Kuzul

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford is battling lower back soreness that will force him to miss extended action.

Continue for updates. 

Crawford Placed on Disabled List

Saturday, April 9

The Dodgers announced Micah Johnson will be recalled and take Crawford’s spot on the roster while he rests on the 15-day DL and aims to get back to 100 percent, according to the Los Angeles Times‘ Andy McCullough.    

Crawford had been serving as the Dodgers’ starting left fielder with Andre Ethier out nursing a leg injury, but those duties will presumably belong to Scott Van Slyke for the time being. 

The 34-year-old appeared in each of the Dodgers’ first three games and batted 3-for-10 during that span while driving in two runs, but he was out of the starting lineup Thursday and Friday due to back pain. 

“It’s been there for a while,” Crawford said of the pain before Friday’s game, per McCullough. “It just finally got to a point where I couldn’t take the pain no more.”

According to McCullough, Crawford missed an average of 80 games per season from 2012-2015 as he battled a litany of injuries. 

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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling enjoyed a memorable MLB debut Friday against the San Francisco Giants, becoming the first pitcher in the modern era to toss more than five innings without allowing any hits in the first game of his career, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).

The 26-year-old righty—who previously hadn’t pitched above the Double-A level—was a surprise addition to the Dodgers’ starting rotation after injuries eliminated a slew of more qualified candidates.

Undeterred by his lack of experience, Stripling held the Giants hitless over 7.1 innings in Friday’s game, only to be removed by manager Dave Roberts after allowing a one-out walk to Giants outfielder Angel Pagan in the eighth inning.

Though he’ll undoubtedly be criticized, Roberts made a perfectly defensible move, as Stripling’s pitch count sat at exactly 100, marking an uptick of 20 from his final spring training appearance.

Unfortunately for Roberts, the move quickly backfired, with the very next batter—Giants catcher Trevor Brown—hitting a two-run home run off of Dodgers reliever Chris Hatcher to tie the game at 2-2.

The Giants would eventually win 3-2 after shortstop Brandon Crawford hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning.

While he may not have gotten the victory, and he was even charged with an earned run, Stripling still had the longest no-hit bid in an MLB debut since 1967, when Boston Red Sox pitcher Billy Rohr came up just one batter shy of accomplishing the feat, per ESPN’s Buster Olney.

Rohr‘s no-hit bid obviously lasted longer than Stripling’s, but the former ultimately allowed a hit, whereas the latter was removed from his debut with five outs remaining.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers started off the season a perfect 3-0 both straight up and on the run line, sweeping the San Diego Padres and winning each game by three runs or more. The Dodgers face a much tougher opponent in their weekend series against the San Francisco Giants.

Los Angeles is a plus-100 road betting underdog in Friday’s game against the Giants, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. San Francisco (-120) sends Matt Cain to the mound to face Dodgers rookie Ross Stripling.

The Dodgers couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season than their season-opening series against the Padres, as they shut out their lowly division rivals in three straight games.

Clayton Kershaw’s dominance was to be expected, but the fact that newcomers Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda pitched so well in their team debuts bodes well for a Dodgers team that lacked pitching depth last season and lost Zack Greinke this offseason.

Including Thursday’s loss in the opening game of this four-game series, the Dodgers are just 2-9 in their last 11 road games against the Giants, per the Odds Shark MLB Database.

After winning the first two games in their season-opening series on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Giants were unable to complete the sweep Wednesday, getting edged out in a 4-3 loss.

The offseason acquisitions of Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija give the Giants one of the deepest starting rotations in all of baseball, with veterans Jake Peavy and Cain now slotted in at the bottom of the rotation instead of the middle. San Francisco is 19-11 in its last 30 games at home.

Friday’s total is set at eight runs. The under is 5-2 in the last seven games between these two National League West rivals.

Since the start of spring training, the odds to win the NL West have been among the closest of any of the division races, as the Giants are just slight favorites over the Dodgers. This race could go all the way down to the wire, so even head-to-head games in early April are important.

Staff aces Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw are projected to meet Saturday, and Sunday’s game will feature Johnny Cueto and Scott Kazmir.

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Get used to the ear-to-ear grin Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda flashed for almost the entirety of his major league debut against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.

We saw it before his second at-bat in the fourth inning. A late arrival to the on-deck circle prompted a Little League-like jog to the batter’s box. He beamed as he took his stance.

