Los Angeles Dodgers: 5 Players Who Are in Serious Danger of Being Cut or Demoted

A year ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers were scrambling to fill out the starting rotation heading into the regular season as rookie Ross Stripling unexpectedly broke camp with a job.

Now they have an abundance of starting pitching and some interesting decisions to make this spring about how to best protect young left-hander Julio Urias and how to maximize the health of veterans Rich Hill, Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy.

There's also a roster crunch in the outfield, where Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig appear to be locked in to starting jobs, but the playing time in left field and a pair of bench spots are still up for grabs.

As is the case with most teams, there's also a decision or two to be made regarding who rounds out the relief corps, and one of the team's power arms on the fringe is out of minor league options.

Ahead, you'll find a projected 25-man roster, a full list of projected roster cuts as a result and a closer look at five notable players on the outside looking in for a spot on the Dodgers roster.

Projected 25-Man Roster

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Andrew Toles is out to win the starting left field job.

Projected Opening Day Roster

Starting Lineup	Starting Rotation
2B Logan Forsythe	LHP Clayton Kershaw
SS Corey Seager	LHP Rich Hill
3B Justin Turner	RHP Kenta Maeda
1B Adrian Gonzalez	LHP Scott Kazmir
C Yasmani Grandal	LHP Julio Urias
CF Joc Pederson	Bullpen
RF Yasiel Puig	RHP Brandon McCarthy
LF Andrew Toles (R)	LHP Patrick Schuster
Bench	LHP Luis Avilan
C/IF Austin Barnes (R)	RHP Sergio Romo
IF Chase Utley	LHP Grant Dayton
IF/OF Kike Hernandez	RHP Pedro Baez
OF Andre Ethier	RHP Kenley Jansen
OF Franklin Gutierrez

 

Projected DL: SP Hyun-Jin Ryu (elbow surgery)

Bold signifies new acquisition.

Full List of Projected Roster Cuts

Rob Tringali/Getty Images

Brock Stewart might be the next man up in the starting rotation.

40-Man Roster (Note: The Dodgers currently have only 39 players on the 40-man roster.)

C Kyle Farmer
3B Rob Segedin
IF Chris Taylor
OF Brett Eibner
OF Trayce Thompson
OF Scott Van Slyke
SP Brock Stewart
SP Ross Stripling
SP Alex Wood
RP Josh Fields
RP Chris Hatcher (out of options)
RP Adam Liberatore
RP Josh Ravin
RP Jacob Rhame

Non-Roster Invitees

C Jack Murphy
C Wynston Sawyer
C Bobby Wilson
1B Stetson Allie
1B Cody Bellinger
1B Ike Davis
2B Willie Calhoun
IF Charlie Culberson (out of options)
IF Darnell Sweeney
OF O'Koyea Dickson
OF Tyler Holt
OF Henry Ramos
OF Alex Verdugo
SP Fabio Castillo
SP Trevor Oaks
SP Yaisel Sierra
RP Ralston Cash
RP Steve Geltz
RP Brandon Morrow
RP Josh Sborz
RP Madison Younginer

Notable Projected Cut: RHP Trevor Oaks

Roster Status: Non-roster invitee

Role: No. 5 starter

Projected Roster-Spot Winner: Julio Urias

Other Contenders: Brock Stewart, Ross Stripling, Alex Wood

Spring Stats: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Overview

The Los Angeles Dodgers' starting pitching depth has taken a hit in the past calendar year.

Grant Holmes, Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton were traded to Oakland in July, Jose De Leon was shipped to Tampa Bay this offseason, and, a few weeks ago, Chase De Jong was traded to Seattle in a prospect swap.

Brock Stewart and Ross Stripling are still around as a pair of quality depth options that earned valuable MLB experience last year, but the emergence of Trevor Oaks has still been a welcome development.

The 23-year-old was a seventh-round pick in 2014, and he impressed in the upper levels of the minors last season, going 14-3 with a 2.74 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 108 strikeouts in 151 innings while reaching Triple-A.

He's looked sharp so far this spring, and with ongoing question surrounding the health of Scott Kazmir, Rich Hill and Brandon McCarthy, and the team still treating Julio Urias with kid gloves, it's not out of the question to think he could find himself in the rotation at some point in 2017.

So what type of ceiling does Oaks have long-term?

"While he won't miss many bats, he's an extremely efficient pitcher who can eat a lot of innings at the back of a rotation," wrote MLB.com's Prospect Watch while ranking him as the team's No. 19 prospect.

Notable Projected Cut: OF Tyler Holt

Tim Warner/Getty Images

Roster Status: Non-roster invitee

Role: RHH backup outfielder

Projected Roster-Spot Winner: Franklin Gutierrez

Other Contenders: Brett Eibner, Trayce Thompson, Scott Van Slyke

Spring Stats: 8-for-15, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 4 R

Overview

If there's one non-roster invitee with a real chance of earning a spot on the roster this spring, it's Tyler Holt.

