What we learned in MLB this week: The Dodgers' bullpen has been a disaster

FOX Sports MLB Analyst

Every Thursday, Jordan Shusterman takes a look at one thing from each MLB division that we’ve learned from the past week of action.

AL East: The Rays‘ rotation might be special, too

The downright dominance displayed by Tampa Bay over the first two months has been largely driven by a relentless offensive attack featuring superstars and anonymous mashers. However, one of the bigger storylines coming off their offseason acquisition of Zach Eflin was that the Rays, long famous for their barrage of bullpen arms and experimental openers, appeared to be building a legitimately formidable rotation of regular ol’ starting pitchers. Significant injuries to Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen appeared to derail such hopes last month, but the emergence of top prospect Taj Bradley — and the return of one of the faces of the franchise in Tyler Glasnow — have re-introduced the possibility that the Rays still have one of baseball’s best rotations. At just 22, Bradley is MLB’s youngest starting pitcher and has more than held his own through his first seven career big-league starts, punching out 48 batters in 35 innings and sporting a stellar 2.80 FIP. Glasnow is still easing into the season, but the stuff looks as tremendous as ever.

With Shane McClanahan still looking like one of the best left-handers on earth and Eflin outperforming the rotation workhorse role the Rays signed him to fill, this could be one of the more fearsome foursomes in any rotation in the American League. That’s quite a development for a team already known for its juggernaut offense. These Rays are good.

AL Central: Joe Ryan is leveling up

If the Rays’ rotation wasn’t impressive enough, imagine if they hadn’t traded Ryan away for two months of 41-year-old Nelson Cruz! Ryan has been marvelous in his second full season with the Twins, joining teammate Sonny Gray in the top 10 of fWAR among starting pitchers. A reliable mid-rotation arm in 2022, Ryan has improved markedly across the board in ways that have unlocked legitimate frontline potential in the 27-year-old right-hander.

Already armed with one of the game’s best four-seamers (never mind its average velocity), Ryan has added a splitter that has immediately become his go-to secondary offering. The strikeouts and ground ball rates are up, and the walks are down. The uptick in whiffs can be credited in part to a 36.8% chase rate that ranks in the 97th percentile across the league, a drastic increase from the 28% and 33rd percentile mark he registered in 2022. He might not throw as hard as a prototypical ace in 2023, but Ryan has checked every box you could possibly hope for in a young pitcher looking to establish himself as one of the game’s best.

AL West: The J-Rod Show is back on the air

Despite near-elite pitching for much of the season, the Mariners‘ offense has ranged from subpar to sleepy in 2023, with a maddening array of underperforming veterans and a boatload of whiffs. It was easy to assume Julio Rodríguez would be the least of Seattle’s concerns on offense heading into 2023 coming off such a spectacular rookie year, but he too had been contributing to the team’s sluggish start, with a .656 OPS through May 21. However, talent of his magnitude tends to win out over time, and the 22-year-old has really turned it on as of late, hitting .365/.375/.619 over his past 15 games. The lack of walks recently is certainly a bit concerning, but J-Rod finding his power stroke again could really be what helps ignite this Seattle lineup — and maybe even help prepare him for another go at the Home Run Derby this July in his home park.

NL East: Marlins corner outfielders are quietly showing out

The story of this Miami season — and one of the biggest stories in baseball — will continue to be Luis Arráez’s quest to hit .400, or even something remotely close to it. He is magnificent, easily one of my favorite players, and deserves plenty of attention. But Arráez is not the sole reason the Fightin’ Fish have spent a considerable amount of time in the stunning position of second place in the NL East. Jorge Soler and his 17 homers have been a blast to watch, but it hasn’t just been him and Arráez driving the run production efforts for a Miami team that has been desperately searching for consistent offensive impact for years. Now seems like a good time to also highlight a couple other talented young hitters who have stepped up for the Marlins recently — especially while Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been either underperforming or injured.

Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz might not be the most notable De La Cruz in the big-leagues anymore, but the 26-year-old is quietly been a damn good hitter for a while now. His 1.137 OPS down the stretch last year was second-best in MLB among players with at least 90 plate appearances in September/October behind only some tall fellow named Aaron Judge. De La Cruz started slow this season — his OPS was .636 on May 10 — but has really heated up lately, hitting .355/.426/.624 with six homers in 25 games since.