His lips widened even further moments later when he smashed a home run off opposing starter Andrew Cashner.

That homer came before Maeda gave up his first major league run. In fact, we’re still waiting for it after the Japanese rookie allowed five hits and no runs in six innings of work.

By the way, he also smiled when manager Dave Roberts told him his night was done.

“I was a little nervous at first,” Maeda told Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. “But my teammates scored four runs for me. That really relaxed me a lot.”

Maeda’s debut was just the latest installment in an opening series in which the Dodgers have looked as good as any team in baseball. Not only did Los Angeles sweep the Padres, but it held San Diego scoreless in all 27 innings.

Sure, the streak has come against the Padres, who are likely to be one of baseball’s worst offensive teams. But it’s difficult to shut out any major league club over the course of three games.

The Dodgers take that streak, a franchise record to begin a season, into a four-game set with the division rival San Francisco Giants that opens on Thursday in the Bay Area.

But among a litany of positive developments in the Dodgers’ first series of the season, Maeda’s ace-like performance should draw the most applause. Prior to Opening Day, there were concerns about Maeda. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball. That much was confirmed as the right-hander flirted with the low 90s all night.

But his complement of breaking pitches, which twist and turn like a roller coaster, preliminarily answered any questions about whether he had top-of-the-rotation stuff. Of course, he will have to consistently play to that level over several more starts.

As debuts go, however, the Dodgers couldn’t have asked for a much better outing.

And Wednesday’s performance put distance between the Dodgers and the memory of Zack Greinke, who spent three seasons in Los Angeles before signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks this offseason.

Ace Clayton Kershaw and Greinke had formed one of baseball’s best pitching duos, and Los Angeles had the money to sign Greinke. It has more cash than any MLB team, thanks to a multi-billion dollar television deal. But the Dodgers decided not to increase their offer for Greinke, allowing him to go to Arizona.

That left questions about who might fill the void.

But after Wednesday’s performance, one that saw Maeda allow only one baserunner through the first three innings, concerns over who will complement Kershaw could begin to dissipate.

After putting runners on the corners with one out in the fourth inning, Maeda induced two straight outs to pitch out of his most threatening jam of the night.

The Dodgers still have to overcome a litany of injuries to their starting rotation. Brandon McCarthy (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and Brett Anderson (herniated disc surgery) are on the 60-day disable list. Hyun-Jin Ryu is out after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder.

Further performances like Wednesday’s by Maeda would help alleviate some concern while the Dodgers await the return of some of their starters.

While Wednesday night was about Maeda, the Dodgers have been baseball’s headliner this week. The entire team seems to be clicking. A season ago, hamstring issues limited Yasiel Puig to just 79 games. Questions about his commitment and attitude also followed him, underscored in this piece by Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller.

But through three games this season, Puig is hitting .600/.692/1.300. He has four RBI, a homer and two triples—just one shy of his triples total in 2015. Wednesday, he was on the steps of the dugout and enthusiastically cheering on his teammates. That should help abate any questions about commitment or clubhouse chemistry for the time being.

Three games is a small sample. Puig will need to prove he is a more committed teammate over the course of the next couple of months. But he seems to be on the right path, given his performance and demeanor these last three outings.

Rookie shortstop Corey Seager has been immune to the hype that follows baseball’s No. 1 prospect. He is hitting .357 with two RBI for a Dodgers team that has scored 25 runs in three games.

The team’s offensive performance has overshadowed its defense.

The Dodgers have committed only one error in 2016. That came Wednesday when Maeda overthrew first base on a bunt single by Padres third baseman Yangervis Solarte in the second inning.

“They didn’t really stress him at all,” Roberts said of Maeda pitching with runners on base, per McCullough.

So far, that’s all that hasn’t gone as planned for the Dodgers. Apparently, Maeda isn’t the only player who should be smiling.

Seth Gruen is a national baseball columnist for Bleacher Report. Talk baseball with Seth by following him on Twitter @SethGruen.

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An offseason of change has not altered expectations for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016. The three-time defending National League West champions are entering their second season with Andrew Friedman as president of baseball operations and first season under manager Dave Roberts. 

The Dodgers haven’t completely changed their approach. They are still spending more money than anyone else on talent in 2016 but found different ways to allocate those vast financial resources instead of going all in on one player.

