LOS ANGELES — In the midst of a stretch of numerous injuries for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team has continued to produce complete performances despite an incomplete roster.
Headlined by shortstop Mookie Betts’ fractured hand and right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s strained rotator cuff, the Dodgers have been missing some key contributors. Yet since the two stars have been sidelined, the team has gone 4-2, weathering the storm relatively well.
“It’s been good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said prior to Saturday’s win against the Angels. “The way we play, I love. The fight. I think the results, they’ve been kind of middling, and I get it. But we’re still trying to win every game. I like the way that the guys are playing and competing.
“It’s a team effort,” he continued. “Obviously, Shohei [Ohtani] and Freddie Freeman have been swinging the bat extremely well. But it’s got to be a collective effort. Shohei had a big night last night, and we scored [only] two runs, so everyone’s gotta do their part. We gotta play good defense. We need a good pitching performance as well.”
Dodgers outfielder Jason Heyward — who has had some solid outings recently, including a grand slam against the Colorado Rockies — believes that while the injuries are unfortunate, there’s a positive lens through which to look at the situation.
“We hate to miss Mookie, hate to miss Yamamoto, hate to miss anyone, especially big contributors to your team. But that’s a part of the game,” he told Yahoo Sports on Saturday. “No one on any other team feels bad or anything like that.
“How you weather the storm is the name of the game. I think right now, it’s a good opportunity to get feedback to build on what we need to build on as individuals. When everything is not going your way, how do you respond?”
Case in point: Saturday’s 7-2 win against the Los Angeles Angels was exactly the type of response Roberts has been looking for from his team. Ohtani was stellar as usual, launching another two-run home run 459 feet, but it was the other guys, particularly toward the bottom of the lineup, who stepped up big.
Gavin Lux had two hits, including a much-needed homer, considering the lack of production from him recently. Miguel Rojas and Cavan Biggio each had two hits as well, plus two walks from Heyward. To Roberts, complete offensive games such as that serve as evidence that his squad is picking up the slack by committee, rather than relying on the heavy-hitters.
“I think that a lot of this year, we’ve been kind of top-heavy,” he said postgame Saturday. “Will Smith hasn’t been right in the last few weeks in terms of getting hits, and so other guys have to pick up the slack.
“To get those guys at the bottom [of the lineup] collectively, then it just makes our offense tough to navigate. You just don’t want to be too top-heavy, like we have been for a good part of the year.”
From the pitching perspective, Tyler Glasnow’s outing Saturday showed the team’s wealth of riches, as well as the level of depth in the Dodgers rotation. Glasnow recorded 10 strikeouts while allowing only two hits and one earned run. If he can continue to deliver performances like that, it’ll help alleviate any pressure to rush back Yamamoto or even Clayton Kershaw.
Outside of Betts and Yamamoto, Kershaw is likely the most notable name on the IL. The longtime Dodgers ace has been recovering from offseason surgery to repair his throwing shoulder. He threw a bullpen on Saturday but reported soreness afterward. It’s now expected that he’ll take a week off before resuming his rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Roberts made clear Saturday that he is in no rush to get the veteran back on the mound. “It’s going to be talking to him, talking to the training staff, seeing if he feels good,” he said. “… If he feels good, great. If it doesn’t, we’ll just keep kicking it down the road until he’s ready. We have time.”
Walker Buehler has been another missing piece of the Dodgers rotation. According to their manager, Buehler’s recovery is a bit different than Kershaw’s.
“I think with Walker, it’s trying to figure out who he is as a pitcher right now,” Roberts said. “Where his body is at. He’s a lot heavier and stronger than he was before his surgery. [Trying to] find out the way his body is moving related to the pitch mechanics and delivery. So it’s going to be a process.”
On the hitting side, Max Muncy is another key player who has been out due to injury. The two-time All-Star was recently placed on the 60-day IL, and Roberts believes he still has a ways to go in terms of getting back to playing.
“He’s still not swinging the bat,” he said. “He’s running, throwing, taking grounders, so all of that stuff is in mind. But the big variable is swinging the bat. I think it pushes him past the All-Star break — I think that’s what the 60 does.”
Roberts said that without Muncy, the lineup lacks “potential slug,” “a guy that’s going to get on [base] 38% of the time” and overall continuity from No. 1 through 6.
That said, the injuries might come with a silver lining. Gavin Stone has been playing well to replace the production of Yamamoto. Similarly, if Lux’s outing against the Angels was an indication of his bat heating up, that could pay dividends when it comes to improving what has been a subpar bottom of the lineup. Like Heyward said, the opportunity that arrives with injuries has given others the chance to prove themselves and their value.
It also helps that the Dodgers have an 8.5-game lead in the NL West, giving them some breathing room to navigate these injuries without having to worry about the San Diego Padres or Arizona Diamondbacks catching them in the division. But even so, the possibility of Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman making a move to improve the roster at the trade deadline still exists.
“I think you can always get better,” Roberts said. “I think that’s fair for any team that’s in the race and trying to acquire talent at the deadline. For me, whatever we have is enough, but the front office is always trying to get better. Whatever they decide to do, we’ll adjust.”
And in the meantime, there’s Ohtani. For the second time this season, he won NL Player of the Week with a .458 average, 11 RBI, three doubles, four home runs and an absurd 1.650 OPS while in the leadoff spot in Betts’ absence. In fact, Ohtani has been so good that Roberts will have an interesting choice to make when Betts returns.
“Once Mookie gets back, which is still going to be down the road, just seeing what’s the best way to construct the lineup,” Roberts said after Saturday’s victory. “Knowing that Shohei can hit there feels comfortable. Mookie obviously is our leadoff hitter, but how he can navigate the left-right-right, left-right-left situation, what it looks like, I think it’s a good conversation. We’ll see when we get there.”
Although there is never a good time for injuries, there might not have been a better point in this season for Betts and Yamamoto to get hurt. The Dodgers’ next three series are against the White Sox, Giants and Diamondbacks, all teams below .500. After that comes a tougher assignment against the NL-leading Philadelphia Phillies followed by the middling Detroit Tigers before the All-Star break.
Even with the injuries, there’s a clear path for the Dodgers to get fully healthy over the next two months while maintaining their division lead and still have the runway to set themselves up to win ball games come September and October.
