Dodgers Inbox: Lineup concerns, injury updates and more (2024)

This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio's Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

LOS ANGELES -- After a seemingly endless offseason and Spring Training, it’s hard to believe the Dodgers’ season is already 15 games old.

In those first 15 games, the Dodgers are off to another hot (10-5) start. And while there’s still a long way to go this season -- and a lot will change over the next five months -- there has been enough action to get a very early sense of what this team can do on the field in 2024.

That being said, let’s answer a few of your questions in the first Dodgers Inbox of the 2024 regular season.

Very early into the season, but is the bottom of the lineup a real concern? If the postseason started tomorrow, I would not feel comfortable with this lineup, even with our big 3.
-- @krayd2k via X

Well, you should feel pretty comfortable with the top of this lineup. Obviously, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have to right some wrongs from last October and Shohei Ohtani has never played in a postseason game, but that’s as good as it’s going to get at the top of the order.

As for the bottom third of the lineup, it’s fair to express some concern there. James Outman, even with his good week in Minnesota, has proven to be a very streaky hitter. There’s also the fact that strikeouts will be a part of his game moving forward. The Dodgers, of course, hope that it also comes with some good power numbers. Outman has also shown the ability to bounce back from tough slumps. Gavin Lux and the duo of Jason Heyward and Chris Taylor have also struggled.

With Lux, it still might be too early to panic. While everyone wants results right away, it’s important to remember that Lux has been away from the game for more than a year. He’s still looking to find his rhythm. That might take some time. Taylor’s strikeout rate has always been there, but his start to the season has been alarming. He has to cut down the swing and miss if he wants more playing time.

[Blake] Treinen? Is he alive still?!? Lol. What happens when both he and [Brusdar] Graterol come back. The Dodgers won’t have the option of sending anyone down for a “fresh” arm, how do they handle that dynamic?
-- @herem13 via X

Treinen is getting healthier and he’ll be back with the Dodgers at some point within the next month or so. Losing Treinen, who came to camp fully healthy for the first time in a couple of years, was a blow to the Dodgers at the end of Spring Training.

But with Los Angeles almost certainly making the postseason again, the club will be overly cautious with its rehabbing players, particularly pitchers. It’s what the Dodgers have done with Walker Buehler, what they’ll do with Graterol and what they’re doing with Treinen. The right-hander will need to build back up so he can be a full-go when he returns to the bullpen.

Any chance we see [Trey] Sweeney or [Andy] Pages on the big league team soon?
-- @Shoheimuse via X

Of the two, Pages has the best chance at getting up to the Majors soon, but I still don’t anticipate that happening anytime soon. Given how good Pages’ spring was, it’s easy to forget that he is only 23 years old and missed most of the 2023 season after undergoing a pretty significant right shoulder surgery.

Most people in the organization see Pages as the team’s starting right fielder in 2024, which means they won’t rush the Cuban-born outfielder if they don’t believe he’s ready. As for Sweeney, there’s just no spot for him on the roster right now.

Could the Dodgers give Tommy Pham a call?
-- @roemello via X

Every team should be giving Pham a call right now. It’s insane that he doesn’t have a job at this stage given what he accomplished with the Mets and D-backs last season. He’s also a pretty strong postseason performer. The Dodgers showed plenty of interest in the offseason but ultimately went with Teoscar Hernández instead.

Barring an injury or a very difficult decision on Taylor, don’t anticipate Pham in Los Angeles.

In your opinion, what is the biggest weakness on this team? Bullpen, IF defense, hitting lefties, player leadership in clubhouse?
-- @bobbycastillo42 via X

Right now there’s a pretty big hole when it comes to a left-handed option out of the bullpen. Sure, the Dodgers have a lot of “neutral” arms in the bullpen and should get more help when Treinen and Graterol return, but a lefty could make a lot of sense as they get closer to the postseason.