The Dodgers are going to take a closer-by-comittee approach for the remainder of the regular season, manager Dave Roberts informed reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). Craig Kimbrel will pitch in different roles while the club takes a variable approach to the ninth inning based on matchups.
Roberts didn’t guarantee he’d stick with the committee approach through the playoffs, although it’s hard to envision the Dodgers removing Kimbrel from the closing role for the final 12 regular season games before reinstalling him in the ninth at the start of the postseason. The decision comes in the wake of a dip in production for the eight-time All-Star, who has surrendered runs in three of his last four outings. That includes a game-tying homer to Christian Walker to blow a save opportunity yesterday against the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers walked off in the bottom of the ninth inning anyhow, but the blown lead finalized the team’s decision to take a more flexible approach with the playoffs on the horizon.
Kimbrel is in his first season as a Dodger. Acquired from the White Sox in a surprising one-for-one swap with AJ Pollock just before Opening Day, he’s made 57 appearances. Kimbrel certainly hasn’t been disastrous. He owns a 4.14 ERA across 54 1/3 innings, striking out an above-average 27.2% of opponents. His 9.6% walk rate is a bit higher than the league mark but not an untenable figure. He has successfully closed out 22 of his 27 save attempts. The right-hander’s overall production has been fine if unspectacular.
Nevertheless, Kimbrel clearly hasn’t performed at the level at which the Dodgers were hoping. The 34-year-old was arguably the best reliever in the game through last season’s first half with the Cubs. While he disappointed following a deadline trade to the White Sox — largely due to home run troubles — he still generated whiffs on an excellent 17.2% of his offerings with the South Siders. That led to some hope Kimbrel could continue pitching at an elite level in a new environment, but this season’s 12.1% swinging strike rate is only a bit better than average.
Taking Kimbrel out of the ninth inning should allow Roberts to be more judicious with his usage once the postseason arrives. Maximizing his work against right-handed hitters figures to be a priority. Kimbrel has held same-handed batters to a .208/.296/.307 line across 115 plate appearances this season; lefties, on the other hand, have managed a much more robust .266/.355/.431 showing in 124 trips.
The White Sox picked up a $16MM option on Kimbrel for this season before trading him to L.A. He’s in the final few weeks of that deal and will hit free agency for the second time in his career this offseason. In the interim, he’ll remain part of one of the game’s top relief corps.
That the Dodgers feel equipped to take the career-long closer out of the ninth inning is a testament to the strength of the remainder of their bullpen. Los Angeles enters play Friday with the majors’ second-lowest bullpen ERA (2.94) and fourth-best strikeout percentage (26.5%). Evan Phillips, a waiver claim from the Rays last August, almost immediately emerged as one of the best relievers in the game. The slider specialist has a 1.24 ERA with a 31.8% strikeout rate over 58 innings during his breakout campaign. Flamethrowing sinkerballer Brusdar Graterol has ridden a massive 63.5% ground-ball percentage to a 2.96 ERA. Deadline acqusition Chris Martin has a 1.71 mark with a laughable 26:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio since landing in Los Angeles. Southpaw Alex Vesia has the bullpen’s best strikeout rate (34.6%) and a 2.24 ERA in 51 2/3 frames.
That quartet looks likeliest to assume the highest-leverage work in the playoffs. Roberts can also call upon Kimbrel, Phil Bickford and Tommy Kahnle from the right side, while Caleb Ferguson and the rehabbing David Price are left-handed options. Yency Almonte has had a nice season of his own and is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and there’s still a possibility of Blake Treinen making a playoff return (although Treinen is currently on the injured list and continues to battle shoulder discomfort).
Why he was closer after the first half is beyond me.
He’s actually been quite a bit better in the second half, though still not good enough.
Leash – the Dodgers aren’t pressed to win the division, and he has a history of being lights out. The Dodgers could afford to give him time, and rightly, they pulled the pin. No harm, no foul
Cam – 100% OcCAMs Razor fully on display here
Blue- 100% correct as well
Bummer…how am i supposed to get my “vulture” wins now from my relievers with Kimbrel being removed? Roberts in over-managing as usual
The Kimbrel acquisition this past offseason was one of the few mistakes Friedman has made as POBO, but it hasn’t been a complete disaster. I was surprised to see Kimbrel is 22 out of 27 in save opportunities; I thought he was much worse than that so I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a couple of opportunities in the playoffs to close out a game, but it would probably be when the Dodgers are up by 3 runs and he’ll have a very short leash too. I don’t see them using him in any 1 run games unless all other closer candidates are not available. The Dodgers appear to have the most complete team out of all potential playoff teams but they are not a lock to make it to the World Series. Both the Mets and the Braves could give them a run for their money for sure. The NL playoffs should be really competitive this year so the Dodgers will need to play some of their best ball of the year to make it through the gauntlet.
Hard to say it was a mistake even if it hasn’t worked out. They had outfield depth at the time and decided to take a flier on a guy who has been one of the best closers in the game. If he had been dominant all season and helped them win the World Series it would’ve been highway robbery. I’m ok with the thought process behind the trade despite it ending in Kimbrel being removed from the closers role.
