Cavalry coming?

Phil Gurnee ♦ July 28, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

Adrian Gonzalez has been out for several months and the Dodgers have not missed him a lick. He has been taking batting practice and will head out for a rehab assignment that should last at least a week to shake off the rust.  Adrian should be rejoining his teammates by at least mid – August.  He could prove to be an important addition to the team giving the Dodgers even more options than they currently have.

If the Dodgers decide to use Adrian Gonzalez in a platoon role they could:

Against RHP you could start Adrian at 1st, Taylor at 2nd, and Bellinger in LF, sitting Forsythe.  Against LHP, Adrian is the bench piece waiting to make a difference as a pinch-hitter.

If the Dodgers decide to use Adrian Gonzalez in a full time role that gets dicier. Bellinger has to play. The question would come down to either sitting Taylor, Fortsyhe, or Joc. Against LHP if Adrian plays, Joc is the easy sit with either Cody or Chris playing CF and the other RF. Forsythe should always play against LHP.

I know I’ve read that we don’t need Adrian and he has nothing to offer anymore. That may be correct but I think that this is short sided. Sure he’s an old first baseman who can’t hit left-hand pitching anymore and has a bad back.

But he has been rehabbing his back for two months, taken several shots and it is very possible that he might be healthy enough to be productive if used correctly.  We shouldn’t short change what Adrian could bring to the table.

Also, news has come that Andre Either has finally progressed to batting practice so it is also just a matter of time before Andre goes out on a rehab and rejoins the team. Unlike Adrian, it is going to be hard for Andre to find his way into any role. Mainly because of Adrian. If Adrian wasn’t around you could see Andre playing LF against RHP and using Taylor at 2nd and sitting Logan. But with Adrian coming back, Cody has to play LF against RHP which puts Andre as the first left handed pinch hitter on the bench.  Looking toward Sept you can see a role for Andre as a piece on the bench but that is about it.