The Dodgers made their 1st round of cuts on Sunday, which began the trimming and shaping of their 26 man roster. Talented Outfielder, Andy Pages, was the big surprise, at least to some, but it actually was simply a formality. 

And, here’s why.

The Dodgers will carry 13 position players on their roster. Shohei Ohtani, Austin Barnes, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Kike Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor, Mookie Betts, Teo Hernandez, Jason Heyward and James Outman are guarantees, and that’s the 13 that were always going to be rostered. 

And, of that list, Will Smith, Gavin Lux  and James Outman are the only players on that list that have Minor League options available. Rostering all 3 of those players is beyond a no brainer, especially considering that Outman recorded a WRC+ of 118 last season and a WAR of 4.4. He’s also hitting .429 so far in Spring Training, with an OPS of 1.485.

So, unless the Dodgers would be willing to DFA one of the other players on that list, there just simply is no room for Andy Pages, and there never was going to be. Unless injury opens the door, which none of us want, like it did for James Outman last year when Gavin Lux tore his ACL.

Pitching

The Dodgers will also carry 13 pitchers, but this side of the ball is where there actually is some competition. Ryan Brasier, Tyler Glasnow, Brusdar Graterol, Joe Kelly, Bobby Miller, James Paxton, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Ryan Yarbrough are guarantees. 

Of that group, Bobby Miller and Brusdar Graterol are the only pitchers that have Minor League options, and, short of injury, they are both guaranteed to break on the 26 man roster. 

So, that leaves 3 spots for the following pitchers.

J.P. Feyereisen, Matt Gage, Michael Grove, Daniel Hudson, Kyle Hurt, Landon Knack, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, Ricky Vanasco, Gus Varland, Alex Vesia and Justin Wilson. 

The Dodgers favor veterans, so, although he’s not on the 40 man roster, Daniel Hudson has a great chance at making the roster. In fact, I think it’s likely that he does, and as soon as all of the 60 Day ILs are executed, he’ll have opportunity. 

The Dodgers likely wouldn’t break with just one left handed reliever, so Alex Vesia would likely be added, then it would come down to one of the prospects, or less experienced pitchers for the final spot. 

That is, unless the Dodgers use Ryan Yarbrough as a starter. 

If they do that, then that opens the door for J.P Feyereisen, because needing a 5th starter wouldn’t have to be the final part to the equation. 

So, the biggest competition to watch is who gets those final 3 pitching spots. And, as you can see, this organization has a lot of depth, so there is no way for them to go wrong with whichever way they go. 

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