GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ new front-office troika of president Andrew Friedman, vice president Josh Byrnes and general manager Farhan Zaidi are making it clear they are not afraid to take some risks.
The Dodgers have already swapped out the back of their starting rotation, replacing veterans Dan Haren (traded) and Josh Beckett (retired) with a pair of free agents who have to be considered gambles.
Right-hander Brandon McCarthy has a history of shoulder problems in his past, although he did pitch 200 innings for the first time in his career last year. Lefty Brett Anderson, meanwhile, is recovering from back surgery and has pitched fewer than 45 innings each of the past three seasons and no more than 112 since his rookie season due to a long list of injuries.
Behind those two, the Dodgers have added depth — but that depth has its own issues.
Right-hander Brandon Beachy was signed to a one-year contract with a club option for 2016 despite the fact that he is rehabbing from a second Tommy John surgery and won’t be ready to pitch until mid-season.
“If you just talk about the ceiling for a guy like this, even just based on his performance before he got hurt, he’s mid-rotation or better type guy,” Zaidi said of Beachy, who was 14-11 with a 3.23 ERA in 46 career starts for the Atlanta Braves. “That upside is obviously very appealing to us and other teams that were pursuing him as well.”
Left-hander Erik Bedard and righty Chad Gaudin are also in camp on minor-league contracts. Bedard has three shoulder surgeries in his past while Gaudin sat out the entire 2014 season after undergoing neck surgery last February and failing a physical with the Philadelphia Phillies.
“The average team uses 10 to 12 starting pitchers over the course of a season,” Zaidi said. “It’s not just about your first five guys.”
