How Are Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner and More Former Dodgers Doing Early This Season
There has been a lot of talk about the Dodgers offseason this past winter, and what they did, or, more so, did not do. The Dodgers elected to let a lot of their key contributors from 2022 walk, as they ushered in a new era of Dodger baseball.
While the Dodgers lineup hasn't really missed a beat without many of its top contributors from last season, the pitching side of things definitely can't say the same. However, it's unfair to talk about what the Dodgers didn't do without checking in and seeing how those former Boys in Blue are performing with their new teams.
This is something we're going to do a lot throughout the year, so make sure to keep checking in on insidethedodgers.com for these updates!
Here's our second update of the 2023 season on some former Dodgers who signed with new teams this past offseason (you can read our first one by clicking here):
Batters:
Cody Bellinger, Chicago Cubs: .238/.298/.405, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K. Bellinger has continued to be himself, hitting home runs, playing good defense and not having a great batting average. He's coming back to Los Angeles this weekend for a three-game series against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Justin Turner, Boston Red Sox: .233/.370/.438, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 8 BB, 6 K. Turner is used to having slow starts, so this is nothing new. But he hasn't exactly been great as the mostly DH and part-time first baseman (yes, first baseman) for the Red Sox. He is getting on base, at least.
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies: .321/.345/.434, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 12 K, 3 SB. Turner is hitting well, but hasn't flashed the power just yet. He also has one error, for those wondering.
Joey Gallo, Minnesota Twins: .278/.350/.833, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K. Gallo was actually off to a very nice start this year, but is now on the injured list with a right intercostal strain.
Edwin Rios, Chicago Cubs: .125/.300/.500, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K. Rios has only had eight at-bats, so it's a very small sample size, but pretty much what we expect of him. He, like his teammate Bellinger, will be back in LA this weekend.
Zach McKinstry, Detroit Tigers: .158/.200/.158, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K. He was traded to the Tigers right before the season and has 19 at-bats with them — so a larger sample size than Rios — and is playing pretty poorly.
Hanser Alberto, Chicago White Sox: .222/.222/.389, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K and 1.2 IP, 21.60 ERA, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 K. Yes, the White Sox are using Alberto as a utility fielder and their blowout closer, just like the Dodgers did a season ago.
Pitchers:
Tyler Anderson, Los Angeles Angels: 10.2 IP, 4.22 ERA, 11 H, 5 ER, 3 HR, 4 BB, 8 K. Anderson has looked solid in two starts for the Angels, but not exactly his All-Star self from a year ago.
Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers: 7.2 IP, 8.22 ERA, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 12 K. Heaney struggled mightily in his first start, but settled in nicely during the second, including striking out nine consecutive batters early in the game.
Chris Martin, Boston Red Sox: 7.0 IP, 2.57 ERA, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K. He seems to be continuing to do what he learned during his brief stint with the Dodgers last season, pitching well for the Red Sox.
Craig Kimbrel, Philadelphia Phillies: 5.0 IP, 9.00 ERA, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB, 4 K, 1 SV. Not much has changed here.
It is a small sample size, but for the most part, none of these guys are playing especially well in their new homes So, for now, you can’t really blame the Dodgers for allowing any of these guys to walk.
Check back in soon for another update on how these former Dodgers are doing with their new teams, and let me know if there's anyone else you want to know about in these articles. You can reach out to me @noahcamras on Twitter!