The 27-year-old is capable of playing all three outfield spots, and his plus speed is his best asset on the offensive side of things.

He saw a career-high 208 plate appearances at the MLB level last season but hit just .235/.327/.296 with five doubles and three triples.

However, his Triple-A numbers in 2015 were considerably more impressive, as he logged a .302/.386/.370 line with 21 extra-base hits and 25 steals in 430 trips to the plate.

As a potential platoon option for Andrew Toles in left field and a pinch runner, he could have some value.

From the sound of it, he's also a fun guy to have in the clubhouse.

"Basically, every day we come in and the first person I want to talk smack to is Tyler Holt," Reds shortstop Zack Cozart told Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer last year. "It’s just fun to get him riled up. Anytime we’re joking, he’s usually in the middle of it, no matter what the joke is."

An 0-for-19 showing from Franklin Gutierrez this spring has at least left the door cracked.

Notable Projected Cut: RHP Chris Hatcher

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

Roster Status: 40-man roster, out of minor league options

Role: Final bullpen spot

Projected Roster-Spot Winner: Patrick Schuster

Other Contenders: Josh Fields, Steven Geltz, Adam Liberatore, Brandon Morrow, Josh Ravin, Alex Wood

Spring Stats: 3.0 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Overview

Chris Hatcher has the big arm.

He just hasn't consistently generated results to match.

The 32-year-old averaged 96.4 mph with his fastball last season and backed it with a slider (.044 ISO) and splitter (.088 ISO) combination that was largely effective at limiting damage, per Brooks Baseball.

However, he still racked up a 5.53 ERA and 1.50 WHIP as he allowed 8.9 H/9 and a career-high 4.6 BB/9, up significantly from a 3.0 BB/9 mark the year before.

Now he's out of minor league options, the Dodgers have a decision to make.

Hatcher is under team control through the 2019 season and is making a reasonable $1.25 million this year, so there's a good chance someone would scoop him up off waivers if the team tried to send him to the minors.

He's still an intriguing bullpen option, but a rough start to the spring could spell an end to his time with the Dodgers.

Notable Projected Cut: OF Scott Van Slyke

Rob Leiter/Getty Images

Roster Status: 40-man roster, one minor league option remaining

Role: RHH backup outfielder

Projected Roster-Spot Winner: Franklin Gutierrez

Other Contenders: Brett Eibner, Tyler Holt, Trayce Thompson

Spring Stats: 5-for-18, 4 RBI, 1 R

Overview

Scott Van Slyke has made a living feasting on left-handed pitching.

The son of former All-Star Andy Van Slyke sports a career .845 OPS against southpaws with 20 doubles and 17 home runs in 388 total plate appearances.

However, a wrist injury limited the 30-year-old to just 52 games last season, and the offseason addition of Franklin Gutierrez has left his role on the team in jeopardy.

An everyday center fielder and Gold Glove defender during his prime, Gutierrez has settled in to a similar role of left-handed pitcher hitting specialist.

The 34-year-old has absolutely owned lefties the past two seasons:

• 2015: 112 PA, .973 OPS, 7 2B, 8 HR, 19 RBI
• 2016: 217 PA, .884 OPS, 7 2B, 12 HR, 32 RBI

While Gutierrez has gone 0-for-19 with nine strikeouts so far this spring, he signed a one-year, $2.6 million major league deal in the offseason.

Meanwhile, Van Slyke still has one minor league option remaining and is earning $1.325 million in his second year of arbitration.

Money won't be the driving factor in this roster decision, but it's just one more thing working against Van Slyke in his pursuit of a spot.

Notable Projected Cut: LHP Alex Wood

Jason O. Watson/Getty Images

Roster Status: 40-man roster, three minor league options remaining

Role: No. 5 starter, long reliever

Projected Roster-Spot Winners: Julio Urias, Brandon McCarthy

Other Contenders: Brandon Morrow, Brock Stewart, Ross Stripling

Spring Stats: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Overview

Alex Wood would have a guaranteed spot in the rotation on a lot of other teams.

After all, the 26-year-old already has a strong track record of MLB success under his belt:

• 112 G, 77 GS, 27-30, 3.35 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 452 K, 499.1 IP

That includes a 3.73 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 60.1 innings of work for the Dodgers last season, spanning 10 starts and four relief appearances.

"He is a good major league starting pitcher," GM Andrew Friedman told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. "He is a great competitor and fits in really well within the fabric of our clubhouse."

Friedman went on to say: "Obviously we have a number of really talented starters. We’re not sure exactly how things will play out, but we have a lot of confidence in him and feel very strongly he is going to help us win a lot of games this year."

If the team decides to keep Julio Urias back at extended spring training to limit his innings or Scott Kazmir has another flare up with his hip, Wood could find his way into the rotation.

Otherwise, it looks like he's ticketed for Triple-A to stay stretched out as a starter.

All regular-season stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, while spring stats come via MLB.com.