Mailbag Wednesday: Dodgers need to figure out their defense
Answering questions from paid subscribers!
This photo perfectly shows how I feel watching the Dodgers’ infield defense this spring.
Happy Wednesday, everyone! I was too deep into the Academy Awards on Sunday (Lily Gladstone was robbed!) and forgot to post my mailbag. So, here’s a fun edition of ‘Mailbag Wednesday’!
Thank you to everyone who submitted a question this week. If you’d like to ask a question for the next mailbag and support my Substack page, please consider becoming a paid subscriber!
Tom — Are you concerned about the infield defense? Should we see Rojas as a late inning replacement for Betts?
As things currently shape out, yes. Freddie Freeman is a Gold Glover, you don’t have to worry about him. We’ve seen Lux at second base this spring and it isn’t pretty. Sure, he can (and hopefully) improve, but he’s still a below average option there. Mookie Betts will be fine at shortstop, but we don’t have a large enough sample size to see how good he’ll be there. Then there’s Max Muncy at third. Every time a ball is hit in his direction you need to cover your eyes.
When looking at that, it’s kind of scary. Overall, the best defensive unit the Dodgers could put together features Miguel Rojas at shortstop and Mookie Betts at second base. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a lot of late-game substitutions where Rojas takes over at SS and Mookie slides over to 2B.
Marilyn Fisher — Do we stick with Betts at shortstop or do we trade for someone and put Betts back at second base? Do you see any health issues with having Betts at shortstop?
I wrote about this and did a video on this going more in depth, but I really hope the Dodgers have a plan in mind. Mookie filling in at shortstop is fine, like what he did last year for 10 games or so. I don’t think it’s smart having him at shortstop for the entire season. The whole reason he moved to second base was because it would be less taxing of a position. We kinda want to keep our $365 million man healthy!
In regards to a trade, the only option seems to be Willy Adames. He’s a name I’ve been interested in for a while. It feels like if the Dodgers were going to trade for him they would have done it by now. Maybe they want to see how things shape out and wait until the deadline to acquire him.
Stan B — In the first two innings against the Guardians I watched Lux sidearm a routine throw to first pulling the 1st baseman off the bag (E-4) and then let a Little League infield pop up drop in front of him. How do you reconcile WIN NOW with a guy who’s clearly gripping the steering wheel too hard and a liability on every play? Could they send him to OKC to get his confidence back?
I guess give him more reps? The good thing is that this is spring training and these games don’t count. With that being said, the season starts in exactly one week. There isn’t much time. I could see Lux starting the season in Triple-A if the Dodgers really don’t trust him to begin the season. Let him get reps down there instead of at the big league level. The Dodgers could afford it, as Betts will be the starting second baseman with Rojas at shortstop.
Alex Khalifa — Who is the biggest challenger for the National League crown?
I still think it’s the Braves. Their lineup looks like one of the best in all of baseball and their pitching staff still looks great on paper. I really don’t have another team, I think the Dodgers and Braves are in a tier of their own. If they aren’t meeting up in the NLCS this season, something seriously went wrong!
Luke H — Much of the Dodgers pitching prospects are "old," 25+. Do they start offloading some of this to help the win-now mentality in this window?
The Dodgers are in such a unique position. They have so many talented prospects that are up there in age, but there really isn’t a lot of room for them. Sure, you could trade them, but for what? As things stand, the Dodgers are pretty set across the board.
I did mention earlier trading for Adames, so maybe they can attach a couple names in a trade? Or maybe they’ll have a big need when the trade deadline rolls around and they can upgrade then.
Having too many great prospects is certainly a great problem to have!
Jim Ruland — How much are tix for the opener in Seoul? A friend thinks it will be easier to snag a pair if he shows up.
From what I’ve seen online it looks like it’ll cost at least $1,000 for one ticket…. which is CRAZY!! I guess it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but wow. Maybe showing up will be easier, but what happens if there aren’t any tickets available?
MJ — Who has been your biggest disappointment this spring training?
It’s tough to say players disappoint, because the sample size is so small in spring. But for the sake of this question, I’ll choose two. Ryan Brasier and Jason Heyward have been kinda underwhelming.
Braiser hasn’t looked great at all this spring. Granted, only a handful of outings, but I think he’s allowed more runs in a few weeks than he did all last year with the Dodgers. I wasn’t a huge fan of bringing him back, as I was worried about him looking like the pitcher that got DFA’d by the Red Sox.
Meanwhile with Heyward, his OPS is barley above .500. It’s not like he’s getting unlucky. He just has a lot of weak contact this spring. Heyward was another piece I didn’t think the Dodgers needed to bring back. He exceeded our expectations last season, but for a team competing for a World Series, I don’t think he should be the every day right fielder. A bench piece I’m okay with, but I’m not too excited with the idea of Heyward getting 120+ starts this season. Maybe he surprises me and replicates his 2023 season, but I don’t think we should be expecting that.