Jesús Sánchez started the season 4-for-28 but then got hot for a few weeks before a hamstring strain landed him on the IL on May 14. Fortunately, his brief hiatus didn’t seem to slow his momentum, as he’s continued to mash since returning to the Marlins’ lineup last week. The 25-year-old Sánchez was more highly-touted as a prospect than De La Cruz but has yet to find as much consistent success at the highest level. There’s still a good amount of swing-and-miss, but the power potential is obvious.

If Chisholm can get return to health and rediscover his star potential in center field, this outfield is suddenly looking awfully intriguing for years to come. A half-decade removed from trading away Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna, it’s nice to finally be able to say something like that.

NL Central: Marcus Stroman has an interesting few months ahead

It’s been a fairly frustrating season on the North Side with the Cubs struggling to find any semblance of momentum even in a weak division. Stroman, though, with a 2.39 ERA through 13 starts, has done his part. It’s easy to point to Stroman’s .227 BABIP against as evidence that he’s been getting somewhat lucky, but it’s worth noting that he’s cranked his ground ball rate back up closer to the 60% mark he’d been running earlier in his career during his best years in Toronto.

Strikeouts have and never will be the right-hander’s m.o., but he’s got the ideal infield behind him in Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner to maximize all those grounders into a whole bunch of outs — even if those grounders are often hit quite hard. With a $21 million player option for 2024, Stroman may be heading for a fascinating decision. If he stays healthy and keeps his ERA under 3 over 200-plus innings, opting out might reap a sizable payday on the open market. At the same time, Stroman has been vocal about his affinity for playing in Chicago, and he’s also smart enough to know there aren’t many — if any — middle infields out there that could support his strengths as a pitcher better.

The even more pressing question? Whether Stroman becomes one of the deadline’s most attractive trade chips should the Cubs continue to flounder in fourth place.

NL West: Where did the Dodgers bullpen magic go?

The flip side of the memorable Reds comeback on Tuesday night was a stunningly messy fumbling of an 8-3 lead by the Dodgers bullpen. The Dodgers had won 118 straight games when leading by at least five runs at any point until the meltdown in Cincinnati — such implosions have just been impossible to fathom in recent years. But it wasn’t just a one-off; the Dodgers relief corps has been an obvious weak spot all year long. A few weeks back, I highlighted the Orioles turning their bullpen into one of baseball’s best after years of abysmal relief pitching. The Dodgers — though undeniably still a very good team who could win the NL West anyway — have been experiencing the polar opposite this season. Consider L.A.’s bullpen ERA and NL rank over the past seven years, and where it’s at now:

2016: 3.35 (1st)
2017: 3.38 (1st)
2018: 3.72 (5th)
2019: 3.85 (2nd)
2020: 2.74 (1st)
2021: 3.16 (2nd)
2022: 2.87 (1st)
2023: 4.75 (14th)

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Will Benson launches walk-off home run as Reds defeat Dodgers

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The strangest part is that last year’s revelation Evan Phillips and back-end mainstay Brusdar Graterol have largely been good, but dreadful showings from Alex Vesia, Phil Bickford and, more recently, Caleb Ferguson have dragged the whole unit down from a run prevention standpoint. Yency Almonte, another apparent hidden gem from last year, had been much more reliable lately before a shaky outing in Tuesday’s loss, but his sample of success is still relatively limited. Even in a post-Kenley Jansen era, the Dodgers have been able to patch together effective bullpens with an oddball collection of reclamation projects and relatively anonymous hard-throwers. I don’t think this year’s group is actually that bad, but it’d certainly be a stretch to call it a strength by any means.

Much of the focus has understandably been on the health and depth of the Dodgers’ starting rotation, but that has a carryover effect, as well. It’s one thing to tax the bullpen; it’s another to tax a bullpen that isn’t equipped to handle the extra work unexpectedly, which undoubtedly factored into Cincy walking-off the Dodgers again Wednesday following a three-inning outing from Noah Syndergaard. It seems safe to assume Andrew Friedman & Co. will be targeting some relief reinforcements at the trade deadline.

Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He has covered baseball for his entire adult life, most notably for MLB.com, DAZN and The Ringer. He’s a Mariners fan living in the Eastern Time Zone, which means he loves a good 10 p.m. first pitch. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.

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