The Dodgers will take a more rigorous committee-by-commission approach for the remainder of the regular season, manager Dave Roberts informed reporters, via Fabian Ardaya of the The Athletic. Craig Kimbrel will roll out different roles while the club take a different approach to the ninth inning based on matches.
Roberts doesn’t guarantee he’ll stick with the committee’s approach through the knockouts, but it’s hard to imagine the Dodgers knocking Kimbrel out of a finisher role in the final 12 games of the season before installing put him back in the ninth game at the start of the season. . The decision comes as production has stalled for the eight-time All-Star team, who has dropped out in three of his last four appearances. That includes a homer that forces the game to Christian Walker for a chance to save on Thursday against the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers were well into the ninth inning anyway, but the blown lead eventually led the team to decide to adopt a more flexible approach to the upcoming playoffs.
Kimbrel is in his first season as a Dodger. Buyback from the White Sox in a surprising one-to-one swap with AJ Pollock right before Opening Day, he made 57 appearances. Kimbrel is certainly not a disaster. He had an ERA of 4.14 in 54 1/3 rounds, beating his opponent’s 27.2% average. His 9.6% walk rate is slightly above the league mark but not an untenable number. He has successfully saved 22 of his 27 saves. The overall production work of the right is fine without a trace.
However, Kimbrel clearly didn’t perform to the extent the Dodgers had hoped. The 34-year-old was arguably the best pain reliever in the game during the first half of last season against the Cubs. While he’s frustrated after a deadline trade for the White Sox – largely due to in-house operating troubles – he still generates about 17.2% excellence in his services. with South Siders. That led to some hope Kimbrel could continue to pitch at elite level in a new environment, but this season’s 12.1% hit rate is only marginally better than average.
Removing Kimbrel from the ninth round will allow Roberts to be more cautious with his use when post-production arrives. Prioritize maximizing your work over right-handed people. Kimbrel has held the hand hitters to the .208 / .296 / .307 line in 115 appearances this season; Lefties, on the other hand, managed .266 / .355/.431 showing a much stronger 124 rides.
The White Sox picked a $16 million option on Kimbrel for this season before handing him over to LA He’s in the final few weeks of that deal and will hit free agent a second time in his career this season. In the interim, he will remain part of one of the game’s top relief legions.
The fact that the Dodgers felt equipped to get closer in the ninth inning career is a testament to the strength of the rest of their bullpen. Los Angeles entered the sixth game with the second lowest ERA gain (2.94) and the fourth best hit rate (26.5%). Evan Phillips, an exemption request from the Rays last August, almost immediately emerged as one of the best pain relievers in the game. The Sliding Expert has an ERA of 1.24 with a 31.8% hit rate in 58 turns during his breakout campaign. Balloon thrower throws fire Brusdar Graterol brought the ball to the ground a whopping 63.5% to a 2.96 ERA. Redemption period Chris Martin hit 1.71 points with a laughably 26:1 strike ratio since landing in Los Angeles. Southpaw Alex Vesia has the best sorties of the bullpen (34.6%) and an ERA of 2.24 in 51 2/3 frames.
That quartet looks best suited to take on the most leveraged job in the knockouts. Roberts can also call on Kimbrel, Phil Bickford and Tommy Kahnle from the right side, while Caleb Ferguson and the shaking David Price are left-handed options. Yency Almonte has had a good season of his own and is on rehab with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and is still capable Blake Treinen return to the playoffs (although Treinen is currently on the injury list and continues to battle shoulder discomfort).
