GLENDALE, Ariz. — Andrew Friedman’s phone got very busy in the aftermath of Gavin Lux’s season-ending knee injury earlier this week.
“A lot of ambulance chasers came out after the injury,” Friedman joked. “There were teams, agents. There was a lot.”
The wave of incoming calls has given way to outgoing inquiries as the Dodgers’ front office assesses potential upgrades to a roster that is now thinner with the subtraction of Lux.
“Depth is always something that we talk about. It was a big driver for us to go out and get Miguel Rojas and we feel like between him and CT that we’re in a good spot,” Friedman said. “Obviously, there’s now a layer of depth that is removed for 2023 so we’re definitely susceptible if we have another injury.
“So we’ve decided that we just won’t have another injury for the rest of the year.”
Friedman’s gallows humor aside, he acknowledged that “continuing to add depth is something we have to be mindful of.” That depth does not necessarily have to be a shortstop or even an infielder, Friedman said, because of the versatility of the Dodgers’ position players.
“We feel that the guys that we have here are a really good group,” he said. “So for us, if we are going to add from the outside it’s going to be something that fits us differently or is a more impactful player in our mind.”
That player, Friedman admitted, is not likely to be among the remaining free agents – a thin group topped by Jurickson Profar and Jose Iglesias. Making a trade to upgrade the roster, even if that just means adding depth, won’t be easy.
“It’s difficult. It’s not the most natural time to make a trade,” Friedman said. “So we’ll spend more time figuring out what’s possible. We’re not sure at this point and we’re trying to wrap our arms around the various profiles of a player and how it would fit. There’s been a domino effect of how guys are now going to spend time and what positions they are going to play and what that opens up and making sure our bench has the right balance. Those are all things we’re going to spend time getting into more detail on.”
The most available players for a spring trade are usually players whose salaries have become burdensome or those who are out of options and can’t be sent to the minors without clearing waivers if they don’t make their team’s season-opening roster – not the most appealing group from which to choose.
“It just depends on what’s available,” Friedman said. “Just because of spring training and the nature of it and typically, it’s a slower trade market and more centered around guys without options. Now, there could be players like that who fit as well, or it could be someone internal.
“We’ve still got some runway left to figure that out, and we’re continuing to debate it. But we’ve got our scouts out, looking for various different profiles. We’re looking at it in the office, as well as assessing the guys we have here.”
CAT LIVES
Tony Gonsolin’s breakout All-Star season last year came to an unsatisfactory conclusion when an elbow injury ended his regular season in August and limited him to 1⅓ innings in his only postseason start. Coming on the heels of a shoulder injury that limited him in 2021, Gonsolin had a clear goal in mind for 2023.
“The goal this year is to go wall to wall, go from start to finish,” Gonsolin said after his first spring start Friday. “Leave the results out of it. Whatever they are, they are. Just go out there and try to do my best.
“Yeah, it sucked (ending the year injured). I feel like I did it back-to-back years in 2021 and ’22. … That was last year, trying to put that past me. Got over it fairly quickly in the offseason. Just go out there and focus on this year.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Gonsolin has “learned his body a lot more” after the past two seasons and looks ready to take down a full season this year – with high expectations after last year’s 16-1 record and 2.14 ERA.
“He was an All-Star last year,” Roberts said. “We expect him to post, make starts and be good.”