Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Lays Out Expectations on What He's Looking For Early in Camp
As spring training starts for the Dodgers, the group at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, looks quite a bit different than it did last year. Gone are longtime mainstays Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger, as are recent fan favorites Trea Turner and Tyler Anderson and a handful of other players. Showing up in their place are veterans like Noah Syndergaard, JD Martinez, and David Peralta along with younger players like Miguel Vargas, James Outman, and Michael Busch.
Complicating matters is the World Baseball Classic, which has eight members of LA's 40-man roster and one non-roster invitee participating, so the whole team won't be together as often as they would be in a regular year. With so many new faces and so little time together, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts is prioritizing getting used to playing together, as he told the media on Thursday.
"There's a lot of new younger faces that I think need to get repetitions with a lot of our big league guys. I think that the young position players is one part of it. I think the bullpen is in a good spot, as far as depth, experience. The rotation -- most of the rotation is going to be participating in the Classic. So, I think just trying to get that continuity with some of the newer guys and really understanding what we're all about."
The job for Roberts and his staff will be tricky. For one thing, they don't know who will be their starting center-fielder, but one of the options — Trayce Thompson — will be playing for Team Great Britain in the WBC. Other tasks will be evaluating Miguel Vargas's defense at second base and Gavin Lux's defense at shortstop, figuring out if there's a spot on the roster for Michael Busch and James Outman, and identifying which relievers to cut.
There will be more intrigue and drama this spring than usual, which should help us pass the time for six weeks until Opening Day.
