Dodgers: Dave Roberts Discusses Starting Rotation Options

Dave Roberts doesn't have quite the stockpile of starting arms like he did last year, but he still has some options.

The Dodgers still don't have a clear picture on the future of Trevor Bauer at the moment. Bauer is currently on administrative leave as MLB continues their investigation. Once the league completes their investigation, they will decide whether or not to issue a suspension. 

In the meantime, the Dodgers need to work with what they have in terms of the starting rotation. Right now, that's Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Julio Urías, and a few question marks.

On Wednesday, Roberts talked about the rotation beyond Kershaw and Buehler. 

“Yeah obviously Julio [Urias], [Andrew] Heaney, and obviously Tony Gonsolin is in the mix, and obviously, David [Price] is in the mix. We’ll see where we can go from there.”

Safe to say that Urías can expect to get the ball every fifth day. After all, the lefty posted a 2.96 ERA last year in 32 starts. He finished seventh in NL Cy Young voting. A return the bullpen is highly unlikely, if not unfathomable. 

LA inked Heaney to a one-year, $8.5M deal this offseason. The lefty is coming off a season where he logged a 5.48 ERA in 23 starts between the Angels and Yankees. He'll likely have a short leash as a starter with the Dodgers.

Unlike Heaney, Tony Gonsolin's numbers were strong in 2021, but he just couldn't stay healthy. In 13 starts, Gonsolin produced a 2.86 ERA. The variables the Dodgers face this year with their starting rotation should equate to Gonsolin finally becoming a full-time starter for a full regular season.

Price's role as a Dodger has fluctuated more than the price of Bitcoin. He's been used as a starter, opener, middle reliever, swingman, and everything in between. He pitched 73.2 innings in 39 appearances last year. In his 11 starts, he averaged less than four innings.

The Dodgers first three starting spots are no-brainers, but the No.4 and No.5 spots are much harder to define.

Roberts and the Dodgers have just under three weeks to dial in the first turn of the rotation in the regular season.