The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a banner season to this point.
They own the best record in all of baseball and could find themselves over 110 wins by the end of the season.
But that doesn’t mean that everything is running smoothly.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite for closer Craig Kimbrel.
Kimbrel was acquired from the Chicago White Sox on April 1 in exchange for outfielder AJ Pollock.
Even after changing his entrance song to “Let It Go” from Frozen, he’s still been struggling a bit.
After yesterday’s game, Dave Roberts commented on his closer’s struggles, and he provided a bit of a concerning update on him.
Dave Roberts on Craig Kimbrel: “I think the stuff is starting to slide a little bit. … I’ve got to continue to look at this. We’ve got to have our best guys at the backend.”
— Matthew Moreno (@MMoreno1015) September 23, 2022
Kimbrel’s Struggles Manifest
This is the last thing the Dodgers needed to have happen while they’re trying to lock up the No. 1 seed in the National League.
While their bullpen is very strong, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some issues to clean up before October comes around.
Kimbrel’s effectiveness would be one of them.
Roberts said that he would have to continue looking at this, and that the Dodgers need to have their best relievers at the back end of their bullpen.
This could mean that Kimbrel’s days as the Dodgers’ closer are numbered, and that Roberts may not consider him one of the “best” guys in the bullpen, at least not enough to be pitching in the back end of games.
Kimbrel is a guy with good postseason experience, so having him in the bullpen for the postseason would be beneficial for Los Angeles, but it doesn’t mean that he’s the best option for closing games, especially if the Dodgers go as far as the World Series.
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