How will Brandon McCarthy’s injury impact the Dodgers and fantasy owners?
Pitching against the San Diego Padres on Saturday, Brandon McCarthy served up a two-run home run to Justin Upton. He then immediately began shaking his arm and motioning to the Dodgers dugout that he was done. On Monday it was announced that he tore his UCL and was done for the season. McCarthy eloquently tweeted: “to be fair, 31 years of use is a lot to ask for from a ligament.”
McCarthy was viewed by Andrew Friedman as an important piece to bolster the back-end of the starting rotation. Even though he only started 30 games once and spent time on the disabled list 11 times, Friedman felt comfortable enough to give him a four-year, $48 million contract.
It looked like the money was well spent early on. With Hyun-Jin Ryu injured, McCarthy was able to slide into his slot and perform well. He wasn’t walking many while striking out batters at an elite rate: 11.35 per 9 innings. Only Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer, and Clay Buchholz were more prolific. He helped the Dodgers win three games when he started, but the big Achilles heel was the gopher ball-itis. He was leading the league with nine homers allowed before he was shut down.
What will the Dodgers do now? Currently, Kershaw and Zack Greinke are the anchors. The waters get very muddy after them. Brett Anderson has been solid, but he’s an injury risk like McCarthy. Ryu has begun throwing but there’s been no date given for his return.
On Monday, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times interviewed Friedman and the GM said that “trades in April and May are pretty uncommon.” He will look to fill the starting pitch void “on a turn-by-turn basis” for the next two months. As the trade deadline approaches, he will reassess everything after extensive due diligence has been performed on the other clubs and see “where we are.”
“We don’t have any hard and fast rules,” Friedman said. “I think it would be incredibly difficult for us to trade guys who could be potential foundation pieces for us for a long time.” So all the Cole Hamels rumors can take a back seat for now. The one definitive was that Julio Urias, the 19-year-old phenom, would not be called up.
Let’s take a look at the internal options that could replace McCarthy.
Scott Baker was called up over the weekend and pitched Sunday. He took the loss but pitched seven decent innings. Baker will remain with the club, at least for one week, and pitch in McCarthy’s spot this weekend. Baker won’t over-power anyone, as his fastball sits at 90-92 mph. He does have good movement on his two-seamer and possesses a slider. He pounds the strike zone and won’t beat himself. That seems to be what the Friedman/Zaidi regime looks for.
Mike Bolsinger was recalled last week and pitched against the Giants. He looked great going 5 2/3 innings, allowing only one earned run on five hits, walked two, and struck out five. Like Baker, he doesn’t have explosive stuff. He keeps batters off-balance by changing speeds and locating.
Zach Lee was the Dodgers’ 2010 first-round pick. The 23-year-old has been brilliant so far at Triple-A Oklahoma City. In three starts he’s 3-0, has posted an ERA of 0.95 with a 0.842 WHIP, and struck out 18 while only walking four. Lee was brutal at Triple-A Albuquerque last year when he posted a 5.39 ERA. He is known for his control and maturity on the mound. He doesn’t possess an explosive arsenal.
Brandon Beachy could be in the mix later, but he’s recovering from Tommy John surgery. Carlos Frias was called up, but he looks to be a possible long-man or middle reliever.
The only thing we know for certain from this Dodgers’ regime is that nothing is static. They are constantly tweaking, trading, releasing, and recalling players on the roster. I highly doubt a trade for a front-line starter will be made. Hamels, Johnny Cueto, and the other names out there will cost too much. This regime is about value, and I sense that they value their young pieces very highly. I believe they will constantly scour the wire and other teams for veterans. ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ is the mantra I sense. A true committee approach will be utilized with Baker and Bolsinger at the forefront. I think Lee is behind those two.
The way to mine this situation is to spot-start when the matchups are favorable. It’s probably not advisable to hold onto any of these guys, as they could get shuttled back and forth from the minors to the big-league club.
Stan Son is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Stan, check out his archive and follow him @Stan_Son.