There’s also new talent coming up from the minors that gives the Dodgers reasons to be optimistic about this season. Corey Seager, who is MLB.com’s No. 1 prospect, is going to open the year as the starting shortstop after hitting .337/.425/.561 in 21 games last year. 

Building superstars from within is not something the Dodgers have done a lot of during this three-year spending spree, nor have they had to because they’ve controlled the NL West during the regular season, but they are still seeking that elusive World Series title. 

Biggest Storyline: Who Will Fill Zack Greinke‘s Shoes?

This is a trick question because the answer is no one can fill Greinke‘s spot in the Dodgers rotation. He was one of the NL’s three best pitchers last season, so the only way Los Angeles could have realistically replaced him would have been to sign David Price. 

When Price decided to sign with the Boston Red Sox, the Dodgers opted to go for quantity in the rotation by re-signing Brett Anderson and signing Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir. 

After a slow start this spring that had a lot of people in Hollywood concerned, Kazmir has gotten stronger with the regular season closing in, per Pitch F/X (via Daniel Brim of Dodgers Digest):

Kazmir is going to be the key for Los Angeles’ rotation. He struggled down the stretch after being acquired by Houston last year, posting a 4.17 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 13 starts, so going to a bigger ballpark will help him pitch more like the guy who had a 2.38 ERA in 18 starts with Oakland.

Hyun-Jin Ryu is a great wild card in this whole equation. The 29-year-old was a solid No. 3 starter in 2013-14, posting a 3.17 ERA with 293 strikeouts in 344 innings, but injuries kept him out all of 2015. He may not be ready to join the big leagues until June, per MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. 

The Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw atop their rotation, making them one of the few teams that can withstand losing an ace like Greinke without being completely devastated. 

Rising Star: Corey Seager

It was tempting to try to find another player for this spot, but that would just be looking for complexity where it doesn’t exist. Occam’s razor tells us the simplest possible explanation is the right way to go, so let’s talk about Seager. 

Last year was one of the best rookie seasons in MLB history. Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa won National League and American League Rookie of the Year, respectively, but there was also Francisco Lindor, Miguel Sano, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber, Jung-ho Kang, Joc Pederson, Noah Syndergaard and Maikel Franco who made outstanding first impressions. 

Asking Seager to follow their lead, even though he already got a taste of the big leagues late last season and in the playoffs, might seem unfair. 

By all accounts, though, Seager belongs in a class with all of those players. In naming Los Angeles’ 21-year-old phenom MLB’s best prospect for 2016, ESPN’s Keith Law called him a “superlative hitter who projects to do everything at the plate and might even be able to do it at shortstop for a year or two before becoming a top-flight defender at third base.”

Even if Seager doesn’t turn into an instant sensation, like Bryant or Correa, he’s still going to be a massive upgrade over Jimmy Rollins, who hit .224/.285/.358 in 144 games last year. 

There’s MVP upside for Seager, but for now, the Dodgers would be satisfied if he plays passable defense at shortstop with 20 home runs. 

Prediction

The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants grabbed all the NL West headlines by spending a lot of money on pitchers. The Diamondbacks also traded a lot of their farm system away to acquire Shelby Miller from Atlanta to give them a formidable one-two punch along with Greinke. 

One thing the Diamondbacks couldn’t afford was a major position-player injury because they don’t have depth in the lineup. Two days before the 2016 season started, All-Star center fielder A.J. Pollock suffered a fractured right elbow that will require surgery and has left his return status up in the air.

The Dodgers, while they spent money on Kazmir, remained relatively quiet and trusted their development system to supplement their roster. 

Injuries have hit the Dodgers outfield, with Andre Ethier suffering a fractured tibia late in spring training that will likely keep him out until June. They do have depth with Pederson, Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig more than capable of starting. 

Puig and Pederson are the two wild cards in that mix. Puig battled injuries last season, hitting a career-low .255/.322/.436 in 79 games, but he has All-Star potential when everything is clicking. 

Pederson flamed out in the second half of his rookie season, hitting .178/.317/.300 after the All-Star break, but he still hit 26 homers with those struggles. His ability to make consistent contact will ultimately determine his ceiling. 

Depth in the bullpen remains a problem for the Dodgers, making the performance of the starting rotation more imperative than ever. This is still a loaded roster that will only get better as Seager gains experience. 

Even though they may no longer be the fashionable choice in the division, the Dodgers are still the best team from top to bottom until someone knocks them down.

