Dodgers Dugout: Breaking down the next opponent, the San Diego Padres

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell.

The Dodgers head to San Diego for a three-game series with the Padres starting tonight. Whichever team wins the season series will have an advantage when it comes to winning the division, plus it also will give them the tiebreaker advantage should the teams tie.

These are the first three of 13 games against the Padres this season, so let’s take a look at them. You can see all the stats on the Padres team page at baseball-reference.com.

Catcher
Elías Díaz (.224/.288/.321, 71 OPS+)
Martín Maldonado (.174/.203/.267, 32 OPS+)

Neither one of these guys can hit, but are solid defensively. Maldonado won a Gold Glove way back in 2017 with the Angels. However, it’s players such as these two, guys who have trouble hitting, who seem to come up big against the Dodgers, dating all the way back to Brian Doyle and the 1978 World Series.

Bonus facts: Díaz was named minor league catcher of the year by Baseball America in 2015. On April 18, 2014 against Pittsburgh, Maldonado hit a grounder to third. Pirates third baseman Pedro Álvarez fielded the grounder, but the cover had partially come off the baseball and was hanging off its side; Álvarez threw the ball to first but it fell apart in midair. So, Maldonado is one guy who can say he literally knocked the cover off the ball.

First base
Luis Arráez (.276/.310/.397, 97 OPS+)

Arráez has won three straight batting titles (2022 with Minnesota, 2023 with Miami, 2024 with the Marlins and Padres). You’ll notice that despite this, he has played for three different teams. The reason is he draws no walks, has little power, and it is believed his glove is made out of cast iron. Winning three straight batting titles is nothing to sneeze at, but that’s all he brings to the table.

Bonus fact: In June 2023, Arráez had three five-hit games, tying the record for most five-hit games in a month held by Ty Cobb, George Sisler and Dave Winfield.

Second base
Jake Cronenworth (.242/.373/.403, 119 OPS+)

Cronenworth is having a rebound season at the plate after a couple of off seasons, and he has always been solid with the glove. Guys such as Cronenworth usually don’t get the headlines, but help you win ballgames in ways that don’t always show up in the box score.

Bonus fact: He hit his first career home run in 2020 off of Dustin May.

Third base
Manny Machado (.318/.382/.515, 150 OPS+)

While, as Yogi Berra once said, “Nobody likes Manny Machado,” the fact remains that he is a great player. Outstanding hitter, outstanding on defense.

Bonus facts: Machado has a dog named Kobe, named in honor of Kobe Bryant. Baltimore Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer once said of Machado: “He reminds me of how I think Cal Ripken Jr. would have been if he had played third base his entire career.”

Shortstop
Xander Bogaerts (.236/.321/.324, 83 OPS+)

All the power in Bogaerts’ bat disappeared two years ago and hasn’t come back. He has a career .447 slugging percentage, but he hasn’t cracked .400 in a season since 2023.

Bonus fact: Bogaerts is one of only six players in major league history to be born in Aruba. The elementary school he went to there is now named after him.

Left field
Tyler Wade (.235/.326/.272, 71 OPS+)
Brandon Lockridge (.224/.272/.276, 55 OPS+)

Left field has been a black hole offensively for the Padres, much as it has been for the Dodgers. Jason Heyward has the most starts in left, but he’s on the IL. And he wasn’t hitting either. This is a prime example for when we discuss the fact that the Dodgers aren’t the only good team with holes in the lineup,

Bonus facts: Wade played 67 games for the Angels in 2021. Lockridge made his major league debut on my birthday, which is probably a bonus fact only interesting to me.

Center field
Jackson Merrill (.299/.352/.461, 123 OPS+)

Last season, Merrill finished second in rookie of the year voting, ninth in MVP voting, was an All-Star and won the Silver Slugger award. Pretty decent first year, I’d say. He’s back for more of the same this season, hitting better than he did last year. He’s also good with the glove.

Bonus fact: Merrill is the first rookie in Padres history to make the All-Star team.

Right field
Fernando Tatis Jr. (.259/.332/.461, 120 OPS+)

Still one of the top players in the game, however, his numbers at the plate have declined since his return from an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs in 2022. His OPS+ in the three seasons before: 154, 156, 166. Three seasons after: 110, 130, 120. Won a Gold Glove in 2023.

Bonus fact: In 2021, Tatis became the youngest player to appear on the cover of the “MLB: The Show” video game.

