LOS ANGELES — The losses of Brandon McCarthy (Tommy John surgery) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (labrum surgery) for the season have thinned the Dodgers’ stock of starting pitchers.
Given the team’s financial resources and the aggressiveness of president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman since taking over the team last fall, the expectation is that a trade for starting pitching is inevitable with speculation surrounding Johnny Cueto, Scott Kazmir and Cole Hamels as potential targets.
That storyline makes right-handers Mike Bolsinger and Carlos Frias mere placeholders, holding down the fourth and fifth spots in the starting rotation for now. For the most part, they have pitched well. Bolsinger, in particular, has been outstanding, allowing no more than one run in any of his four starts including a one-hit, eight-inning outing against the San Diego Padres on Saturday.
“I just throw a baseball,” Bolsinger said when asked if he was worried about being replaced in the rotation by a more high-profile acquisition. “I’ll save the media stuff for my mom. She’ll tell me about it.
“It doesn’t bother me. I’m just going to keep pitching, trying to put up ‘Ws’ for my team. Whatever happens happens.”
Frias struggled in his most recent start, tying an LA Dodgers’ franchise record for runs allowed by a starting pitcher (10) in a loss to the Padres. But Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that did not wipe out the solid work Frias had done in four previous starts.
“No. We can’t make decisions based on one bad day,” he said. “That could happen to anybody.”