2016 Prediction: 90-72, 1st in NL West

Stats per Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. 

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If the Los Angeles Dodgers head toward disaster this season, left-handed starter Scott Kazmir won’t be driving the car.

Kazmir is like the guy sitting in the back seat on a long road trip. He has no influence on whether or not you get lost and can only make the ride better by cracking jokes. All he can do is make the Dodgers better.

All of this is to say there’s no need for panic about Kazmir’s disastrous spring thus far (9.39 ERA, decreased velocity). Though he has progressed after two poor starts, according to a report from the Orange County Register‘s Bill Plunkett, it’s unclear whether he will be the shutdown pitcher of old either.

If the offseason signing of Kazmir does bomb, the Dodgers have a backup plan sitting in their minor league system. His name is Julio Urias.

No pitcher in minor league baseball is more exciting than Urias, who, according to MLB.com, has accelerated through the minor league levels faster than any other prospect despite being just 19 years old. The site predicts he will make his major league debut this season.

The Dodgers have handled him with kid gloves. And in this instance, that cliche has never made more sense. This kid has only been able to buy tickets to an R-rated movie for two years.

But age doesn’t determine a player’s ascent. Development does.

From the MLB.com scouting report on Urias:

Not only is Urias the top left-handed pitching prospect in the Minor Leagues, he’s also the most precocious phenom in the game. The youngest pitcher in full-season ball in 2014, he dominated in the hitter-friendly California League as a 17-year old.

[…]

Though Urias needs to develop more consistent control and command — no surprise given his age — he has advanced feel for pitching. He shows an aptitude for altering his arm angle and varying the speed of his pitches. Los Angeles is trying to manage his innings and the expectations for him but may not be able to keep him in the Minors much longer.

His call-up is imminent. A Kazmir flop might simply motivate the Dodgers.

Even at his best, Kazmir is a stand-in for Urias, who should be firmly in the Dodgers rotation in 2017. That’s likely why Kazmir received an opt-out after this season in the three-year, $48 million deal he signed this offseason.

If Kazmir opts out, it means he had a solid season. And if he pitches poorly, it would be as if the team lost him a season early. With Urias nearly ready, it wouldn’t matter much.

Sure, for most teams—heck, for some countries even—eating $48 million wouldn’t be as easy as moving on to a star prospect. But Los Angeles has so much money it could wrap Dodger Dogs in $10 bills and still outspend every team in free agency.

Injuries have decimated the Dodgers rotation. Brett Anderson will be out three to five months recovering from back surgery, according to ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla. Hyun-Jin Ryu is recovering from shoulder surgery, and Alex Wood is just now coming back from a forearm issue.

But money aside, if Kazmir’s velocity continues to drop and he continues to struggle with his command, the Dodgers would have to make a move to stay in the race.

They could make a trade, but with a player like Urias and a deep crop of minor league pitchers that will follow, there is no reason to deplete one of baseball’s best farm systems to add an arm.

Urias was sent to minor league camp last week after struggling in spring training. However, that could have been due to what the Los Angeles Times‘ Andy McCullough deemed a “minor leg issue.”

“He’s been in camp before, but the way his body has matured, his head, I hear he’s a lot more comfortable from people who were here last year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Urias. “Just his bullpens have been good, his work’s been good.”

This isn’t a plea to rush Urias‘ development. Obviously, given last week’s reassignment, he won’t be on the major league roster on Opening Day—or probably even in the opening month.

No verdict will be reached on Kazmir after the first month of the season. He will have only started about five games by then. But come June, if Kazmir continues to struggle, Urias easily may have rounded out his development by making those final few tweaks with his command that were alluded to in the MLB.com report.

The Dodgers are running out of arms. They have few options left. Sure, they could look to the trade market.

Given Urias‘ talent, though, it would be hard to find a better option.

Seth Gruen is a national baseball columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @SethGruen.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ outfield depth is going to be tested, as Andre Ethier will miss the next few months to recover from a fractured tibia he suffered on March 18. 

Continue for updates. 

Ethier to Miss 10-14 Weeks

Tuesday, March 22

Per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, Ethier does not need surgery but will be out for 10-14 weeks. 

Ethier was initially injured Friday during a spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks after fouling a ball off his shin. 

