“Our offense has carried us and covered up some not so good things” - Dave Roberts reflects on the Dodgers' resilience amid bullpen challenges
The Dodgers made a flurry of changes on Friday, with multiple pieces being moved off the roster to accommodate recent injury updates from Jason Heyward and Max Muncy. For starters, Jason Heyward has completed his rehab and has returned to the active roster since he last played on March 30. Muncy's mild oblique strain has landed him on the injured list, vacating the third base spot.
During the press conference, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts discussed the roster changes and how they will affect their lineup. However, a question came from a reporter, asking about the pivotal role of the bullpen, who have been at times underwhelmed and covered on the back of good pitching and strong offense.
Roberts acknowledged the situation but felt part of a baseball unit that has its own "ebbs and flaws."
"I think it's just we all understand that it's baseball," Roberts said. "I think that we've been getting a lot of help from our starters recently that has protected the bullpen. And now our bullpen, you know, it's going to be leaned on, certainly in this stretch.
"And then at times our offense has carried us and covered up some not so good things. And right now it isn't. And so I think it's just the ebbs and flaws of kind of baseball."
"You've got to find a way to just show up each day to try to win that game, however you do it," he added. And then at the end of the day, pick up the pieces and do it again the next day. And so I think that, you know, in that vein, we're pretty good at kind of understanding that and kind of adjusting."
The Dodgers are coming off an underwhelming 7-2 loss against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, dropping their season to 29-17. They face them again on Saturday.
Dave Roberts on James Outman being optioned back to the minors
With Jason Heyward making a return, it was imminent for either of Chris Taylor, Andy Pages and James Outman to make room for him. With Andy Pages playing well, and Taylor being owed $30 million this season, the axe fell on Outman, who has been struggling at the plate, hitting only .147.
While Dave Roberts feels that Outman hasn't played on expected lines, he expressed optimism in his ability to make a return.
"I don't think any of us expected to be in this position given last year and then our expectations for him this season," Roberts said."But with the inconsistencies, the struggles, Jason coming back, [Andy Pages'] play the last six weeks, we just felt that James needed an opportunity to go down and play every day.
"There's something to getting out of this environment, performance-based, and just going out there and playing baseball. Once we can get him back on track, we'll get him back here."
In other roster moves, the Dodgers have called up outfielder Miguel Rojas and right-handed pitcher Ricky Vanasco. Left-handed pitcher Nick Ramirez was optioned to the minors.