The Los Angeles Dodgers paid top dollar to reinforce their World Series roster with even more star additions this past winter, but the results have been mixed.
All-Star closer Tanner Scott has eight saves and a 2.25 ERA so far after signing a $72 million deal. Rookie starter Roki Sasaki recently earned his first Major League Baseball win after struggling to adjust to the big leagues. And $182 million starter Bake Snell has been on the injured list after making just two starts.
Since joining the Dodgers on a one-year, $17 million deal, outfielder Michael Conforto has struggled as well. In his first 99 at-bats for the Dodgers heading into Monday, he has slashed just .141/.286/.242. He’s in the midst of an 0-for-29 streak with 15 strikeouts.
That streak would seem to call for a benching, but manager Dave Roberts has decided to stick with the veteran.
“I just think if we can get him to the middle of the field, and still be aggressive in his hitting zone, hits are going to start to come,” Roberts said after Conforto’s struggles became a “deep slump,” as the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett put. “But right now, I want to keep running him out there.”
After joining a Dodgers team that is the overwhelming favorite to win another World Series, Conforto might be pressing too much at the plate.
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“I think, like a lot of times, it’s the mental trying too hard,” Roberts added. “Then it’s the pitch selection because of the anxiousness, and that causes some mechanical flaws… The work is good. I trust him as a player. I do.”
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