Hi, I am Ian E. Nielson, Lead Beat Writer and Contributor for Dodgers LowDown. This is “Weekly Roundup”, published at the beginning every week this MLB season. You know the drill. I address the biggest story lines, answer fan questions, give insight and of course, my hot take of the week. Without further ado, let’s get after it.

Is Kike Hernandez the Starting 2nd Baseman?

Yes.

Without a doubt, Kike Hernandez (barring injury or a horrible case of the yips) has earned himself the starting job, dominating the spring with a stratospheric 1.218 OPS and the team lead in home runs and RBI. Following a huge weekend, in which Hernandez hit a pair of home runs and dazzled with the glove, he further strengthened his case, succeeding against lineups and pitching staffs that resemble MLB teams as opposed to AAA teams.

Back in February, when games began, I had Taylor penciled in as the Opening Day 2nd baseman. After spending all of 2017 in center field and 2018 in a utility role between both the infield and the outfield, it appeared as if a spot had finally opened up for Taylor in 2019. After all, MLB Network did rank Taylor as the 5th best 2nd baseman in the game.

However, Taylor barely looks like the 5th best 2nd baseman on the team (just an exaggeration). Taylor’s anemic .655 OPS and .227 certainly don’t match up to Hernandez’s  numbers, not to mention that Hernandez is the superior fielder. Although Hernandez has played a significant amount more in the field than Taylor, his metrics beat out Taylor’s handily. Hernandez’s career DRS is twice that of Taylor’s and his UZR/150 is over 7 points greater than that of Taylor.

Second base is Kike’s position to loose at this point, and unless somebody like Taylor or Miller steps up unexpectedly, it will go to Hernandez.

Clayton Kershaw Throws From Mound for First Time in Nearly a Month

Ladies and gentlemen, he is back! Well, he’s throwing off a mound at least again.

Kershaw not holding anything back. 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/aCt9tBLkw9

— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) March 11, 2019

Honeycutt said Kershaw was “free and cleaner” in his delivery today. Another bullpen in two or three days if he comes out of this healthy.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 11, 2019

Ah yes, Dodgers fans can finally breathe again. The ace is throwing off the mound again and Opening Day is still a little over two weeks away. With that being said Dodgers fans, I would advise you to be cautiously optimistic.

Does Opening Day matter to Clayton Kershaw? “Yes and no.” pic.twitter.com/SOAgrNmm7n

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 11, 2019

Clayton Kershaw just completed his 20-pitch bullpen. All fastballs. 11 from the stretch, 9 from the windup.

— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) March 11, 2019

Kershaw is still in the process of returning to, well, Clayton Kershaw form. He is essentially just starting his Spring Training that everyone else began about a month ago.  Kershaw is not a flamethrower who can blow away opponents with his fastball, therefore he relies heavily on his secondary pitches (curve and slider).

Until he begins incorporating his secondaries, my opinion on Clayton’s status for opening day remains unchanged. The Dodgers are projected by many to win the division by at least ten games, and the front office is aware of their own tools. If you haven’t noticed over the last couple seasons or even just this spring, the Dodgers are loaded in pitching depth.

There is absolutely no reason for the Dodgers to rush anything in terms of player development or recovery. Remember, a rested and healthy Kershaw down the stretch in September and October is far more important than an 80 percent version of himself in April.

Dodgers Trim Roster, Make Round Three of “Cuts”

Spring games began back in February, when the dugout was… lets just say it was a little too close for comfort with well over 50 players. Now the roster sits at 38, meaning 13 more players will still be either optioned or reassigned to the minors before March 28th.

More #Dodgers roster cuts: Dennis Santana, Brock Stewart, Keibert Ruiz and Edwin Rios were optioned to minor league camp, and Will Smith was reassigned.

— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) March 11, 2019

The most interesting take away from the recent round of cuts is that the Dodgers are now carrying only three catchers; Will Smith and Keibert Ruiz are no longer on the Los Angeles spring roster, as they head back to minor league camp. Any dreams of seeing the one of the two young studs on the 2019 MLB roster have been dashed for the beginning of the season at least.