Per ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla, Ethier had an X-ray “immediately” after suffering the injury and it came back negative, leading to him being diagnosed with a contusion. When the pain had yet to subside by Monday, Ethier underwent a bone scan, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times that Ethier’s leg was “not responding” the way they had hoped: “After a contusion, even if it gets you pretty good, you should still feel less discomfort. And he’s just not there yet. Sometimes X-rays don’t tell the whole story. That’s why we wanted to get the scan.”

The Dodgers do have plenty of outfielders to choose from now that Ethier is set to miss the first two months of the regular season. Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford and Joc Pederson seem likely to be the starting trio on opening day against San Diego. 

However, per Mike Petriello of MLB.com, the Dodgers’ current injury list looks closer to what the Opening Day roster was supposed to be:

This was a different offseason for the Dodgers, who didn’t spend crazy money in free agency and opted to build around their returning talent and a strong farm system. It’s not a bad gamble, but it requires a lot of things to go right. 

McCullough noted the Dodgers will likely keep Trayce Thompson as their fifth outfielder in Ethier’s absence. The 33-year-old Ethier was one of Los Angeles’ best hitters last year, posting an .852 OPS with 14 home runs in 142 games. 

The Dodgers don’t boast a deep lineup, so losing Ethier puts more pressure on players like Puig and Pederson to play up to their potential in order to win their fourth straight National League West title in 2016. 

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After they lost Zack Greinke to free agency, the Los Angeles Dodgers went after starting-pitching depth like they were doomsday preppers who could see a pitching apocalypse on the horizon.

But in recent weeks, the Dodgers’ depth has eroded to a point where I feel obligated to propose a solution to the problem. In 10 easy letters, here it is: Jose De Leon.

That’s the name of a 23-year-old right-hander who’s a well-regarded prospect, but who also seems to be on the outside looking in at the race to make the Dodgers rotation. Given the state of things, though, the Dodgers aren’t in a position to let any candidate go unconsidered.

Scott Kazmir is throwing batting-practice fastballs. Brandon McCarthy is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and now Hyun-Jin Ryu’s return from shoulder surgery has hit a snag. Brett Anderson and flame-throwing prospect Frankie Montas came down with injuries that will sideline them for several months. And though it’s supposedly nothing serious, Alex Wood’s forearm stiffness still raises a red flag.

This brings us to a summary of the Dodgers’ starting rotation: It’s almighty ace Clayton Kershaw, Japanese import Kenta Maeda and then a great big pile of “What the hell is going on?!”

In right-handers Brandon Beachy and Mike Bolsinger, the Dodgers do have two decent crutches to lean on. But since Beachy is injury prone and Bolsinger is little more than a swingman, “decent” is as nice as we can be. If the Dodgers want upside behind Kershaw and Maeda, they’ll need to do better.

Hence, De Leon.

This isn’t an idea that we’re conjuring out of thin air. Ken Rosenthal, the Master of Whisperers of Fox Sports, recently suggested that the Dodgers could call on either De Leon or fellow top prospect Julio Urias to help until the injury bug releases its grip on their rotation:

Between these two, it’s Urias who has the sexier name. MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus rate the left-hander as the No. 2 pitching prospect in baseball behind Washington Nationals fireballer Lucas Giolito. Baseball America does one better, naming Urias as the best of baseball’s young arms.

But expecting Urias to break camp with the Dodgers requires hitching one’s wagon to a long shot. He’s still only 19 years old, and the Dodgers made it clear to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times earlier this month that they’re not going to rush him.

If the Dodgers put De Leon in their rotation, however, they won’t be rushing him.

De Leon is four years older than Urias, and he is more ready for a major league workload. Urias has yet to top even 90 innings as a professional, but De Leon pitched 114.1 innings as a 22-year-old last season. That included 76.2 innings in 16 starts at Double-A Tulsa.

And oh yeah, De Leon is also a pretty good talent in his own right.

That much can be seen in the 2.68 ERA he’s racked up over the last two seasons, and it can especially be seen in his strikeout totals. He’s struck out 282 batters in 191.1 innings since the start of the 2014 season, a rate of 13.3 per nine innings.

Before anyone can say “Yeah, but,” there are some fancy-pants projections at Baseball Prospectus (PECOTA) and FanGraphs (ZiPS) that say De Leon’s bat-missing ability could translate to the majors pretty well.

