LA Dodgers Bullpen Offseason Shopping List
- Updated: October 19, 2014
The Dodgers offseason has just begun, but they have wasted no time making the headlines with the recent hiring of Andrew Friedman.
Although Hanley Ramirez has been the big talk of the Dodgers offseason so far, the bullpen is where the Dodgers need the biggest work. The bullpen has been horrendous this season but even worse in the postseason, and was the key to the Dodgers not advancing to the NLCS.
In the NLDS against the one and only St. Louis Cardinals, the Dodgers led in every game going into the seventh, but one in which they were tied 1-1. The biggest shock of all was seeing the Cardinals break Clayton Kershaw in the seventh inning of game one and four with a combined 11 earned runs scored by the Cardinals in the seventh inning of both games. While most put the blame on Kershaw, they failed to recognize the fact that with a great bullpen, the Dodgers wouldn’t have had to keep their starter in for more than six to seven innings.
Game 1: Dodgers bullpen comes in after Kershaw’s meltdown and seventh earned run. Relief pitcher Pedro Baez came in and allowed a 3-run homer to Matt Holliday.
Game 2: Zack Greinke pitched a scoreless seven innings and gets relieved in the eighth inning by JP Howell. JP allowed a leadoff single to Oscar Taveras and then a game-tying homerun to Matt Carpenter. Thankfully, Matt Kemp hit a home run in the eighth to lead the Dodgers to victory.
Game 3: Hyun-Jin Ryu went an almost flawless six innings and came out of the game in a 1-1 tie. Scott Elbert came out of the bullpen and double to Yadier Molina and then a homerun to Kolten Wong. The dodgers went on to lose 3-1.
Game 4: Clayton Kershaw pitched perfectly allowing only one hit until the seventh inning once again, but broke down and allowed a 3-run homer to Matt Adams. Although this wasn’t the bullpen that blew it, with Kershaw pitching on three days rest, it would’ve been ideal for the Dodgers to be able to go to their bullpen and trust that they’d hold the Cardinals offense.
Possible signings this offseason:
David Robertson: A 29-year old relief pitcher who had an ERA of 3.08 along with 39 saves and 96 strikeouts. He was near perfect this season and is pretty young and could be the Dodgers set-up for a while. While he was a closer for the Yankees, he’d be a good set-up man for the Dodgers, as he’d set up perfectly for Kenley Jansen who was lights out most of all the 2014 season. Robertson made 5.2 million during the 2014 season.
Pat Neshek: While most Dodger fans know him as the man who gave Matt Kemp the home run ball to win their only game of the 2014 NLDS, Neshek was an excellent pitcher all season, and for most of the remaining postseason. Neshek had a whopping 1.87 ERA with six saves and 68 strikeouts. In the postseason, he had just a 2.35 ERA only allowing two runs off of homeruns. Neshek was on a 1-year contract with the worth of one million dollars.
Luke Gregerson: Gregerson pitched an ERA of 2.12 with three saves and 59 strikeouts while he pitched in 72 games. He is only 30 years old, which means the Dodgers could potentially have him for a couple of years. He too would make an excellent set-up man.
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