Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Dave Roberts Explains Why Blake Treinen Won’t Be LA’s Closer

The recent Dodgers-Giants series left a bitter taste in the mouths of a lot of Dodger fans. The team suffered a 3-1 series loss against their division rivals and lost ground in their chase to get back on top. 

However, this particular fortune of events was caused internally rather than by the opposing team as closer Kenley Jansen blew back-to-back saves Wednesday and Thursday night. As Jansen exited the field both times he was met with boos from his own fans. His sudden regression back to his 2020 self has caused many to question why he is still in the closer role. 



Dave Roberts isn’t ready to give up on Kenley and met that question with an interesting answer. Inserting Blake Treinen into the closer role would ultimately hurt the team’s chances of winning rather than improving them. He mentioned that there’s no one in the pen that would be able to fill the crucial role Blake Treinen plays. 

“Where Blake, we’ve used him in leverage – call it the 5th inning, 6th inning, 7th inning. A certain part of the lineup, being a fireman and being able to go one-plus has allowed us to win a lot of ball games.”

Keeping Jansen as the team’s closer allows Doc to freely use Treinen in pivotal game moments. None of that matters if the door can’t be shut late, yet Kenley has been able to do that for the most part his year. Granted the Thursday’s game should have ended with a Dodger win multiple times, he put himself in that situation. However, Roberts doesn’t feel that should mean replacing his closer.

“If you look back at four days ago, he was one of the top two or three closers in baseball and it’s interesting how things change over the course of two games, albeit two games in a row. He and other guys in our pen have picked up a lot of guys this year. I just don’t think that two games causes for me to question a role.”

Jansen did put together an All-Star worthy first half, yet the way the Giants and Padres are playing leaves little room for mistakes.  The team desperately needs mad Kenley back if they hope to retake the division lead and make a postseason run. Who knows, maybe this forces Andrew Friedman to make a move for a high leverage arm.

NEXT: Prospects Experts Identify LA’s Most ‘Intriguing’ Trade Chip

36 Comments

  1. What a lame reason by such a lame manager. KENLEY CAN’T CLOSE on back to days, he doesn’t have the stuff to pitch clean innings and Robert’s arrogance about this and willing to play a man or 2 short on the roster has made me sick of the site of him. Injuries have decimated this team this year so no matter what, after last night’s loss to the Rockies in the 9th inning, it’s time to shift gears and make plans for changes in 2022.

    1. Yes, how ironic that with all the noise about KJ, very little has been said about all the POOR management decisions Roberts is guilty of. Example: Dodgers leading Giants 3-1 in bottom of 7th with Walker close to 100 pitches. Runners at 2nd and 3rd, no outs, Walker at bat. How many managers (i.e. Gabe Kapler) would pinch it for Walker to build the lead.. But no, Walker strikes out, and the Dodgers fail to score. And, his pitching choices are incredibly bad. When Kenley was in trouble (again) yesterday and the score tied at 6, where was Victor Gonzales to come in to pitch to Wade and then left him in to pitch to Charlie Blackmon who had just homered off him a few days ago. He is a horrible manager with luckily having a talented team playing for him,

      1. P.S. Kerberb Ruiz had 3 home runs and a double in AAA. Can’t we find a spot for him (a switch hitter) on our roster ?? The Dodgers can certainly do without some of those stiffs they currently have. If Ruiz get traded I will be done with the Dodgers for this year.

        1. I agree, we could use Keiberts bat. Maybe he or Smith could play some 1b?
          And I wouldn’t trade a blue chip player for a 2 month rental, even if it was Scherzer. Maybe the answer is to include Barnes in a trade.

    1. Steve, I’d like to know Robert’s stupid reaction to the next time Kenley comes in the 9th inning only to implode again and Dodgers lose yet another game that should have been won. Memo to Roberts and Freidman…keep this up and there won’t be a need for any action at the deadline because this team will be in 3rd place to stay and miss the PS.. Last night bases full , zero outs and the next 3 batters all strike out! After I saw that I thus felt the team deserved to lose game.