Designated hitter
Gavin Sheets (.250/.307/.460, 112 OPS+)

Sheets is second on the team in home runs (11) and leads the Padres in RBIs with 38. He sometimes plays first base, with Arráez moving to DH.

Starting pitching
We will focus on the three pitchers scheduled to start against the Dodgers.

Nick Pivetta (6-2, 3.16 ERA, 127 ERA+)
Dylan Cease (1-5, 4.72 ERA, 85 ERA+)
Randy Vásquez (3-4, 3.69 ERA, 109 ERA+)

Pivetta signed a four-year, $55-million deal in the offseason and has earned every penny so far, striking out 76 in 68 1/3 innings while giving up 51 hits and 19 walks. He spent the previous five seasons with the Red Sox.

Cease is the nominal ace on the team, but hasn’t pitched like one. He finished fourth in Cy Young voting last season. He has pitched into some bad luck, as his Fielding Independent Pitching ERA is 3.20.

Vásquez has a good ERA, but his FIP is 5.34, meaning he has had some good luck. Traditionally, this means you can expect his ERA to go up, and Cease’s to go down as the season wears on. FIP is heavily used by GM’s and members of a front office’s brain trust to determine how well a pitcher is really performing, so it’s a good stat to know. Click on the link above to be taken to a full explanation of it.

Bonus facts: Cease’s paternal grandmother, Betty Cease, played pro baseball in the 1940s..... Pivetta made his major league debut in 2017 against the Dodgers.... Vásquez was included in the package the Yankees sent to the Padres to acquire Juan Soto before the 2024 season.

Closer
Robert Suarez (1-1, 1.84 ERA, 21 saves)

Suarez leads the majors with 21 saves, has blown only two saves and has allowed zero of five inherited runners to score.

Bonus fact: Suarez is a two-time Japan Series champion.

The Dodgers have 14 pitchers on the IL, the Padres have five. Which is one reason for this:

Rotation ERA
San Diego, 3.80
Dodgers, 4.29

Bullpen ERA
San Diego, 3.08
Dodgers, 3.94

The Dodgers outhit the Padres (5.54 runs per game to 4.10), but the Padres outpitch the Dodgers. Which side will win out in these three games? In the season? We’ll find out. It will be fun to watch.

Top 10 catchers

Who are your top 10 Dodgers catchers of all time (including Brooklyn)? Email your list to top10catchers@yahoo.com and let me know.

Many of you have asked for a list of catchers to be considered. Here are the 40 strongest candidates, in alphabetical order.

Rod Barajas, Austin Barnes, Roy Campanella, Gary Carter, Con Daily, Rick Dempsey, Bruce Edwards, A.J. Ellis, Tex Erwin, Duke Farrell, Joe Ferguson, Jack Fimple, Yasmani Grandal, John Grim, Tom Haller, Todd Hundley, Charles Johnson, Chad Kreuter, Ernie Krueger, Paul Lo Duca, Al López, Russell Martin, Lew McCarty, Deacon McGuire, Jack Meyers, Johnny Oates, Mickey Owen, Babe Phelps, Mike Piazza, Joe Pignatano, Tom Prince, John Roseboro, David Ross, Mike Scioscia, Norm Sherry, Duke Sims, Will Smith, Zack Taylor, Jeff Torborg, Álex Treviño, Steve Yeager.

Not ideal

Dalton Rushing was brought up because Austin Barnes could no longer hit and was not as good as he used to be behind the plate.

Rushing went two for four in his first game and two for five in his second, and it looked like they were going to have to find a way to get his bat in the lineup more often.

Since then, he has gone three for 24 with 16 strikeouts. The league always adjusts to new batters. The question now is: Can Rushing adjust back? The Dodgers also have a

Time for Kim to play more

I’m all for giving established players a chance. It worked for Max Muncy. However, I just want to throw this out there: It’s time for Hyeseong Kim to play more, and Michael Conforto to play less. That concludes today’s lecture.

Another pitcher injured

Tony Gonsolin has been put on the IL with tenderness in his pitching elbow. The good news is an MRI scan showed no structural damage. But that just adds a new name to the list of pitchers on the IL:

Luis García
Tyler Glasnow
Tony Gonsolin
Brusdar Graterol
Michael Grove
Edgardo Henriquez
Kyle Hurt
Evan Phillips
River Ryan
Roki Sasaki
Emmet Sheehan
Blake Snell
Gavin Stone
Blake Treinen

The good news is Michael Kopech and Kirby Yates have come off the IL and pitched Sunday. That should be of enormous help to the bullpen. But I believe the starting rotations right now is:

Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Dustin May
Clayton Kershaw
One of those cardboard cutouts from the 2020 season
89-year-old Sandy Koufax

The Dodgers need to get Glasnow and Snell healthy or the staff will be in tatters by the time the postseason rolls around.

