Dodgers bullpen not cause for concern yet, but uncomfortable moments linger
Welcome to The California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where baseball writers Dylan Hernández and Jack Harris review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.Should there be concern about the Dodgers’ bullpen?It is way too early to panic about the Dodgers’ bullpen.But this past week, there were a couple uncomfortable moments of deja vu.Tanner Scott was charged with two losing decisions after getting taken deep twice in close games.The rest of the unit has cooled off since its club-record 38-inning scoreless streak, too, posting a 5.66 ERA and 1.40 WHIP this past week.Ebbs and flows are to be expected from the relief corps, of course.
And even Scott, whose stumbles this week felt eerily similar to his season-long struggles last year, has continued to show marked improvement from 2025 overall.Still, with Edwin Díaz out, young arms like Will Klein and Kyle Hurt being thrust into bigger roles, and injured veterans including Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart still working back from injuries, the bullpen remains somewhat of a question mark — and, perhaps, an area the Dodgers will look to upgrade at the trade deadline.Alex Freeland (6-for-13, 1 home run, 4 RBIs this week; .250 average, .694 OPS on season)We’ve covered Ohtani plenty lately, so let’s focus on someone else for this week’s honor.After making the team on Opening Day, struggling out of the gate, getting demoted to Triple-A, then coming back up last week, Freeland has finally found something of a rhythm, recording two multi-hit, multi-RBI games in recent days.Last Sunday against the Phillies, Freeland was 2-for-3 with an RBI double and home run.On Wednesday in Arizona, he went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, a walk and a stolen base.Suddenly, Freeland’s overall numbers this season don’t look too bad.
He is just a shade below league average in OPS+.He has graded out very well defensively, with a plus-five mark in defensive runs saved and a plus-t...