      1. That was pretty pathetic in their inability to get a run in. After Smith struck out the Rockies infield was playing back for potential double play ball. Neuse, who is hitting a magnificent .180, should have laid down a bunt for either a safety or suicide squeeze. Instead, Roberts let’s him hit away. And of course he struck out. Time for Roberts to leave. He can take his pitching coach Pryors along with him as his pitchers allows base runners to run freely. Also the conditioning and strength coaches can go too as there are way too many soft tissue issues with this team.

  2. What a bunch of hooey. This jackass couldn’t manage my little league team. Sticking with Jansen is like throwing gas on a fire. He hasn’t been right since 2018 and Davey Robots, the ass slapping puppet has no Flippin idea what he’s doing. 162 different lineups in 162 days, pitching changes burning out an already inept bullpen. Hitting a struggling Bellinger leadoff, sitting Pollock hitting .417 in July for Reks who K’d 3x vs a team we’re chasing for a title. Sticking with this stiff Jansen is gonna cost him his job but, puppet that he is, he’ll be retained. Every boss likes a lackey. I hate going to games now cause I know starters will get their masterpieces blown to bits by a screwball idiot.

  3. Perhaps Jansen could fit that “cubical” Treinen role and Treinen can close? Oh yeah, makes too much sense. Instead, the BP is gonna keep imploding until the FO ends up having to overpay for someone who can save the team in the ninth. Wonder what the record is for consecutive ninth inning melt downs is?

    1. Bases full, zero outs, tying run scores on a wild pitch, but the next 3 batters, Smith, Neuse and Pollock all strike out. Had just 1 of those guys put the ball in play, Dodgers go ahead in the score. But then there was that 9th inning and the rest is history.

  4. Dave “Knucklehead” Roberts: No surprise here for not using Blake “BT” Treinen (49) it made to much sense which Roberts doesn’t have how much longer does this team and most of all us fan base have to deal with him? We deserve Better!

  5. Two games? He blew the save last Sun in CO, denying the team a tie for first. Blew the 3rd game against the Giants, denying another opportunity for first place, then the game on Thursday. Dodgers should’ve won 3-4 against the Giants and be sitting atop the division. Nope. Love Kenley but he’s killing us right now

    1. Dodger 106W, he has lost touch with reality. My concern is that he’s being told by Andrew Freidman to keep running KJ out there in the 9th. But in any event had Dodgers done anything on offense to help support the pitchers, this would be a different conversation.

  6. That bottom of the 9th last night was a “managerial disaster”. Bases full with no outs and only 1 run with Bard pitching wild (walking in tying run). Then the disaster 3 straight strike outs. No effort to
    move the runners. Worse was the top of the ninth with rested Treinen and Joe Kelley,Roberts goes with roookie pitcher who gives a gopher home run shot to a .133 hitter to tie the game. Finally a wild rookie comes in to allow 3 runs for the Rox to put it away. Bad managing!!!

  7. That bottom of the 9th last night was a “managerial disaster”. Bases full with no outs and only 1 run with Bard pitching wild (walking in tying run). Then the disaster 3 straight strike outs. No effort to
    move the runners. Worse was the top of the ninth with rested Treinen and Joe Kelley,Roberts goes with roookie pitcher who gives a gopher home run shot to a .133 hitter to tie the game. Finally a wild rookie comes in to allow 3 runs for the Rox to put it away. Bad managing!!! Why is Neuse still here?

  8. Roberts talks about KJ’s two blown saves…but did he not blow his last 3/THREE opportunities???

  9. The Dodgers bullpen has blown 3 games in a row in the 9th inning, so something is definitely not working.

  10. Dodgers lost this game In ninth inning because they didn’t have a left handed pinch hitter to hit for Nick N. K. Ruiz hit 3 home runs and a double. But Dodgers rather have 200 hitters from minors hitting major league pitching.

  11. Jensen’s a great closer…when we have a 5+run lead. I’ve never really trusted him and have always thought his stuff is average at best. Makes no sense to me to have set up guys throwing 100 and then “Big” Kenley comes in to close up shop throwing a whopping 93. After seeing 100, 93 is like batting practice. A closer should have nasty stuff like Treinen. Jensen’s always seemed very hittable to me. Roberts needs to stop making pitching decisions and leave it up to Prior.

