FanPost

Dodgers 2015 Roster as it currently stands

It will be interesting to see how the Dodgers put together their 2015 roster. Although it is early (obviously) in the off-season, it looks as though the majority of the Dodgers starting position players and pictures are already in place. Definitely good to have the consistency there and knowledge of who is playing where, it also leads to the question of how the team can improve substantially with so many returning starters - especially in the playoffs.

Of course there can be major trades or free agent pick-ups, and most definitely there will be, but with the new leadership saying the Dodgers are moving into the next phase of building the team, adding high priced established free agents certainly isn't a certainty.

As it stands, here are the 18 players of 25 almost guaranteed to begin the season on the starting day roster:

  • C Ellis
  • 1B Gonzalez
  • 2b Gordon
  • SS Gurrerro
  • 3B Uribe
  • OF Kemp
  • OF Puig
  • OF Crawford
  • Bench Turner, Either
  • SP Kershaw, Grienke, Ryu, Haren
  • RP Jensen, Wilson, Howell, League

One could probably plug in a few more players as most likely to be on the opening roster. Slyke seems to be a good bet after such a break-out year last year, and Baez as a relief pitcher looks like a good bet as well.

Ramirez is a big if, but I'm leaning toward the Dodgers offering him, it being declined, and having him sign with another team for a multi-year career (most likely in the AL). And maybe this isn't a bad thing considering his injury history and Gurrerro and Arruebarrens possibly ready to take a step forward.

The team is flooded with minor/major league relief pitchers who have experience - Frias, Rodriguez, Elbert, Garcia, Withrow, Dominguez, and Columbe - so it will be interesting to see how many of these will make the opening day roster and how many outside the organization players the new leadership brings in for competition.

Butera and Fed should hopefully start down in the minors next year - meaning that the Dodgers were able to find someone better (at least offensively) to compete (hopefully) with Ellis to start or at least split time at catcher.

Infield depth should be similar to last year - Barney, Rojas, and probably Aruebarreuns seem to be destined for starting the year in the minors, but will most likely see some playing time next year on the Dodgers.

The one outfielder in the minors to make a splash is obviously Pederson, but unless something happens with the top 5 on the main team, it seems like he is destined to start the year in the minors as well.

And finally, it looks as though a minor league starting pitcher is going to have to really impress in spring training to get a shot as the 5th starter. Despite all the top 10 prospects over the last few years, there still seems to be no one in AAA or AA ready (or trusted) by the Dodgers to man that last starting position. A few spot starts might be the only path for one of these guys again this year.

So.

How much improvement beyond just players playing better can the Dodgers hope to achieve for 2015?

  1. Surely another catcher needs to be brought in. Ellis moving to part time would be an improvement (19th player).
  2. One additional infielder will need to be added. If this is Arru/Rohas/Barney, with Guerrero starting, most likely no improvement here. Could the Dodgers go after someone here in free agency to compete for a starting spot - or could they actually offer Ramirez a multi-year deal (I can't imagine him taking a one year deal) - (20th player).
  3. Slyke will probably be the 4/5th outfielder again (21st player).
  4. Some mid-level starting pitcher will most likely be brought in to be the 5th starter. Outside chance one of the young pitchers in the minors beats him out here. (22nd player).
  5. For the three relief pitcher spots, there will probably be 1-2 free agents signed to compete with the already large stable of borderline relief pitchers who have experience the last coupe of years with the Dodgers. I'll say Baez, another young pitcher (Paco?), and one of the free agents win the jobs. (23, 24,25th players).
Quite honestly, I'm not excited about any of this. Some players will most likely have better years with better health (Kemp, Ellis, Ryu), while others will be very hard pressed to not regress somewhat (Turner, Gordon, and possibly Kershaw). There really isn't a great internal or external candidate to improve the team in the most needed of open spots - offensive catching and a reliable 4th starter (pushing Haren to 5th). If Ramirez leaves, the team would lose a middle of the lineup bat unless the players projected to replace him go crazy. And the bullpen, the team's weakest link, still returns two older players who are at best average and a bunch of younger borderline talent who haven't shown they are consistent and dominating in telling situations. And finally, with Either almost untradeable, he remains in the way of Pederson who really is ready to take on 350-400 at bats in the majors to keep improving.

I'm wondering if next year is a static year overall, with the Dodgers hovering around 90 wins, most likely in the playoffs again, but still not a complete team that can be relied on to be a front runner to win 3 grueling post season series. It will be interesting to see if the new leadership sees it this way as well and goes conservative with the free agent signings. I'm not so sure I would be against this path - giving some of the younger AA/AAA players a shot to see if they can take advantage of the opportunity in 2015 to become a major player in the upcoming years.

This is a fan-written post that is in no way affiliated with or related to any of the authors or editors of True Blue LA. The opinions reflected in this post do not necessarily reflect those of True Blue LA, its authors or editors.