It’s Brusdar time!
The Kimbrel trade was never about any assumption Kimbrel was going to be elite or fill Kenley’s shoes . It was about shedding Pollocks 2 years for a position of more need (Rp)
With Pollock the Dodgers wouldn’t have ben able to get Lux everyday abs which they wanted to do. They also may never get a look at Trayce Thompson with him rostered as well
And ofc they would face the same dilemma next year as well w AJ
As I said months ago there was no need to oust Kimbrel till the very last second to keep the team in snyc long as possible. It was apparent in May (to those who actually watch LAD games) Kimbrel would be demoted . Seems only non Dodger fans still harp on his ineffectiveness. The trade was an under the radar mini score for Friedman getting AJ off the books next year. It won’t be recognized by the masses but I promise you AF has zero regrets today. LAD brass is far more concerned with Graterol Trienan Almont and Gonzo then ever wasting time wondering if Kimbrel finds the fountain of youth in the next 2 weeks
When you see how Pollock’s game has literally disintegrated with CWS, this move really does look like a win for Friedman.
the trade was even, WSX didn’t get the Pollock they wanted, LAD didn’t get the Kimbrel they hoped.
This allowed WSX to use Hendricks as closer and filled a desperate need they had for MLB OF
While LAD was overbooked in OF and needed to clear space for the likes of Lux and later others.
It was a trade of TWO players on the down-hill of their careers.
This allowed WSX to use Hendricks as closer
===============================
I agree the trade was mostly break-even, but Hendricks was always the closer. Trading Kimbrel didn’t allow them to make Hendricks the closer.
If there was a BP question, imo, it would be whether or not the WS had to use inferior RPs because they no longer had Kimbrel.
Solaris- Yes, ask any CWS fan if they are thrilled to have him back next year with the 10 mill opportunity cost
Don’t forget the times he came into a tie game and allowed the opposition to score. He didn’t do his job then, but doesn’t get charged with a Blown Save.
When it comes to relief pitchers, I generally don’t pay a lot of attention to Saves, Holds, their ERA and the like.
One bad outing could torch a guy’s ERA and he’ll wear that inflated number for a while. Getting a Save when your team is up by three runs is sort of a joke IMHO. Most MLB pitchers should be able to get three outs before allowing three runs.
What I look at is how many times did a relief pitcher do his job; i.e. hold the other team scoreless. To wit, if over a twenty game stretch he gets blown up twice but is otherwise perfect in the rest of his appearances, ERA and Blown Saves aside, I’d say an 18 for 20 success rate is pretty darn good.
Kimbrel sucks when he isn’t closing. He should be left off the postseason roster, unless his job is to close.
He’s been used in middle relief and in setup roles this season and he hasn’t been any worse than as a closer.
Kimbrel sucks any time he’s in with less than a three run lead.
I didn’t look at his career numbers, but in 2022, he had:
Behind .390 OPSa
Tied .801
Ahead .737
SSS aside, those numbers aren’t too inconsistent.
Kimbrel has 5 blown saves which isn’t that terrible (same number as Clay Holmes of the Yankees), though not that great either. As was posted Kimbrel is terrible in a non-closer role so the Dodgers might what to consider not carrying him on the postseason roster if he’s not going to close
You can blow a few saves and still be a good closer. Edwin Diaz has three, Clase has blown four, but Kimbrel is a tight-rope act everytime. To me, WHIP for a reliever is more important than their ERA because relievers only throw one or two innings at a time. It’s not like a starter who pitches 5+ innings. Kimbrel has a 1.34 WHIP and if you’re a closing/high-leverage pitcher, you probably don’t want to have a WHIP much higher than 1.00.
Diaz has 1 loss. Kimbrel has 6 losses.
Personally, I really like WPA as a reliever stat. It’s only backwards looking and is contextual but relievers are used in context so I find it really fitting. It’s kind of a player and team stat. Is the player succeeding in the role the team is asking him to do? Kimbrel’s -1.52 shows that he is not. That’s the 11th worst of all qualified relievers. He’s faced fairly high leverage (49th highest average leverage index at 1.43) so his job isn’t an easy one but he clearly hasn’t been up for it.
No blown save last night fwiw. It was tied when he came in.
When he can’t locate his curve his fastball gets mashed.
FWIW. it was a curve that got mashed…
Take back Jansen, pretty please.
YES!
Dodgers wouldn’t take Jansen back if you wrapped him in silk and hand delivered him.
How about if we sent him in an unmarked brown box stamped No Return?
Nooooooo!!
Cat Man 4 Closer!
I wouldn’t count on him or Treinen this post season. At least not in the first round.
Noooooooo!! We need Gonsolin!!!
Urias, Kershaw, May/Anderson piggy back can give them 5-6 innings and then bring in any combination of Phillips, Graterol, Martin, Vesia, and Almonte. Also could use Ferguson who has been dynamite. Heaney can be a 2 inning or “once through the order” weapon too.
