Steve Webb
Kimbrel trade shuffles the deck
LOS ANGELES — With the announcement of the trade for Hall-of-Fame-bound closer Craig Kimbrel, the Dodgers bullpen received a shot in the arm. And the existing players on the roster will need to be shuffled accordingly. We’ve already spent a couple of days on the lower-leverage arms, so let’s get into the main event. The pitchers Dave Roberts is going to lean on when the game is on the line. We’ll discuss Kimbrel and Blake Treinen in tomorrow’s post, but for now, let’s talk about three other pitchers who will be on call in the late innings.
Brusdar Graterol (2021: 33.1 IP, 4.59 ERA, 27 K)
To me, Graterol took a step back last year. Yes, there were some injuries, and yes, he had Covid early in the season, but he didn’t get either the innings or the results I was hoping for from a guy who still is looking for his first full season in the big leagues.
And this year, he didn’t have access to the Dodgers trainers and coaches over the 99-day lockout, so one wonders what his readiness is, heading into 2022. However, the stuff is undeniable, and if he puts just one more pitch in his repertoire, I feel good things coming for him. In fact, I’m going to lay down a marker. One day in the not-too-distant future, it will be Graterol who closes games for the Dodgers. Maybe not this year, maybe not next, but soon. And it will be thing to behold.
Alex Vesia (2021: 40 IP, 2.21 ERA, 54 K)
In last year’s preview, Vesia was an afterthought; a guy who had only a handful of major league innings under his belt acquired during the offseason in a trade that sent Dylan Floro to the Miami Marlins. And when he got his first opportunity to pitch for the Dodgers, it didn’t go well. Like, at all. At the end of May, Vesia’s ERA sat at a painful 6.52. It was a rough introduction to the National League for the dirt-bike enthusiast from Southern California.
However, the Dodgers didn’t give up on Vesia. He got sent down to Oklahoma City for over a month for some tweaking and tutelage. And when he came back, he was nothing short of awesome. His ERA after the All-Star break was a fantastic 0.99, and even better, his WHIP dropped from 1.55 in May to 0.56 in August. Quite the turnaround.
Now in every barroom in America there’s probably a guy who got a taste of the big leagues and did well as a rookie, but fizzled out when the league figured him out. Witness Victor Gonzalez‘s subpar 2021. However, if Vesia can avoid the sophomore jinx, he will be a valuable part of the bullpen this season. I could imagine him getting into 70-80 games this year. As it stand right this moment, he’s Dave Roberts best lefty in the pen.
Daniel Hudson (2021: 51.2 IP, 3.31 ERA, 75 K)
Daniel Hudson is back in Dodger Blue after going on quite the journey since we last saw him in 2018. After being a decent piece of the Dodgers’ 2018 squad, Hudson signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in the offseason in 2019. Then after putting up decent numbers with Toronto, he was traded to the Washington Nationals mid-season and ended up being their closer in their 2019 World Series run (2019 still hurts to me, dang Howie Kendrick!).
He didn’t have a great year in 2020 Covid craziness, but he came back with a vengeance in 2022. At midseason, Hudson was pitching great for the Nats — a 2.39 ERA before the All-Star game. Then, he got traded to San Diego, and he was terrible. But then again, everything in San Diego was terrible down the stretch last season, so it’s hard to know what to make of that.
So here we are again for another go-round with the Dodgers. Before Friday morning, I would have said Hudson might be the closer for this team, but with Kimbrel on the team, and Treinen already ahead of him (in my mind, anyway), I don’t see Hudson getting the ball that much in save situations. But again, none of these guys have gotten their full ramp-up this year. It’s really hard to predict who’s going to be ready to be the first man out of the chute when crunch time comes this spring.
Others…
While it’s important to consider the people we do have, it’s also important to consider that some of the folks coming off injuries this year might end up being very high leverage guys by the end of the season. I could easily see Tommy Kahnle or Caleb Ferguson or even Phil Bickford moving up into a set-up role before the end of the year. It will be one of the most fascinating parts of the 2022 season. And I, for one, say “Bring it on!”
DODGERSBEAT GRADE: B-
