Gonsolin seems a lock on a spot, but who else can be trusted with the ball?

LOS ANGELES — Now things get a little dicey. After a solid 1-2-3 punch of Buehler, Kershaw, and Urias (in some order), the Dodgers final two spots in the rotation are a little unclear. Last year, it was Trevor Bauer and Dustin May who filled those spots coming out of camp. We won’t nearly have that kind of talent to work with this season, but hopefully, with the four players who might get some starts (at least early on), manager Dave Roberts might be able to cobble together something that works. Let’s take a look at the mix of new and familiar faces he’s got to choose from in 2022.

Andrew Heaney (2021: 8-9, 5.83 ERA)

The Andrew Heaney signing is perplexing to me. Quite frankly, he hasn’t shown a whole lot in his eight years of big-league experience. His career ERA is a hefty 4.72 and his last stop with the Yankees was pretty ugly to watch. (You may recall it was Heaney who got the start for the Pinstripers in the wonderful Field of Dreams game last summer in Iowa. It didn’t go great for him. He gave up seven runs in five innings).

But, the Dodgers must see something in this former first rounder from Oklahoma. So far this spring, he has yet to show it. His ERA for the Cactus League games is a whopping 16.88! Blech. It’s just five innings of work, but I’ve yet to see much from Heaney to convince me that he deserves a spot in this rotation. However, this week Dave Roberts announced that Heaney would indeed be starting in the fourth spot in the rotation coming out of camp. In that case, Mark Prior, et al, you better get to work with this one. Stat.

Tony Gonsolin (2021: 4-1 3.23 ERA)

Tony Gonsolin never seemed to get on track in 2021. He started the season on the IL, and went back there a couple of times during the season. As such, he only pitched 55 innings for the team last season. Given how the starting staff has thinned considerably since last year, I’d like to see Goose up around 125-150 inning this year. If he can give the team 25 to 30 starts during the season, I think that would be good for the team, and more importantly good for him, as it will allow him to develop a consistent routine as a starter.

Gonsolin has looked okay in his Spring Training appearances. His first appearance was nearly flawless, but his second didn’t go nearly as well. But again, the key point with all these starters is to ramp up slowly so that they can make it through a full season without injury. One stat to look at: Tony’s WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched). After a remarkable 0.84 in 2020, it ballooned to 1.35 in 2021. Simply put, he was walking too many guys last year (34 in 55 innings), and it was getting him into trouble. If he can work on the control this season, I’m confident he can be a contributor to this club all year long.

David Price (2021: 5-2 4.03 ERA)

You might say this lefty’s big contract was the “price” we had to pay to get Mookie Betts from the Red Sox. The Red Sox are still on the hook for half of Price’s $32 million a year, but the Dodgers have to cough up the rest. That’s 16 million dollars for somebody who hasn’t done a whole lot for the team since that monumental trade in 2020. That’s exactly what the Atlanta Braves are paying Kenley Jansen this year. Ugh.

His Dodgers career has been spotty at best. He opted out of the Covid year. And last season he was very erratic in his output. He had flashes of the old Cy-Youg-winning David Price, but could never sustain much of a run at that level. Maybe the move to the role of bullpen guy and sometime starter just didn’t gel with Price’s personality, much as might have argued the contrary.

I really don’t know what to expect out of him his year, either. He is yet to pitch in a Cactus League game as I write this, and Dave Roberts has already said that he won’t be built up enough to be in the rotation at the beginning of the year. Price is well aware that his Dodger career has not been up to his own high standards. “I’m here to prove myself,” he said when the Dodgers arrived in camp. “I haven’t thrown my best baseball for the Dodgers, and that is something I look forward to doing. I don’t want to be given anything.”

Let’s hope that Price takes the time to build up his stamina, work on his control, and get back on track so we can get something out of him before he is inevitably released at the end of his contract.

Tyler Anderson (2021: 7-11 4.53 ERA)

Not sure why Dave Roberts has already declared that it will be Andrew Heaney and not Tyler Anderson who will join the rotation this season. Anderson has certainly pitched better than Heaney in Spring Training. Perhaps the thinking is that Anderson will slot in as a sixth starter or piggyback guy the first couple of weeks, and then assessments will be made after that. We shall see. This rotation is already heavy on the left-handers (only Gonsolin and Buehler are righties), so maybe that will factor into how Anderson gets used during the year. When you consider how lacking we were with left-handed arms out of the pen last season, it makes Anderson as a bullpen arm appealing.

We’ll just have to see how Doc plays it this year. Obviously, best-case scenario is Trevor Bauer is released from the purgatory he’s been assigned and can join the rotation, sliding Gonsolin down into the five-hole. But that is wishful thinking at this point.

Others:

In addition to these players, there are a number of other players that might see action this season. Of course, we are all eagerly awaiting the return of Dustin May, who continues to make slow but steady progress as he recovers from the Tommy John surgery of last season. Andre Jackson is good young arm who might get a spot start or two. The same could be said about Mitch White. Both Jackson and White showed that they could compete at the big-league level last year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Dave Roberts kicks the tires on one of those guys if Heaney falters early.

DODGERSBEAT GRADE (Back of the rotation): C