For a team projected to carry 13 pitchers (5 starters and 8 relievers), there are still 8 more pitchers who must be cut before opening day, as they currently carry 21 pitchers. Kershaw and Buehler’s status will go a long way toward deciding who makes the Opening day roster, as two lucky pitchers on the fringe may be awarded the opportunity of an extended spring tryout in April.

Joe Kelly Injured Himself… Cooking

Yes, you read that right. Former archenemy of the Dodgers, Joe Kelly skipped out on his scheduled Wednesday appearance because of an injury he sustained while cooking cajun food. That within itself is not even the best part of the story. How did Joe Kelly injure himself exactly? Burning his hand on the stove, slipping on some spilled oil, shattering a glass a la Joe Beimel? No, he hurt himself… from standing for too long.

I’m in no position to be poking fun at a professional athlete, let alone one that effortlessly throws in the triple digits regularly. With that being said, Joe Kelly has officially made the list, the list of the most hilarious injuries in MLB history. This list includes some real gems, including our old buddy Brandon Morrow who injured himself taking off his pants, Sammy Sosa who landed on the DL because he blew his back out sneezing and my personal favorite, Glenallen Hill. The injury? He fell through a glass table because he had a nightmare that he was being eaten alive by spiders.

I’ve come to the conclusion that MLB players should just stop cooking themselves food. Honestly, I don’t even think MLB teams should allow their players to eat anything without their written consent. Seriously, the next contract a player signs should include a clause that they are not allowed to prepare or order food without the guidance of a team official. Because if players aren’t getting food poisoning, they’re hurting themselves from merely standing during food preparation.

Poor Joe Kelly 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/bAIXc1Zz2i

— Dodgers Tailgate (@DodgersTailgate) March 8, 2019

NFL Free Agency Has Started Off with a Bang

Yes, I know this is a Dodgers page and all material is baseball, but I am well aware of the fact that many of our readers are also NFL fans, so I though I’d give you a quick recap on the biggest NFL roster moves as the new league year begins. Keep in mind that all contracts are simply verbal agreements and nothing can become official until later this week.

• Raider Nation, get hyped. Antonio Brown, Trent Brown and Lamarcus Joyner are headed to the black hole and Le’Veon Bell may also be on the way. After a disappointing return for Jon Gruden in year one, to the tune of a 4-12 last place finish in the AFC West, the Raiders have already improved. With three first round picks and more cap space, the rebuild may be coming to an end quicker than we realize
• Rams strengthen secondary, add veteran safety Eric Weddle. All signs point to Weddle replacing Joyner (who is bound for Oakland), to form a deadly combo with John Johnson III. In addition to the Weddle move, the Rams are also retaining a pass rusher in Dante Fowler, who returns to Los Angeles on a one year pact. Expect the Rams to add at least one more impact player on the defense, as they look to defend the Halas trophy in 2020.
• Do the Jaguars finally have their franchise QB? Perhaps. It has been reported that Super Bowl 52 hero Nick Foles has agreed to a 4 year $88 million deal (roughly $50 million guaranteed) with Jacksonville. He will be reuniting with his former QB coach John Defilippo, who was in Philadelphia during their Super Bowl campaign.
• Patriots lose a few key free agents, as Trey Flowers and Trent Brown have left for massive contracts. We see this every season, Patriots lose good players in free agency, replace them with some Walmart employee who wasn’t even drafted. Not really, but you get the point.

Hot Take of the Week

Neither Clayton Kershaw nor Walker Buehler start the season on the Opening Day roster.

Like I have said countless times, the NL West is a cupcake of a division with three sub-500 caliber teams. The Rockies are the only real threat to the Dodgers in the division and even then it is a Space Jam stretch to imagine Colorado reppin’ the west come October. The Dodgers have earned themselves the luxury to rest their players and be overly cautious in their approach to the season.

They have been in it the last six years, management knows what it’s doing. The Dodgers will not be hasty with Kershaw or Buehler, they will hold them back and bring the two up to the roster once it has been determined both are fully prepared and comfortable to take over the rotation.

When you get to the postseason year after year, the focus shifts from attempting to impress during the regular season to prepping for a World Series.

Ian Nielson has served as a writer and contributor for @DodgersLowDown since 2018. Follow him on twitter @ianenielson