Though the projections differ on how many innings he’ll see in the majors—that part’s hard to predict for prospects—both think he could strike out close to 11 batters per nine innings. In 2015, that was Carlos Carrasco, Chris Archer and Max Scherzer territory.

This is an idea I’m inclined to believe in, and not just because I’m writing an article trying to sell everyone on De Leon as a grand solution for the Dodgers’ pitching woes.

Naturally, De Leon has legit talent to help explain his strikeout mastery. Each of the three lists mentioned above puts him among the top 30 prospects in the game, and they agree that his stuff has benefited from improved conditioning and mechanics in the three years since he was a 24th-round pick in 2013. De Leon’s fastball now sits in the 91-94 range, and he also throws a plus changeup and a solid slider.

And there’s more to De Leon’s dominance than just the quality of his stuff.

His improved command allows him to put his stuff where he wants, and he’s also deceptive. Even Keith Law of ESPN.com, who only likes De Leon as baseball’s No. 60 prospect, can grant that “hitters really don’t see the ball well out of his hand.”

That would seem to be the whole idea. Here’s a good look at De Leon’s pitching mechanics:

It’s easy to see that De Leon’s mechanics offer hitters quite a few moving parts to keep track of. But if you’re also getting the sense that he hides the ball well as he goes into his delivery, that’s not just you.

“Part of his success is that he hides the ball really well,” High-A Rancho Cucamonga pitching coach Bill Simas told Jake Seiner of MiLB.com last year. “Some people have a knack for that. It’s hard to explain. He hides it behind his body until that release.”

De Leon further adds to his deception with his throwing motion, which almost makes it look like the ball is exploding straight out of his shoulder.

All these things were on display when De Leon made his spring debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 5. He struck out four in two innings, and Chad Moriyama of Dodgers Digest has the video to prove that he induced more than enough swings-and-misses to deserve those four strikeouts.

Lest anyone think De Leon is perfect, well, he’s not. Though he kept striking batters out at a high rate once he reached Double-A last year, he also allowed 11 home runs. That’s one more than he’d allowed in his entire minor league career to that point.

But with the Dodgers, that weakness could be downplayed. Dodger Stadium isn’t a power-friendly park, and it’s not alone in that department within the NL West. Petco Park and AT&T Park are also pitchers’ yards, and it so happens the Dodgers will visit both before their home opener on April 12.

If the Dodgers want to play it safe while they wait for their starting rotation to take the shape they planned on, they can go with Beachy or Bolsinger at the back end. Or, they could go for De Leon and wait to capitalize on his upside.

They’re going to do it sooner or later. It might as well be sooner.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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Here’s what is certain about the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting rotation: Clayton Kershaw. Things that are questionable about Los Angeles’ starting pitchers include everything else.

The team allowed Zack Greinke to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks this winter. Brandon McCarthy, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, is on the 60-day disabled list and is joined by flamethrower Frankie Montas, who has a rib injury.

Then there’s Kenta Maeda, signed this offseason from Japan, who couldn’t have more pressure on him to perform well in 2016. The Dodgers expect to win their fourth straight National League West title, and Maeda’s performance this season will be a huge determinant.

With the big bucks from their television deal, the Dodgers could have spent the money to get Greinke to stay. So, reasonably, they have to believe Maeda is capable of carrying the banner as the team’s No. 2 starter.

But with so many injuries to guys expected to contribute, Maeda won’t be able to ease into his first year of Major League Baseball. To ensure the Dodgers don’t fall behind early in the race, he will need to perform right away.

Though they couldn’t have forecasted the injuries, it appears as if the Dodgers are confident that Maeda can do just that. Recent moves they have made suggest as much.

In February, the team finalized a $30 million deal with Cuban right-handed pitcher Yaisel Sierra, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN.com. That same report said that he’s likely to pitch out of the bullpen this season, though the team will stretch him out as a starter in spring training.

Again, if the Dodgers had concerns about Maeda’s adjustment to Major League Baseball, they may have spent that money to bolster the rotation. Or they may have forced Sierra into the starting rotation as insurance, even though he projects as a reliever.

The Dodgers’ starting rotation also features Scott Kazmir and Alex Wood. They are both guys with as much concern as upside. Kazmir had a 2.38 ERA with the Oakland A’s before being traded to Houston last season and disappointing in an Astros uniform. But he also has an injury history that, at 32, is a concern.

