The Dodgers are without closer Edwin Díaz for at least a few months, with arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow coming on Wednesday in Los Angeles that will sideline him until the second half of the season.
Sunday’s four-batter, no-out outing set off alarm bells for the Dodgers. From Mirjam Swanson in the Los Angeles Times:
“Obviously, we all saw the stuff [Sunday], and it sent up red flags,” Roberts said. “And so, after the game, he had a conversation with our training staff, and felt that he had some elbow discomfort. So we just wanted to be proactive, and felt that it was smart to get an MRI, get imaging, which we did do, and it showed loose bodies.”
Jack Harris at the California Post wrote about the various veteran options with closing experience the Dodgers have for the back end of games, including Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, and Blake Treinen:
“I think we have a lot of guys capable of pitching in the ninth inning,” Gomes said. “It is a different three outs, but we also have multiple guys that have done it at a high level in the past.”
Not among those closing candidates is Roki Sasaki, which was to be expected. From Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo at The Athletic:
Sasaki turned in sharp results, and his velocity played up in his short stint as a reliever during last year’s playoff run. But his role in the bullpen was strictly situational. The plan was always for him to return to the rotation. Gomes doubled down on that once more Monday afternoon. When he was asked if Sasaki was a candidate to move to the bullpen, the executive responded with a one-word answer: “No.”
Dodgers minor league shortstop Emil Morales, who was named to several top-100 prospect lists this offseason, is off to a solid start thus far, hitting .377/.443/.639 with a 172 wRC+ and 11 extra-base hits in 13 games for the Class-A Ontario Buzzers. The 19-year-old was among a group of prospects whose early performance stood out to Baseball America.
“He’s also making more contact this year, and his 20% strikeout rate is the lowest of his career. That’s encouraging, given the biggest question about Morales’ offensive profile is his hit tool,” wrote Ian Cundall at Baseball America. “The Dodgers have a stable of intriguing prospects on the Ontario team, but Morales might have the most upside of them all. He’s already showing present ability at the plate, and his bat could be ready for a new test soon.”
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