Los Angeles Dodgers: Managing the over-crowded roster

The Los Angeles Dodgers have witnessed some diamonds in the rough emerging due to several injuries. Now as the team gets healthy, this is creating a logjam.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best problem you can have in baseball, they have too many cooks in the kitchen. Between the pitching staff and the position players the team has many, many guys capable of producing at the MLB level. This has created quite the task for Dave Roberts.

Roberts holds the responsibility of managing his deep talent pool, needing to make the distinction between who should stay and who should go. We found a solution for the surplus of arms, but now, the organizations must pick and choose who is going to stay around at Chavez Ravine.

There have been several injuries in the organization that ironically has caused this logjam of talent. Logan Forsythe, Adrian Gonzalez, Franklin Gutierrez, Joc Pederson, and now Andrew Toles have all been the subject to injury. The first four will or have came back to the lineup, Toles, well he is out for the year.

The initial injury of Gutierrez gave Toles more reign in left field, which is now open as Toles is out due to a gnarly ACL injury. Forsythe getting hurt gave the spotlight to Chris Taylor, the Joc Pederson and Adrian Gonazlez injuries have given Cody Bellinger a platform to shine.

Soon, in the very near future, these position guys are going to come back into the lineup. Forsythe and Gonzalez are both set to return soon, and the re-addition of Rich Hill to the roster may further complicate things.

Two positions players need to go, and this is where Dave Roberts and the Dodgers are going to struggle.

The first man that comes to my mind is Scott Van Slyke, he plays in the exact same role as Cody Bellinger but produces nowhere near the same amount as the rookie. Then, it becomes a hard question to answer – who gets sent down with Forsythe’s return?

The popular answer would likely be Chase Utley, as he has struggled this season. However, Utley has posted a .429 clip in the last week, driving in three runs.

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That last week of production is not what is keeping him safe however – it is the impact he makes in the clubhouse that does. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed him for a very specific reason, and it would be foolish for the club to send him down.

Guys like Enrique Hernandez and Austin Barnes then come to mind, but the value they bring to the Dodgers is too much to send away. Hernandez is a super utility player that gives the Dodgers flexibility against left-handed pitching. Austin Barnes is the only back up catcher, and of course, the team cannot run with just one catcher.

This boils the choice down to two men – Chris Taylor and Cody Bellinger, both of which are thriving at the big league level.

Personally, I would send Taylor down. Bellinger offers much more flexibility in his ability to play first base, and has shown more consistency. Taylor has been great, but there is no room on this roster for him. If Andrew Toles was not hurt this would be a different story, we would likely see Bellinger sent down, as that was seemingly the plan from day one.

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But of course, plans often change – that is the nature of Major League Baseball. One thing is certain, however. The Los Angeles Dodgers are immensely deep, which will cause Dave Roberts and company to make some tough phone calls.

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