Sunday, August 03

Welcome back to the Dodgers Beat newsletter! 

The Dodgers had one of the busiest offseasons in baseball, adding household-name talent to an already stacked roster that had just won the World Series. And yet it's fair to wonder where the team would be at this early juncture without two rookie relievers.

Ben Casparius and Jack Dreyer have shown poise beyond their years while making a real impact for the defending champions. With their ability to cover multiple innings, the two have served as a nice complement to the Dodgers' high-leverage arms. 

“That’s kind of how we envisioned it, to be quite honest," manager Dave Roberts said recently. "We’ve got some veteran relievers that have some wear on their tires, that we know we should take care of them. So you got some new blood that can take down multiple innings. Those two guys, obviously, we’ve counted on a lot."

It's unlikely that both Casparius and Dreyer would have made the Opening Day roster if not for the season-opening injuries to Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech. Losing Edgardo Henriquez and Michael Grove closer to the end of Spring Training further opened the door for the two rookies, who have established themselves as key pieces in a bullpen that has covered 96 2/3 innings, the most of any Major League team. 

Casparius was a part of the World Series roster, an injury replacement for Grove in the NL Division Series. He came into this year with his rookie status still intact and nearly as many career innings in the postseason (6 1/3) as in the regular season (8 1/3) -- and he attributed his comfort level in the big leagues to having that high-stakes experience.

The Dodgers' No. 14 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Casparius spent most of the spring preparing for a bullpen role despite being developed as a starter. The biggest change for him was adapting his routine in order to potentially be available every day, and he's been able to lean on his fellow relievers to ease that transition.

"I think I've probably talked to every single guy down there about this, but they've been really influential," Casparius said. "I'm lucky to be able to bounce ideas off of them, and just be able to be open and ask questions about different situations and how to approach things."

Casparius was hit hard by the Cubs for six runs on April 12, but he's otherwise been reliable. He hasn't allowed a run in seven of his nine outings, and he's gone up to three innings and 47 pitches.

Dreyer didn't come into this season with Casparius' type of experience, but even before he had thrown a pitch in the big leagues, Roberts was complimentary of his ability to slow the game down. That has been evident early on, with Dreyer looking unfazed regardless of the situation. 

Having flown under the radar as an unranked prospect, Dreyer drew some attention in spring for his talent with Rubik's Cubes -- and then opened some eyes with his performance on the mound. The southpaw hasn't allowed a run in nine appearances since making his big league debut in the Tokyo Series, and he's struck out 17 batters in 13 2/3 innings. 

"At the end of the day, the stats don't matter too much," Dreyer said. "We just need to do whatever we can as a bullpen to help the team get the results of a ‘W.’"

That type of mentality -- and the results -- has led to bigger opportunities. In Sunday's finale in Arlington, a tight contest that resulted in a 1-0 Dodgers win, Casparius recorded five outs, including three in the seventh. With a slim lead to protect, Dreyer got the first two outs of the eighth.

"They’ve just earned their respect from me, from their teammates, from their coaches, to pitch in higher leverage," Roberts said. "So right now, I just consider those guys like everybody else in the bullpen."

The first month of the regular season is nearly over, so it feels like a good time for a mailbag. Please submit any questions you have using this form by the end of Wednesday, and I'll get to as many as I can in my next newsletter. Thanks in advance to anyone who participates!

The Dodgers had a special visitor in Arlington over the weekend, as current free agent Brent Honeywell came by Globe Life Field to see his former team. He left with the memento of a lifetime: his World Series ring.

One of the "Bullpen Dawgs" during the championship run, Honeywell's role was far from glamorous. He pitched in three losses in the NL Championship Series and World Series, eating innings so that the team would not have to burn its high-leverage arms. Honeywell became somewhat of a folk hero for his willingness to do so, which did not go unappreciated.

"I'll throw 180 if I got to," Honeywell said in a video posted on the Dodgers' social media. "I don't give a damn. … I think we all know it takes one special team every year."

In observation of Earth Day, the Dodgers continued organizational sustainability efforts by donating more than 17,000 pounds of food to the Midnight Mission, an L.A.-based organization that seeks to help people experiencing homelessness reach self-sufficiency. The team has also added recycling and trash compactors around Dodger Stadium to make the collection process more efficient, while also reducing the number of trucks needed to haul the waste off site.

Here's what the Dodgers have on tap for the upcoming homestand (Friday through Sunday vs. Pirates, Monday through Wednesday vs. Marlins). To see all of the team's scheduled promotions and events, click here.

• Friday: Dodgers Date Night (special event) and fireworks

• Saturday: Roberts bobblehead giveaway

• Monday: Japanese Heritage Night (special event)

• Tuesday: Women's Night (special event)

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