Dodgers: A healthy Adrian Gonzalez is further complicating things

Los Angeles Dodgers’ first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has returned from a brief DL stint. While fans love to see him back, his resurgence is creating complications.

Adrian Gonzalez was not having a good 2017 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, that’s for sure. Gonzalez has put up a -0.4 wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference, hitting .264 with 15 runs batted in and zero home runs. While those are not the worst numbers in the world, it is evident that Gonzalez has not been his everyday self.

A big reason for Gonzalez’ setback in 2017 is his elbow that set him on the DL to begin with. Gonzalez was shut down in spring training for “tennis elbow”, seemingly playing through the pain through April. Gonzalez was making contact and putting the ball in play, but one could easily see he could not use that driving power that we have all become familiar with.

With no viable options to cover for Gonzalez at first base besides a struggling Scott Van Slyke, he needed to play through it. The discomfort was evident, but a struggling Gonzalez was still far better than a Van Slyke. Then, as we all know by now, a young stud named Cody Bellinger came to save the day.

The Dodgers initially called Cody Bellinger up to help in the outfield after Joc Pederson went down with a strained groin. Bellinger initially struggled in San Francisco, then put together a monster two weeks. Bellinger has now leveled out, batting .295 with nine homers and 24 runs batted in, but he is a star in the making.

Because of Bellinger’s scorching hot start, and Gonzalez’ continued discomfort, the Dodgers sent the veteran first baseman to the DL the same day the team recalled Joc Pederson. The plan was for Bellinger to primarily play first, with Andrew Toles and Franklin Gutierrez splitting time in left field.

That was of course until Toles tore his ACL on May ninth trying to preserve a Julio Urias no-hitter, causing him to miss the rest of 2017. Now Bellinger had to find time in left field, with Van Slyke and Chase Utley playing first base.

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As unorthodox as it was, the Dodgers didn’t struggle with this transition. The team has gone 7-5 since Toles’ injury, which is not the best but is good for the weird lineup cards Dave Roberts had to make.

However, now that Gonzalez is back in the swing of things, this Dodgers roster is only going to get more complicated. Lat night Gonzalez went 3-4, slugging two doubles and bringing in three runs. Gonzalez is seemingly feeling great, and that will only make this overcrowded roster harder to manage.

Logan Forsythe is set to be back any day now from his DL stint, which would likely cause Chris Taylor to get sent down. However, with Justin Turner out the Dodgers need Taylor to play third. This will likely cause the hot rookie Brett Eibner to be sent back down.

Then, when Turner comes back, there is another decision to be made. The Dodgers can keep their infield depth, as Taylor is playing good, or they could send him down. Some people want Utley sent down, but that would defeat his own purpose. The team won’t send Gutierrez down, or Bellinger, leaving the only viable option to be Scott Van Slyke.

Next: Julio Urias sent back to minors

We don’t even want to start discussing the crazy moves that the team will have to make the entire rotation is healthy.

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