The battle for roster spots on the Dodgers continue to come into focus as the initial cuts to the team are made, and though there are more injuries than you’d like to start the year, it does give others a chance to shine at least.
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As mentioned, the Dodgers made their first cuts to the roster at the start of the week, optioning Nick Frasso and reassigning Carlos Duran, Julian Fernandez, Justin Jarvis, Ryan Ward, Justin Dean, Zyhir Hope, and Josue De Paula to the minor-league side of camp. Yesterday, they made their second round of cuts, reassigning Alex Freeland, Austin Gauthier, Kody Hoese, Chris Okey, and Griffin Lockwood-Powell to minor-league camp. So far, nothing at all surprising.
The Dodgers say they now have only 52 in major-league camp, but unless I missed some cuts, I think they’re technically at 54. Maybe the discrepancy has to do with this next part, as there are eight pitchers (Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, Michael Grove, Clayton Kershaw, Brusdar Graterol, Emmet Sheehan, Kyle Hurt, Edgardo Henriquez) who will be added to the IL before Opening Day, and thus the roster is realistically down to 46 players at the moment, which leaves 20 cuts to go.
Getting there.
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In the rotation competition, it certainly seems like Dustin May wants a crack at it and he looks sharp.
Dustin May with the 3,300 rpm curveball is so unfair, and the Rangers would probably agree as he held them to one hit today in three innings of work! pic.twitter.com/xRD6jD0tw0
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 6, 2025
Dustin May’s Breaking Balls are Evil. ? pic.twitter.com/5aAi5MS3jq
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 6, 2025
Their preference is likely Tony Gonsolin, but if May keeps looking like this, he might force their hand at some point.
Meanwhile, where Jack Dreyer eventually ends up appears to depend on the health of the rest of the pen, but one thing is for certain: he’s making a strong case to contribute this season.
Jack Dreyer continues to impress, slamming the door with a nice mix of fastballs and sliders. https://t.co/3zqsiflDom pic.twitter.com/FLyHfQTJAx
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) March 5, 2025
Alex Vesia comps and he’s now struck out seven in four innings, giving up just two singles and a walk.
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In terms of prospects, Jackson Ferris continues to look like the real deal, striking out five over two innings in his latest outing.
MLB’s No. 5 LHP prospect Jackson Ferris utilizes his slider and fastball to register 5 K’s in 2 IP for the @Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/9XSnvqt0Hl
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 6, 2025
Yeah yeah, he gave up a homer, but the stuff already plays.
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There are a pair of somewhat concerning injury updates as well.
The definite one involves Henriquez, who will be out 4-to-6 weeks and removes a candidate in the pen competition.
Dave Roberts said Henriquez had a “mishap” away from the field. Didn’t want to go into further details.
Henriquez will be out 4 to 6 weeks. https://t.co/usNLSgLJOe
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 5, 2025
No word on what it is, but it’s better if it’s a fracture or something and nothing ligament related.
Additionally, the Dodgers are pausing Shohei Ohtani‘s bullpens.
Ohtani has not stopped throwing, but the Dodgers want to manage the right-hander’s workload on the mound while he also ramps up his hitting after offseason shoulder surgery. The decision, Roberts said, came from “synced up” communication between Ohtani and the Dodgers’ medical staff.“We just felt that to intensify the bullpens alongside of the intensity of the games wasn’t smart,” Roberts said. “So we just wanted to kind of slow-play it.”
They are clear that it’s not a setback and they just want to play it safe, which makes sense with the kind of team they have. However, it’s also the Dodgers, so I’m going to worry whenever there’s an apparent change of plans relating to health no matter what they say publicly.
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Here’s another reminder that Opening Day creeps closer, as there’s a Demon Slayer crossover:
