This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen’s Dodgers Beat e-newsletter. To learn the complete e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it repeatedly in your inbox.
With greater than a 3rd of the common season within the books, it looks like a great time for a Dodgers mailbag.
Because of everybody who submitted questions — which have been evenly edited for readability — by means of the hyperlink within the earlier e-newsletter. Let’s get into it.
Are the Dodgers gonna transfer Mookie Betts again to the outfield within the postseason and put Tommy Edman again because the shortstop? As Mookie’s glove within the outfield is extra beneficial, and there’s no room for errors within the postseason. — Xiang L. from Toronto
Supervisor Dave Roberts just about put that concept to mattress a couple of week in the past in New York.
“I do not see us making a change whilst we did final yr. I do not see that taking place,” Roberts mentioned. “He is a Main League shortstop on a championship membership.”
Betts has truly graded out fairly effectively defensively, however to method this from one other aspect, I’ve additionally seen some concern about his transfer to shortstop doubtlessly affecting his offensive manufacturing. Betts truly addressed this on Sunday, noting how he had no downside producing as a shortstop final yr (.907 OPS, in contrast with .840 without any consideration fielder).
That mentioned, if there is a scenario the place a brief shift to proper discipline for Betts would objectively be one of the best transfer for the crew from a lineup building standpoint, perhaps there’s an off probability it occurs. However I do not see that as being probably.
How way more “runway” does Michael Conforto legitimately have? We might have saved Chris Taylor to have a .160-hitting left fielder. I do know Doc has mentioned that Dalton Dashing will not be seeing time in left, however is not it a viable possibility at this level to get a greater bat within the lineup? — Adam W. from Stockton, Calif.
It has been a really sluggish course of, however Conforto has truly been turning issues round currently. Getting into Monday, he was hitting .260 with an .817 OPS in 16 video games relationship again to Might 10.
The Dodgers had been hopeful {that a} change of surroundings plus the chance to work with the crew’s participant growth employees might assist Conforto get near his kind from, say, a few of his greatest years with the Mets. However fairly frankly, on this membership, he does not must be enjoying at that degree. If Conforto can sustain what he has been doing currently, he’ll find yourself being fairly beneficial.
As for Dashing, the Dodgers have been adamant about him specializing in his work with the pitching employees and growing as a catcher. I believe it is extra probably that he sees occasional time at first base when the crew is ready to get Freddie Freeman off his toes early, quite than getting any appears to be like in left discipline.
What’s the normal timeline for the starters (Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki) on the injured record to come back again? — Chris Okay. from Nashville, Tenn.
Broadly talking, I would not anticipate to see any of them begin a sport for the Dodgers till across the All-Star break, and possibly not till after.
Ohtani is a case of his personal, and he has been ramping up his progress currently. It has been troublesome to plot out the trajectory of his buildup as a result of it has been an untraditional course of, but it surely needs to be considerably extra easy now that he is dealing with hitters. Ohtani final threw two innings on 29 pitches, and he’ll in all probability get within the neighborhood of six and 90 earlier than he is able to return as a pitcher.
It has been sluggish going for Snell, Sasaki and Glasnow, who’s in considerably of a holding sample. As normal supervisor Brandon Gomes lately mentioned, the Dodgers are taking their time with their injured pitchers now within the hope that the crew can have them at their greatest within the postseason.
“It’s simply being aware and methodical concerning the foundational part and the buildup in order that after they come again,” Gomes mentioned, “the thought is … they’re working by means of what we hope is a deep October run.”
What are the Dodgers doing to establish why so many pitchers are on the IL? Is it their throwing regime, lack of flexibility, weight coaching, what? — Karen S. from Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah
The Dodgers did a deep dive into their pitcher accidents within the offseason. They have not shared many particular findings, however they’re inspecting how private historical past and utilization can impression the danger of harm. I truly wrote about this lately, and you’ll learn extra right here.
