Cody Snavely
The 2023 MLB season is finally here, and the Dodgers will play their first Spring Training game tomorrow against the Brewers, with Michael Grove confirmed to start. However, unlike years past, there are a lot of questions about this Dodgers team, and we will go over a few that I think stand out.
Will Shortstop be a question mark?
The Dodgers have been blessed over the past several years to have no questions about who will be at shortstop after having two of the best shortstops in baseball play for them since 2016. However, with Seager and now Trea Turner gone, Lux looks poised to be the everyday guy moving forward finally.
All offseason, many Dodgers fans, including myself, believed that the Dodgers would make a play for one of the top free agent shortstops or make a trade for one such as Brewers Willy Adames, which was rumored in early December. However, here we are in February with players in camp, and Gavin Lux looks to be the starting shortstop for 2023. While the Dodgers made the trade for Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas, it was stated by Dave Roberts that the team would look to plug and play Rojas in a plethora of positions, such as second and even left field.
That said, the Dodgers are moving forward with Lux, who moved back to his natural position, which he played throughout his Minor League career, a career that saw him as one of the best prospects in baseball in 2019. Lux was off to a great start to the 2022 season until a neck injury sidelined him for a few weeks. Lux has also put on some added muscle and is very excited about the opportunity this season to show that he can be the guy to replace Trea Turner.
If Lux does not work out, the Dodgers have a few internal options, such as Chris Taylor or Miguel Rojas.
Thompson vs. Outman for an Opening Day spot?
The outfield has a considerable gap, with Cody Bellinger being released by the Dodgers. The Dodgers have already started the reconstruction process by signing Jason Heyward and David Peralta. With Betts manning down RF, the last potential roster spot will likely come down to Outman or Thompson.
Thompson, who the Dodgers acquired last year from the Tigers with Mookie Betts going on the IL, was brought in as a right-handed presence but soon became an anchor to the Dodgers roster. Thompson, weirdly enough, had reverse splits hitting RHP better than LHP but played well enough that he would platoon with Cody Bellinger and Joey Gallo in the outfield. However, Thompson slowed down production-wise toward the end of the season, especially in the postseason, but that could easily be attributed to better pitching in those games.
Outman puts the Dodgers’ front office in an interesting dilemma. When Cody Bellinger was DFA, many, including myself, believed that Outman was the most logical choice to replace him moving forward. Outman has been credited as the best defensive outfielder in the Dodgers system, and in his time in AA and AAA last year, he clobbered 31 home runs along with 31 doubles and a .294 batting average.
While Jason Heyward was a minor league deal, it has already been rumored that he will likely make the opening-day roster along with David Peralta, Chris Taylor, and Mookie Betts which leaves perhaps Outman on the chopping block to get regular at-bats in the minors.
How do Gonsolin and May look?
The Dodgers starting rotation, barring any injuries or last-second trade, is pretty much set in stone, with Urias, Kershaw, Gonsolin, Syndergaard, and May rounding it out. However, the two most prominent question marks without mentioning Syndergaard are Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May.
Starting with Dustin may, who made his return late last year after missing nearly all of 2021 with Tommy John surgery. May was very up and down and struggled with control but did show flashes of his pre-TJS self, especially in his first start back against the Marlins. However, May was nowhere to be found in the postseason, not used once in the four games the Dodgers played. Now being a full year removed after surgery and recovery, the Dodgers will slowly ramp up the flame-throwing redhead while also likely putting him on an innings limit.
Tony Gonsolin had a career year in 2022; however, as the season went on and he blew by his previous career high in innings pitched, we saw Gonsolin struggle. Gonsolin was also injured from August until the last week of the regular season and only made a brief appearance in the NLDS, where he left after 1.1 innings.
Gonsolin, who will likely line up as the number three starter, hopes to use an entire offseason to rest and get healthy will be a huge question mark as he could either be the ace the Dodgers saw in the first half of 2022, where he was in the Cy Young conversation or can be the pitcher was saw gassed in the second half.
What is the infield construction?
Along with the outfield, the Dodgers have a few questions on the infield, specifically where each player will play and whether it’ll be a rotating carousel ride.
The potential infield configuration that we will likely see most days will be as follows:
Freddie Freeman 1st Base
Miguel Vargas 2nd Base
Gavin Lux SS
Max Muncy 3rd Base
However, remember that Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor will play all over the diamond. One of my concerns with this lineup is Vargas, who has played primarily 3rd base in the minor leagues transitioning to 2nd. With the MLB banning shifts in 2023 and beyond, you can no longer plug and play-guys and will have to rely on their athleticism and skill at that position. This spring, it should be noted as an area to watch as the Dodgers and Vargas transition to these new rules and positions.
Closing
Be sure to listen to The Bleed Los Podcast, as we have already started to talk about these upcoming topics and storylines that we will see in Spring Training.
