However, despite an extraordinary offseason this season, the Dodgers are faced with more questions than answers. The injuries to key players and the inconsistencies have left many fans wondering about the team’s potential.
Regarding the trade deadline, the Dodgers will likely have to address all team assets, such as the starting rotation, bullpen, shortstop, outfield, and third base.
With the injuries in the starting rotation and the health of multiple starters up in the air, addressing the starting rotation should be plan A, as, without Yamamoto, the team does not have a clear number two after Glasnow.
The Dodgers offense has also missed Max Muncy’s bat. He has been out since mid-May with a strained oblique injury, and with no firm date for a return, the Dodgers may have to replace him as the current carousel ride of Cavan Biggio, Chris Taylor, and Enrique Hernández has not panned out.
While Mookie Betts is expected to return in August, he may not have enough time to continue the shortstop experiment as October looms. This may prompt the team to either leave Miguel Rojas at the position or trade for an impact everyday option.
The bullpen, a crucial part of the team’s performance, could significantly benefit from an upgrade, particularly a full-time closer. This strategic move could see Evan Phillips returning to his fireman role. The team has been closely linked to Kenley Jansen of the Boston Red Sox, but with the Sox currently holding the third Wild Card spot, the possibility of them selling is uncertain.
The Dodgers have huge expectations, and while a smooth regular season is the goal of any front office, this Dodgers team just needs to be prepared for October because right now, it’s looking like another first-round exit.
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