These names seem familiar

A look at how some prominent Dodgers from the last few seasons are doing with their new team (through Sunday). Click on the player name to be taken to the Baseball Reference page with all their stats.

Batters

Cody Bellinger, Yankees: .261/.336/.454, 250 plate appearances, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers, 35 RBIs, 121 OPS+

Michael Busch, Cubs: .276/.374/.515, 227 PA’s, 11 doubles, 3 triples, 10 homers, 38 RBIs, 155 OPS+

Jason Heyward, Padres, .176/.223/.271, 95 PA’s, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 12 RBIs, 38 OPS+, on the IL

Gavin Lux, Reds: .277/.367/.393, 218 PA’s, 14 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 26 RBIs, 108 OPS+

Zach McKinstry, Tigers: .271/.358/.417, 230 PA’s, 10 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers, 19 RBIs, 120 OPS+

Joc Pederson, Rangers, .131/.269/.238, 146 PA’s, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 6 RBIs, 49 OPS+, on the IL

Keibert Ruiz, Nationals, .255/.292/.332, 219 PA’s, 10 doubles, 2 homers, 22 RBIs, 80 OPS+

Corey Seager, Rangers: .239/.297/.403, 145 PA’s, 4 doubles, 6 homers, 12 RBIs, 100 OPS+

Chris Taylor, Angels: .222/.300/.444, 30 PA’s, 3 doubles, 1 homer, 3 RBIs, 108 OPS+ (numbers with Angels only)

Justin Turner, Cubs: .211/.302/.267, 106 PA’s, 2 doubles, 1 homer, 11 RBIs, 67 OPS+

Trea Turner, Phillies: .300/.353/.446, 283 PA’s, 13 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 30 RBIs, 122 OPS+

Miguel Vargas, White Sox: .237/.319/.421, 257 PA’s, 15 doubles, 9 homers, 29 RBIs, 109 OPS+

Alex Verdugo, Braves: .250/.305/.316, 164 PA’s, 10 doubles, 11 RBIs, 76 OPS+

Pitching

Walker Buehler, Red Sox: 4-4, 5.18 ERA, 48.2 IP, 53 hits, 17 walks, 44 K’s, 80 ERA+

Jack Flaherty, Tigers: 5-6, 3.41 ERA, 71.1 IP, 53 hits, 23 walks, 85 K’s, 117 ERA+

Kenley Jansen, Angels: 1-2, 4.64 ERA, 14 saves, 21.1 IP, 20 hits, 9 walks, 19 K’s, 90 ERA+

Craig Kimbrel, Braves: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 K, designated for assignment

Kenta Maeda, Cubs: 0-0, 7.88 ERA, eight IP, nine hits, six walks, eight K’s, 52 ERA+, in the minors

Ryan Pepiot, Rays: 3-5, 3.20 ERA, 76 IP, 64 hits, 22 walks, 64 K’s, 121 ERA+

Max Scherzer, Blue Jays: 0-0, 6.00 ERA, three IP, three hits, 0 walks, one K, 77 ERA+, on the IL

Ryan Yarbrough, Yankees: 3-1, 4.17 ERA, 45.1 IP, 39 hits, 13 walks, 43 K’s, 96 ERA+

Is there a player you’d like to see listed here? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com and let me know.

Up next

Monday: Dodgers (Dustin May, 3-4, 4.09 ERA) at San Diego (Nick Pivetta, 6-2, 3.16 ERA), 6:40 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday: Dodgers (TBD) at San Diego (Dylan Cease, 1-5, 4.72 ERA), 6:40 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Dodgers (*Justin Wrobelski, 1-2, 7.20 ERA) at San Diego (Randy Vásquez, 3-4, 3.69 ERA), 1:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Dodgers place starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin on the injured list

Clayton Kershaw delivers exactly what the Dodgers need in win over Cardinals

And finally

In 1988, Kirk Gibson scores from second on a wild pitch. Watch and listen here.

Until next time...

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.