Week 9: Roster transition and pitching attrition

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Goodbye to Austin Barnes and Chris Taylor, hello to Dalton Rushing and Hyeseong Kim, and welcome back to Clayton Kershaw.

It was a week of transition for the Dodgers, who bid farewell to two longtime veterans and welcomed a franchise icon back into the fold. But on the field, pitching attrition led to four losses in six games at home, including getting swept by the Angels for the first time in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium since 2010.

Backup catcher Austin Barnes was designated for assignment on Wednesday, and Chris Taylor was released on Sunday, making active roster room for top prospect Dalton Rushing and utility man Hyeseong Kim.

“This has been a very emotional week for all of us. Barnesy and CT have been in the middle of some huge moments for this organization. Both guys have left an indelible mark on our culture and where we’re at at this point,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Sunday. “The decisions were incredibly difficult, the conversations were tough. But with where we are, division race, composition of roster, everything, we felt this was this was in the Dodgers’ best interest to win as many games and put us in the best position to win a World Series this year.”

Clayton Kershaw made his return for an 18th season, tying a franchise record on Saturday and joining a select group of major leaguers to pitch 18 years for one team. He was shaky in his first start back, which might have been expected, but his return from the injured list came in a week that Roki Sasaki was placed on the IL as well, with no real timetable for his return from a shoulder impingement.

The Dodgers used Sasaki’s roster spot to cycle through pitchers to get to Kershaw, quenching the insatiable thirst for fresh arms that this taxed bullpen requires to keep running. The four pitchers in that single roster spot (J.P. Feyereisen, Justin Wrobleski, Ryan Loutos, and Kershaw) combined to allow 10 runs in 11 innings.

It was that kind of week for the pitching staff that allowed six and a half runs per game on average, including giving up 11 runs twice, and the hits kept coming on Saturday with Kirby Yates going on the injured list.

The Dodgers have an offense that can at times make up for a pitching deficiency, and they averaged over seven runs per game for the week. But the pitching staff Batter of the week

Hyeseong Kim provided a glimpse of why he’s staying on the roster with his speed and defensive versatility. But he also was 7-for-9 at the plate with two walks, and at one point reached base nine consecutive plate appearances, five shy of Pedto Guerrero’s club record set in 1985.

Kim tied a Dodgers rookie record since by reaching base nine consecutive times,

Thus far the Dodgers have utilized the lefty-batting Kim solely against right-handed pitchers, with all 33 of of his plate appearances thus far against opposite-handers.

Pitcher of the week

Justin Wrobleski was called up Thursday to fill innings and let the bullpen reset, and filled that with aplomb, pitching four scoreless innings to close out a blowout of the A’s, and got a win to show for it.

Week 9 results

2-4 record
44 runs scored (7.33 per game)
39 runs allowed (6.50 per game)
.555 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

29-18 record
272 runs scored (5.56 per game)
209 runs allowed (4.15 per game)
.618 pythagorean win percentage (29-18)

Standing: 1st place in NL West,

Miscellany

Two-baggers galore: After a hellacious slump for most of the first eight weeks of the season, Michael Conforto started to turn things around last week. That included three doubles on Tuesday against the A’s, tying the Dodgers franchise record. It was the 68th such game in Dodgers history, and the first since Jason Heyward on June 5, 2024.

Rushing to judgement: Dalton Rushing had two hits in each of his first two major league games, and was just the third Dodger in the modern era to score three runs in his very first game. Said Dave Roberts of Rushing getting a runway as the backup catcher and occasional pinch-hitter: “He’s very comfortable, in a good way. I think he thought he was ready [for the majors] when he signed [in 2022]. So he’s certainly confident, which can be a good thing. But he’s open, he cares, he’s a hard worker, and he can really hit. It’s exciting. The thing for me, that I like, is he earned it, and performed. Nothing was given to him.”

Twin killings: The Dodgers grounded into five double plays against the Angels on Friday, four against starter Jack Kochanowicz. Those five double plays tied a Dodgers franchise record, done 10 total times, with the previous instance coming on August 27, 2015 on the road against the Reds. On the season, the Dodgers have grounded into 36 double plays, fifth-most in the majors, and their 10.8-percent rate of grounding into double plays ranks sixth, above the league-wide rate of 9.2 percent.

Transactions

Monday: The Dodgers acquired outfielder Steward Berroa from the Blue Jays for cash considerations, and assigned him to Oklahoma City.

Tuesday: A right shoulder impingement landed Roki Sasaki on the IL, with no particular timetable for return. J.P. Feyereisen was recalled from Triple-A.

Wednesday: Dalton Rushing got his first call to the majors. Austin Barnes, the longest-tenured position player on the Dodgers, was designated for assignment.

Thursday: Pitcher Justin Wrobleski was called up from Oklahoma City, and Feyereisen was optioned.

Friday: Ryan Loutos rode the fresh arm express to Los Angeles, and Wrobleski was optioned.

Saturday: Clayton Kershaw was activated from the 60-day injured list, Loutos was optioned, and Blake Snell was moved to the 60-day IL.

Sunday: Chris Taylor’s reign as the longest-tenured Dodgers position player lasted only four days, as the veteran utility man was released. That made room on the active roster for Tommy Edman to be activated from the injured list.

Sunday: Reliever Kirby Yates suffered a hamstring strain and was placed on the IL, and Lou Trivino was called up one week after signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers. Trivino was the 27th piitcher used by the Dodgers this season, three more than any other teams.

The Dodgers this week run the Andy Green gauntlet, hosting the Diamondbacks for three games to finish off the homestand, before heading to New York for a weekend series against the Mets. All three games against the Mets will be exclusively telecast nationally — Apple TV+ on Friday, Fox Saturday, and ESPN Sunday — the first of two such weekends in a row for the Dodgers with no SportsNet LA.