  12. Roberts says “Treinen has gone one + innings an won a lot of ballgames”, why didn’t he do that when Treinen pitched to only a 1/3 and 2/3 of an 8th inning twice? He could have closed the 9th w/ more to spare. Try switching their roles, in professional sports the name of the game is winning the game. Forget about hurting feelings, this is not high school or college ball….. everybody needs to man up. If you need another high leverage guy, use Kelly if available or go get a LH high leverage reliever to complement Treinen.

  13. Another fine example of just how lost Roberts is, will not take any blame and will continue to make the worse choices for this team. Time has been up, a long time ago !

    1. Depending on what happens if they make to the PS or end up missing it. A 1 and done Wild Card game does not look promising as far as how Roberts manages in that game. I kind of doubt any manager change will t a ke place this year no matter the outcome. They most likely give Roberts a pass with the unusually huge amount of injuries suffered this year.

  14. I believe that after you can only had his bed hard problem he was done he should have retired Roberts should either quit or be fired he is completely out of line he is lost games for the Dodgers get rid of both of them

  15. I too agree with the others. all the top teams have a strong and reliable closer. Roberts is wrong. Treinen is a much more effective pitcher than Jansen and should be the closer. period. the 9th is the most important inning! every blown save results in a loss. earlier innings runs given up can be overcome, but not in the 9th.

  16. It’s been time to remove D Roberts
    Jansen needs to go. Sticking with him
    Out of ‘loyalty’ is hurting all of us. Tommy Lasorda was so great, his decisions made sense.
    Roberts is taking the fun out of following the team this year, we’re being managed into the ground by an inept leader, taking our chances of even making post season with him

    1. I agree this team is zero fun to watch. I haven’t seen a less fun team since before Guggenheim. No chemistry, no grit, poor defense, can’t run, horrid bullpen, disastrous managing,the list goes on

      1. Just hang in there Don. Like I said earlier, it is what it is. We are currently watching imposters posing as Dodgers, w/ a spring training type of line-up of guys not ready for the big club. Non-athletic guys playing too slow (not reading the plays), mental mistakes ( throwing to the wrong base and not hitting the cuts), lack of baseball smarts ( Utley-ball ), young pitchers making too many mistake pitches in the zone. Face it, we don’t have the REAL full club playing together yet, so we just have to wait a while longer. These fill-ins are trying their best but are not talented and not ready to play in the big leagues, so I can’t complain too much.

  17. i think roberts is trying to overmanage BECAUSE of all the injuries and the not-ready-for-prime-time guys up from the minors (not named k. ruiz or anyone else putting up big #s). he should know by now NOT to overmanage trying to squeeze a few more potential OPS points out of a lefty-righty matchup…BUT then he NEEDS to put on his manager hat with bases loaded and another minor leaguer at bat and run the damn SQUEEZE PLAY he was so praised for running earlier this season.

    i’ve thought jansen should be a setup guy since he lost all his velocity & no longer had “nasty stuff.” his cutter isn’t cutting the way it did, and he’s been walking guys like crazy. granted, most of his bad numbers have come from three games in a row. the rest of his numbers (except for the walks…THAT’s been consistent all year so far) have actually looked really good. 2 blown saves in half a season is perfectly acceptable from a good closer. 3 in a row blown? time for at least a temporary demotion, although i’ve noticed that treinen has blown more than he’s saved (2 to 1)…still, worth a shot…or maybe if knebel comes in healthy?

    i haven’t been able to watch as many games as i’d like, so i haven’t seen a lot of these bullpen guys live on TV to be able to evaluate their stuff. i did notice that joe kelly has seemed to settle in, after a disastrous start to the season he’s only allowed a couple runs since, and very few hits or walks. THAT’s a guy i have trouble figuring out. i remember the guy in the world series vs. boston, who was totally unhittable…and i wanted him as our closer. we sign him, and he struggled even as a setup guy. ??? i think he’s in his head too much. could be that jansen is, too, which means NEITHER should be closing. but who IS the right guy? clevinger? he seems to have just about the best counting stats (and he’s 1 for 2 at the plate). i guess i just don’t know.

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