Wood has flashed top-of-the-rotation ability. But after being traded from the Atlanta Braves to the Dodgers last season, he posted a 4.35 ERA in 12 starts with Los Angeles. There’s a need for Wood to play well early, too. But it seems he’ll be given more of a grace period than the hyped Maeda.

As wacky as it may sound, other than Kershaw, Maeda might be the team’s most reliable starter. So he currently figures as the rotation’s No. 2.

Obviously, with no major league experience, there’s little to forecast how Maeda, 27, may play as a rookie. But his numbers in Japan, at minimum, suggest that he is able to maintain a consistent level of play.

Since the 2010 season, Maeda hasn’t had an ERA higher than 2.46 while playing in the Japan Central League. It may not be Major League Baseball, but he should be credited for his performance in a high-level professional setting.

There’s also a financial incentive that should motivate Maeda to disregard any notion of a rookie learning curve.

Maeda signed an eight-year, $100 million contract with the Dodgers this offseason. But only $25 million—or $3.13 million per year—is guaranteed. While a deal this incentive-laden may be unorthodox for a major league player, it provides the additional motivation Maeda may need to develop quickly.

If he plays like a No. 2 pitcher, he will get paid like one.

Right now, given all the injuries and questions about other Dodgers pitchers, Maeda is the only one who can eliminate any uncertainty. Kershaw will do his job, sure. But the team can’t rely wholly on its ace.

After all, he only pitches once every five days.

It’s possible the Dodgers could get lucky the first few months of the season, remain as healthy as they are now and watch Kazmir and Wood bolster the rotation. If that’s the case, Maeda’s performance may not matter as much.

But all the unknowns surrounding the Dodgers rotation won’t be answered on Day 1. Or even in the first month of the season.

Maeda has to be the guy to perform the moment the season starts. It’s clear the Dodgers are counting on just that.

He is a rookie in name only. Maeda needs to pitch like a veteran, and that needs to begin the day he throws his first major league pitch.

Seth Gruen is a national baseball columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @SethGruen and like his Facebook page.

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Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley will not be forced to serve a two-game suspension for purposefully sliding into New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada after the league lifted its ban Sunday.  

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times first reported the decision, citing “a person familiar with the decision.” Joel Sherman of the New York Post later provided a synopsis of MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre discussing the ruling:

Utley, 37, received a two-game ban after MLB deemed his takeout slide of Tejada in Game 2 of their NLDS matchup illegal. Umpires on the field did not see anything wrong with the slide at the time. Tejada suffered a broken leg on the play and missed the remainder of the postseason.

In October, Torre examined the play and released a statement that Utley should not be let off the hook:

After thoroughly reviewing the play from all conceivable angles, I have concluded that Mr. Utley’s action warrants discipline. While I sincerely believe that Mr. Utley had no intention of injuring Ruben Tejada, and was attempting to help his Club in a critical situation, I believe his slide was in violation of Official Baseball Rule 5.09 (a) (13), which is designed to protect fielders from precisely this type of rolling block that occurs away from the base.

MLB expedited Utley’s appeal so it could be heard while the Dodgers-Mets series was still ongoing. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, then with CBS Sports, noted MLB and the MLBPA had disagreed on when the appeal should be heard:

While a select few have come out in defense of Utley, saying his slide was merely aggressive, an overwhelming chorus deemed the play dirty and called for the suspension to be upheld. Dave Schoenfield of ESPN.com called the slide “clearly dirty and malicious.” Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post wrote it was “100 percent” a dirty play. Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez tweeted he was “bothered” by the play.

Utley, meanwhile, has maintained he was just playing good, hard baseball. 

“I was trying to put a body on him to try to break up a double play,” Utley said, per Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today. “You’re taught from a young age to try to break up double plays. I think that’s winning baseball. Anybody in that situation … my focus is seeing the ball. I didn’t realize his back was turned. Everything obviously happens fast.”

While the Dodgers will be happy to avoid losing Utley for any amount of time, he’s failed to reach the heights he did earlier in his career. He had a .212/.286/.343 slash line with eight home runs and 39 RBI while splitting time with the Philadelphia Phillies and Dodgers during the 2015 regular season, all numbers that were near or at his career worsts for a full season.

Despite his struggles, the Dodgers re-signed him to a one-year, $7 million deal, and Los Angeles will be hoping that he can perform at a higher level as it chases a World Series appearance.

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