Dodgers: Dave Roberts Admits Tough Conversations Are Ahead for Injured Pitchers
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked before Tuesday's game about the pitchers the Dodgers currently have on rehab assignments, specifically Tommy Kahnle, Danny Duffy, and Victor Gonzalez.
Roberts said he expects all three of them to be ready around September 15-20, but he also acknowledged that there likely just won't be room for all of them on the active roster.
"They're all trending the right way. Once we can get them through their rehab assignments, then we're gonna have to make a decision ... there's gonna be some tough conversations."
Last week, in having a similar conversation, Roberts mentioned Kahnle by name after talking about Caleb Ferguson and Alex Vesia performing well in their roles as lefties out of the bullpen, which seemed to indicate that Duffy and Gonzalez, both lefties themselves and both of whom haven't thrown a pitch in the big leagues in over a year, were fighting an uphill battle to crack the roster.
The Dodgers also have Yency Almonte and Brusdar Graterol hopefully returning this month, and when they're healthy they've been as good as anyone out of the Los Angeles bullpen this year. David Price was recently placed on the IL with a wrist issue, but he expects to be back this year and has proven quite valuable himself.
There are three pitchers on the current active roster who we definitely shouldn't expect to see in the postseason: Phil Bickford, Justin Bruihl, and Heath Hembree. Even if we assume all three of those guys being dropped when the time comes, that just gives you room to bring Graterol, Almonte, and Tony Gonsolin back. Mathematically speaking, even Price is going to have a hard time cracking the roster, let alone three three guys who have combined to throw four innings in the past year.
While Roberts refers to these as "tough conversations," the numbers might actually make the conversations easier. Just pull out a calculator and the current roster; the math speaks for itself.
