"When Kershaw retires" Dodgers more important than $600 million Ohtani + α? 4.39 ERA ahead of FA
Last updated
Last updated
"It's definitely a good thing to pull on Otani Shohei (LA Angels)...”
The prospect that the LA Dodgers will catch Ohtani in the 2023-2024 FA market is no longer surprising. The Dodgers are likely to take Otani for more than 10 years and a total of around $600 million. If the Dodgers recruit Ohtani, he is expected to be the first to take a breather in the starting lineup.
The Dodgers' starting lineup is certainly not as solid as usual. He added Lance Lynn ahead of the trade deadline, but Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, and Dustin May are unable to come out due to injuries and rehabilitation. Buehler, who underwent Tommy John surgery in August last year, wants to return at the end of the season, but performance is a different matter. Rookie Bobby Miller fights hard, but Julio Urias and Tony Gonsolin are unstable.
In this situation, Kershaw made his return match against the Colorado Rockies on the 11th . Recently, I was resting due to shoulder pain. However, apart from his return, rumors of his retirement have been steadily circulating. After this season, he will become an FA again, and Dodgers Nation believes that he needs a substitute if he retires.
Dodgers Nation argued on the 11th (Korea Standard Time) that since the Dodgers are likely to recruit Otani, it is rather important to catch Urias, who is eligible for FA. Apart from Ohtani's recruitment, he stressed that if Kershaw retires, he should hold Urias to a five-year contract.
Dodgers Nation said, "When Kershaw retires, we have to bring back Urias." There will be a lot of pressure on this part. "It's definitely a good thing to pull Otani, but this may not be the price of losing one of the most iconic pitchers in the Dodgers over the past decade," he said.
The problem is that Euryas is on the decline this year. When Ryu Hyun-jin left at the end of the 2019 season, he escaped the injury tunnel and became the main starting pitcher in earnest. In the 2021 season, he won the National League title with 20 wins, 3 losses, and a 2.96 ERA. In the 2022 season, he ranked first in the National League with 17 wins, 7 losses, and a 2.16 ERA.
However, this season, he is not good with 9 wins, 6 losses and a 4.39 ERA in 17 games. WHIP rose from 0.96 last year to 1.16 this year. The ERA of defense players also rose from 3.71 last year to 4.45 this year. Last year, he ranked third in the National League Cy Young vote, but his performance this season is not even close.
Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that the overall instability of the Dodgers rotation can be completely resolved by recruiting Ohtani. Dodgers Nation's criticism, such as Kershaw's retirement, the actions of the injured and the unstable average of promising players, makes sense in its own way. In a way, for the Dodgers, it is as important to decide on the stance against Kershaw and Urias as Otani.