3 Reasons The Los Angeles Dodgers Are Sinking
The most expensive team in Major League Baseball history has collapsed. The Los Angeles Dodgers are 23-24 since mid-May. They’ve lost six of the last seven, including two walk-off losses over the weekend in Detroit. They better eject because the plane is going down.
What has happened to the team with a $231 million payroll? There are three big reasons this team is underwater right now.
Dodgers Pitching Staff Isn’t Good
Over the past 14 days, Dodgers starters have lasted just over four innings per start, and their ERA is 8.46. In those 14 games, the bullpen has thrown as many innings as Dodger starters (61.2)
The trouble started earlier. In June, starters were still averaging fewer than five innings per game, down from 5.75 innings per start in May.
Working overtime hasn’t worked for the bullpen. In the past two weeks, their ERA has been over five. The pen gave up six runs on Saturday and four on Sunday in losses to the Detroit Tigers.
The Dodgers Injury List Is Overloaded
Looking at the Dodger injuries, they almost don’t seem real. Nine starting pitchers are on the injured list, nearly two complete rotations.
Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Walker Buehler, Michael Grove, Emmet Sheehan, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin are all injured. The ninth is Shohei Ohtani, who has started throwing from 60 feet but will not pitch this season. The Dodgers say Ohtani hit 80mph over the past couple of weeks.
Add four relievers and three position players, including Mookie Betts, who are out, and it’s impressive that this team is still in first place. The Dodgers also lead baseball with over $110 million in salary on the IL; no other team has more than $80 million.
Losing Mookie Betts Hurt The Dodgers
The Dodgers aren’t winning because they’re not hitting, and you can blame that, in part, for losing Mookie Betts.
Over the past seven days, the team has hit just .238 with a .679 OPS. The Dodgers have struck out 114 times in the past 14 games. That puts them 21st in Major League Baseball.
Freddie Freeman is struggling without Betts in the lineup. He’s hitting .244 over the past two weeks. Shohei Ohtani is the only player on the team who has been consistently good this season. He’s hitting .330 over the past month and leads the National League with 29 home runs.
There Is Good News For The Dodgers
Tyler Glasnow will be back in the rotation next week. Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw are expected back sometime in August. The bullpen will get Joe Kelly and Brusdar Graterol in August, and the clear leader of this team is Jayson Heyward. He’s expected back after the break.
The key to turning this around is Mookie Betts. They need his bat at the top of the lineup.
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