Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — Now, this part of the bullpen, I like. With no Craig Kimbrel to work around this season, Dave Roberts and Mark Prior have the luxury of letting the moment dictate the pitching choice, rather than shoehorn guys into assigned roles from the get-go. We’ve identified eight pitchers that the Dodgers will probably lean on this year when the chips are down and the team needs to a few big outs to preserve a lead in the late innings, or perhaps occasionally pick up a save here and there. Let’s start with one of my favorite Dodgers.
Alex Vesia (2022: 54.1 IP, 2.15 ERA, 79 K)
I love me some Alex Vesia. The fiery lefty is just what the Dodgers need in the late innings. After a breakout year in 2021, Vesia wasn’t quite as dominant last season, but he was plenty good just the same. The 1.12 WHIP was a little higher than I’d like, but other than that, he was very reliable. Not having a spectacular Spring, but he’s got a few more outings to work out the kinks before he gets into a game situation. Between Vesia and Caleb Ferguson, Doc’s got two excellent lefties at his disposal this year.
Yency Almonte (2022: 35.1 IP, 1.02 ERA, 33 K)
When the Florida native Almonte was obtained in the last offseason, I was very ho-hum about it. After all, his 7.55 ERA in Colorado in 2021 was high, even by Rockies standards. But boy, was I wrong about this guy. Instead of being a very average starter, Almonte has blossomed into a lights-out weapon out of the pen. His 0.79 WHIP last year was just ridiculous, and the ERA speaks for itself. The only thing that bugged me about Almonte was Dave Roberts seeming reluctance to use him in key spots. Don’t know what that was about. I can only hope that his inability to get out of Tommy Kahnle‘s mess in Game 4 against the Padres hasn’t spooked him. Because he pretty nearly did pull the trick. More of the same, please, Yency.
Caleb Ferguson (2022: 34.2 IP, 1.82 ERA, 37K)
To me, 2022 Caleb Ferguson was still in the process of recovery from his Tommy John of a couple year back. He pitched a little and put up some nice numbers, but there were times that he would lose the strike zone for long stretches. Now that he’s had an entire offseason to be a normal baseball player and not be constantly rehabbing, it’ll be good to see what kind of year he can put together in 2023. Still think that Vesia will be the primary lefty out of the pen, but Ferguson might sneak into a few higher-leverage situations if he can prove himself worthy.
JP Feyereisen (2022 [TB]: 24.1 IP 0.00 ERA, 25 K)
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. But during the offseason, the Dodgers signed an injured reliever in hopes that he’ll heal up and be of use to the team at some point in the new year. Like Tommy Kahnle. AND Danny Duffy. AND Jimmy Nelson, etc., etc., etc. So what do we have with Feyereisen. This time, I think we might have a winner. The former Brewer and Jay has some filthy stuff, as witnessed by his near perfect start to 2022. He won’t be fully recovered from his shoulder surgery until late in the season, but he could be a burst of energy just when the pen needs one. Something to keep in your back pocket when you’re thinking about the trade deadline.
Conclusion…
This part of the bullpen was just fantastic in 2022, and I have high hopes for this group this season as well. I’m a little nervous about the depth of the pen, though. If any of these high-leverage guys goes down, there aren’t a lot of great in-house options for a replacement. Fingers crossed.
DODGERSBEAT RATING: B+
