The state of the LA Dodgers heading into Spring Training 2018
A Star-Studded Infield that Needs No Repairs
As things stand right now, the Dodgers have one of the best infields in baseball. Between Cody Bellinger making history at first, and Justin Turner making game-saving plays from third, the Dodgers’ infield could not look better.
Well, technically it could, but LA has an infield that is far north of average, so there’s no rush to mend what clearly isn’t broken.
The only question, which is actually more of a simple curiosity at this point, is second base. Chase Utley has yet to be re-signed, but Logan Forsythe is more than capable of taking over behind the mound full time. Should Utley not re-sign, most likely signaling his intent to retire, the Dodgers may trade for another second-baseman to back up Forsythe.
A player who would make a lot of sense for LA is Starlin Castro. Castro, who spent the past two seasons with the Yankees, was traded to Miami as part of the Stanton to New York deal. However, it’s been reported that Castro wants to be traded to a contender, which shines a direct spotlight on the Dodgers. The Marlins are officially rebuilding, and Castro is a career.300 hitter who would thrive on a team headed for October.
With the Marlins massive return for the recently-traded Christian Yelich, it seems likely that they would be willing to take a lower-level prospect or two, and cash for Castro.
There’s no doubt that Kershaw’s curveball will be a thing of beauty in 2018. The question is; who will be the one catching it?
As for who will be the battery mate to Clayton Kershaw and the starting rotation, the answer seems pretty simple; Austin Barnes. Yasmani Grandal is completely capable of keeping his spot behind the plate in 2018, but he is also one of the names being floated around as part of a potential trade package.
What we do know is this; Barnes will be starting for the Dodgers’ in 2018, and it’ll most-likely be Grandal or Kyle Farmer behind the plate when the matchup falls in favor of somebody else.
The Dodgers’ infield is dynamite. It’s an infield that could stay unchanged going into Spring Training, and still be one of the best in all of baseball.
We can’t forget that both the 2016 and the 2017 NL Rookies of the Year will be part of some epic double plays in 2018.
On the Dodgers list of needs for 2018, the infield is pretty low, and I don’t expect that to change.