Editorials

3 Dodgers on the Hot Seat in the Middle of June

The Dodgers have just passed the halfway point in the month of June and you can say at this point a lot of data has been collected when it comes to the roster going forward. That data should tell the front office that this team needs a lot of help.

After a rough stretch of games, the Dodgers sit at 39-33, 4 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West and a half game behind the now second place San Francisco Giants. There’s no sugar-coating the fact that the team has played extremely poorly in June, winning just 5 of 15 games.



So who’s to blame? Ask on Twitter and you’ll have a handful of fire Dave Roberts comments within minutes. But Dave isn’t the guy playing on the field. There’s no one guy you can point a finger at and say they’re the problem. But here are three guys that the team may need to look at sooner rather than later.

Alex Vesia

This entire season has been a grind for Alex Vesia. Whether it’s because of the pitch clock or the restricted shift, something has been markedly different for the lefty reliever. Through 22 games, he has an ERA of 8.00. And, since returning from a stint at Triple-A he’s actually been a little worse in some ways. He’s allowed runs in 11 of his 22 outings, offering not much in the way of relief when he enters games.

So why does Dave Roberts keep running him out there?

A deeper dive at his stats shows that he’s a victim of some really bad batted ball luck. Vesia has a .585 BABIP against him, which is actually ludicrous. His 3.33 FIP and 4.32 xERA show someone that’s been better than his standard stats say. Still, the reality is that he has an 8.00 ERA and 2.500 WHIP and just plainly is not helping the Dodgers win ballgames often enough when he enters.

James Outman

This one hurts. At the height of his power, James Outman was hitting .316 with a 1.109 OPS for a Dodger ballclub that was still figuring some things out. However, since April 26th, has a .177/.278/.266 triple slash line and has looked overmatched at the plate. Whether the league caught up to him and he’s having trouble adjusting, or his swing just has too many holes, at this point it feels like each passing day with another 0-for game is chipping away at his already depleted confidence.

He has minor league options and at this point, it might not hurt to give him a few weeks down at Triple-A to see if he can get back on track. It’s worth noting that he’s had a nice little surge with 5 hits in his last 13 at-bats.

Yency Almonte

Similar to Vesia, Yency Almonte is another reliever that has struggled to keep runners off the bases and runs off the board. His ERA has skyrocketed from 1.02 in 2022 to 6.30 in 2023 as he’s regressed in the hits and walks per 9 departments. He’s also allowed 5 home runs, which is tied for the most among LA relievers.

All the things that made him a breakout star for Dave Roberts in the bullpen last year. In reality, he’s just sort of regressed to his career averages. With Phil Bickford on the IL and not a current option to blow games in relief, Almonte is the next guy where the Dodgers can clearly upgrade to make the overall bullpen better.

Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

6 Comments

  1. All of the Dodgers’ could be solved in a minute, fire Doc and remove Freeman from making on-field decisions. Time for the owners to take a stand.

    1. I agree please please fire Doc. He runs a cruise ship. Too much money and interest to run a team that is not driven to succeed. We saw it in last year’s playoffs. Doc can’t motivate and drive the team, he should be fired.

  2. Doc doesn’t want to FORCE results, ? We are the last team to have a successful sacrifice, we don’t try to steal or bunt, play small ball. This so called manager has been this way the complete time he has been here. We have seen it every time and again especially during playoffs. Doesn’t have the ability to motivate players, way to laid back. We should have hired someone like Bochy but our front office can’t begin to say anything bad, but truthful about the way this guy manages.

  3. Are you kidding me right now!! James Outman is an up and coming rookie player! They have slumps!! The dodgers wasted at least 3 years on Cody Bellinger and still wasting time on Chris Taylor! Don’t you think outman deserves a little time??

  4. I know this is going to get a lot of negative responses, but ever since the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” debacle, the team has gone slowly downhill. It’s true, God doesn’t root for one team over another. But when you openly mock God, as the so called “Sisters” do, and then your organization honors them with a community service award, let’s just say, things are less likely to break your way!

  5. Coach DRB, yep, it’s called Karma and this team has a lot of bad Karma right now!

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