Dodgers' Bullpen Woes & Playoff Outlook for Final Week

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00:00I want to pivot to the L.A. Dodgers here, and this is where things get murkier.

00:03The Brewers, we aligned on the whole Mizorowski thing.

00:07You mentioned the Game 3 starter for Philly.

00:09I mentioned Trey Turner, who's set to return from injury.

00:11It sounds like on Friday.

00:14The Dodgers, I have more questions about entering the final week.

00:18And for me, the biggest one is which bullpen arm is going to be your hottest hand

00:24going into the postseason?

00:25I feel good about everybody in the rotation that you could possibly throw.

00:30And they're going to have to play a wildcard series.

00:32It seems like Milwaukee and Philly are locked into that first round by area.

00:37So now all of a sudden, you've got the Dodgers hosting the last wildcard team

00:42in the National League.

00:43It's going to be the sputtering Mets, the Red Hot Reds, or somebody else.

00:47Maybe a mystery team falls in there again.

00:49The Miami Marlins, four out with six to play.

00:52But the Dodgers got to host somebody.

00:54And obviously, Yavamoto can give him seven innings of one run or shutout baseball

01:00in the postseason.

01:01After that, you wonder how many innings you're going to get from a Snell or a

01:04Glassnow, anybody like that.

01:06And for me, I look at what this bullpen has done in the month of September,

01:10and it makes me really darn nervous.

01:13I know Jack Dreyer has been great.

01:15How much do you trust a Jack Dreyer in the bullpen?

01:18I know Vessia has been great.

01:20Obviously, Vessia can only throw so much.

01:22I look at guys like Blake Trinan, who was their postseason ace last year.

01:27In nine appearances in the month of September, Trinan has thrown seven innings.

01:32He's walked nine and has allowed 11 runs.

01:36Kirby Yates in seven innings has walked four and has allowed six runs.

01:41Michael Kopech, six appearances in September, four innings, nine walks.

01:46These guys are spraying the ball right now in the pen.

01:50I don't know who I have confidence in, to be totally honest with you.

01:53Well, and Kopech just went back to the IL, and it's retroactive to the 18th, so he might

01:58not even be available for them to start the postseason.

02:01I'm very interested to see what that timeline looks like.

02:04We were talking about this on the weekend roundup.

02:08Peter asked, who do you trust right now in the bullpen?

02:11And the two guys that you should trust the most in Tanner Scott and Blake Trinan, in varying

02:16degrees, I don't trust right now.

02:18It's Vessia.

02:19It's Dreyer.

02:21And those are guys, especially Dreyer.

02:24I mean, I don't know, again, how much you can rely on a guy like that.

02:27So I think the burning question really is, who do you trust in the bullpen as you go into

02:31the postseason?

02:32And it is going to be the hot hand, as you alluded to, and I'm kind of waiting to see

02:36what other hands could potentially get hot.

02:38And I think you've got to circle.

02:40I think Trinan looks a lot further off than Scott does.

02:44I think you've got to circle Scott and say, time to get hot here, man, and time to earn

02:49that contract.

02:51Yeah, you paid him to get hot at this time.

02:53And you paid him to get out the best lefties and the best righties in any opposing lineup.

02:59The issue with Tanner Scott has always lied within command issues, right?

03:04Like it's, it's spraying, it's spraying, it's spraying.

03:06And he's walked some guys this month.

03:07He's walked some guys over all this year, but it seems like he's getting clipped much

03:12more than he really ever has.

03:13And I just don't really understand why.

03:16Do you have some sort of theory on that or no?

03:19The ball flies more there at home.

03:21I like, that's the only thing I can think of though.

03:23But at the end of the day, like it just wasn't as much of a, an issue for him.

03:27I think it's just location and he's a guy that it's good carry fastball.

03:31He likes to elevate it and guys are just kind of ambushing it now and, and, and selling out

03:36for it.

03:36But I, I wish I had a more concrete theory on it.

03:41It just seems like, yeah, he's getting clipped.

03:43It does seem like for the most part it is happening at home.

03:46Uh, but even when you look at the home road splits, I don't feel like they're as dramatic

03:50as you'd expect.

03:52It's a seven 75 OPS allowed at home and it's a seven 54 OPS allowed on the road.

03:57I will say seven of the four or seven of the 11 homers are at home, but still I, it's been

04:02bizarre because it hasn't really been something that seems like it's been a huge issue for

04:05him in the past.

04:06I know, uh, offensively, my one big question, how is Will Smith's hand?

04:12It's a hairline fracture.

04:13They remain hopeful that he's ready for the start of post-season play hopeful for the start

04:18of post-season play is as vague as you could possibly get is Ben Rortved catching in a wild

04:24card series for you.

04:25That's scary for me.

04:26It's a big drop off.

04:27You go from, yeah, you know, Will Smith to Rortved and, and, and a rookie rushing.

04:32It's, that's a, it's a big gap.

04:34So, I mean, that's, that's as big of a question as they come.

04:37You still have confidence that the offense can continue to do what it does, but Will Smith

04:40has been as integral of a part of that offense is, it's just about anybody.

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