DODGERS PLAY 28 GAMES IN THE NEXT 30 DAYS

The Dodgers had enough off days in April that four teams have caught up to them in games played after Los Angeles (and the Padres) started the season with two games in South Korea. But after off days last Thursday and this Monday, the Dodgers have a gauntlet of sorts that runs well into May.

Over the next 30 days, the Dodgers will play 28 games, beginning with this nine-game road trip through Washington D.C., Toronto, and Phoenix. The streak included nine days in a row, then six days in a row, then finish off the run with games on 13 straight days from May 10-22.

The more condensed schedule will pose a bit of a challenge, especially with how the Dodgers aggressively use pitchers. They’ve already used 21 pitchers in the first 24 games of the season, a number topped only by the Astros (23) and Mets (22).

How the Dodgers handle Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s schedule will be something to watch during this stretch, especially considering the team has no plans on pitching him on “regular” (four days) rest anytime soon. The right-hander is scheduled to start Thursday against the Nationals, which will be the second time he’s pitched on five days rest.

With nine days in a row on this road trip, that means the Dodgers will have to slot someone in, probably during the Arizona series, to give Yamamoto extra rest.

If Walker Buehler is ready to go after his rehab start on Wednesday in Albuquerque, he’d line up on five days rest next Tuesday in Phoenix. To date, every rehab start for Buehler has come on five days rest. That would push Yamamoto to the series finale on five days rest.

You also have to figure the bullpen will be taxed as well during this stretch. Blake Treinen starting a minor league rehab assignment as early as this week could bring him closer to a return. Among optioned pitchers, Gus Varland can return as early as Tuesday if needed, while J.P. Feyereisen (April 30), Ricky Vanasco (May 1), and Eduardo Salazar (May 2) need to wait a bit before getting recalled, unless replacing an injured player.

Catcher if you can

The other usage pattern to watch over the next four-plus weeks is at catcher. To date, Will Smith’s 19 starts are tied for second-most in MLB, one behind J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies. Smith’s numbers are buoyed somewhat by the Dodgers’ early start in Seoul, but even stateside Smith is starting a high rate of games behind the plate.

Smith has 17 starts in 22 games since domestic opening day, a pace of 125 starts behind the plate over 162 games. In his three full seasons behind the plate (2021-23), Smith has started 111, 106, and 106 games at catcher. In the last two seasons, the Dodgers were able to keep Smith’s bat in the lineup with several starts at designated hitter, but they have a new guy there now who starts every game.

Counting the off days through Sunday, Smith started behind the plate 17 times in 25 days.

Over the next 25 days, beginning Tuesday, the Dodgers play 23 games, which isn’t too different. But with a similar workload, that’s probably one extra start for Austin Barnes, and that’s before considered the five other game days that round out the 28-in-30 stretch.

Of the Dodgers’ nine series, six of them end with a day game following a night game, which is almost always split between Smith and Barnes. Plus you have to figure that final stretch of 13 days in a row will mean at least one extra Barnes start mixed in. Last year, Smith only started four straight days at catcher once, but counting DH starts did so several times.

Just a few workload things to think about before the Dodgers’ busy stretch of games.

2024-04-23T15:58:23Z dg43tfdfdgfd