Mr. Kimbrel, thank you for your service, but you are free to sit this one out.
And Gonsolin..
It’s still hard for me to believe Kimbrel has gotten this bad. He was amazing for the Braves.
Time comes for us all—especially relievers and over 30 of’ers.
Kimbrel to the Braves in 2023 on a “show me” contract to prove he can pitch as setup man to Iglesias.
“Show me” how to encourage AA to say no to this line of thought.
Can the Braves do this with Jansen? Iglesias needs to close from here on out. They clearly made the move for him to be the future closer after this season, may as well start now.
Iglesias should be closing for sure and Odorizzi should be released after tonight. Kenley just isn’t the pitcher he once was.
Ooooo Dear
Heaney was grooving em to The Machine 1st AB tonight and Albert couldn’t get a hold of one. I like Heaney even more now.
Just an outside observation, but it seems the closer’s role is the one area of…weakness(?) for the LAD this season. Who do you think is best suited for that role? Obviously someone like Dustin May would probably be really nasty out of the ‘pen, but he’s too valuable an asset as a SP.
Clipper, your guess is as good as any….I have NO idea at this juncture. Graterol? A mixture of a few guys? Who knows..
Phillips, if they were going with a conventional closer approach. But as already announced, that isn’t the plan. That writing has been on the wall most of the season. May could be a late-innings weapon and not just in the postseason if he doesn’t find the control he needs on his hard stuff to be a starter.
So, I wasn’t too far off with the May observation then? Perhaps he’s not too valuable as a frontline starter, depending on his command, or lack thereof?
It seems if they use him as a closer, he could cut his repertoire down to two, maybe three, pitches but home in on his command. He’s just nasty when he’s on though. Ridiculous velo & movement on his pitches.
On the money IMO. My fellow Dodger fans get all over me when I suggest that May could end up as a reliever. I’m not saying it’s going to happen but I sure wouldn’t rule it out.
That’s a possibility for every pitcher. Don’t let ’em get to you, lol.
True story. A pitcher needs at least three good pitches to be an effective starter. May just isn’t there, at least not yet.
Hope nobody tells Spencer Strider that “a pitcher needs at least three good pitches to be an effective starter.” He’s done extremely well w/his fb and slider as a 2 pitch starter. That said, I agree w/you. Three—or even four—average or better pitches give a starter a much better chance to be successful. Two pitch guys are usually better served to toil in the pen.
He didn’t miss that one. Heaney served him up a steak and Albert got it! 699!!!!
700!! WoooOOooOooooo!!!!! Congrats Albert!
If there’s one thing I learned from watching Heaney on the Yanks…it’s that he’s really, really good at helping HR hitters get stats!
Really cool to see Pujols get to 700, especially with the Cards.
Duh..
Duh yourself. It’s called an opinion dummy-O.
Solid burn!
Best news of the day!
My cousin ate two pineapple in o e
Congratulations to Albert Pujols for crushing Home Runs #699 and 700 tonight at Dodger Stadium off of the same pitching staff discussed in this thread (though I’m sure Kimbrel is happy it was Phil Bickford and not himself who surrendered 700).
Also, Congratulations to Greg Amsinger of MLB Network for bizarrely predicting that Pujols would hit #700 “on friday night in Los Angeles in September” all the way back in April
Amsinger finally right about…..something, lol.
pujols
Greatest Closer of all Time!
I can’t imagine how much money Apple paid to Heaney and Bickford for the sham show they put on last night. It’s right up there with the BlackSox scandal.
It all seems too perfect, doesn’t it?
According to script, and in LA of all places. Go figure……..
It makes sense that the Dodgers will be using this time to interview for the CL role before the post season..
IMO, Craig Kimbrel was more valuable to the Dodgers than AJ Pollock would’ve been. Kimbrel wasn’t the worst CL in the NL but he’s the worst of the playoff eligible teams and the Dodgers weakest link.
This is all Julianna Zobrist’s fault. She is Satan’s daughter.
Ben Zobrist goes on the restricted list in 2019 to save his marriage. The money saved burns a hole in Theo’s pocket and he springs for Kimbrel. The Cubs fail to make the postseason since 2014. Kimbrel sucks badly for two years.
Craig bounces back in his contract year and is traded to White Sox. He promptly sucks badly. Madrigal and Heuer end up spending more time on the IL than the field for the Cubs.
Hahn picks up the option on Kimbrel’s contract and trades him to Dodgers for Pollock who also has a player option for the next season. Both players suck badly.
If you dare, someone should investigate to find out if Julianna is somehow involved in the COVID pandemic, global warming, inflation increasing plus the stock market crashing, the war in Ukraine, and the controversy concerning
…Don’t Worry Darling.
Now link her to Kevin Bacon…
I’m kind of surprised a team like the Dodgers even had a closer. I would have thought they would manage their bullpen more to leverage and matchups than specific inning roles.
Treinen, Hudson, both could have been used this way, if they weren’t both injured.
They’ve won so many games by wide margins, and had such a big lead in the division, that it really hasn’t been a point of emphasis.