Andrew Friedman grinned, then tried to find some levity with a sarcastic remark.
“We are absolutely susceptible if we get another injury,” the Dodgers president of baseball operations said Friday, for the first time since Gavin Lux suffered a torn ACL on Monday.
“So we’ve decided,” Friedman then said deadpan, “we’re not going to get injured again for the rest of the year.”
The comment was an obvious joke. But it hinted at wishful thinking that the Dodgers rarely needed in recent seasons.
Usually it wouldn’t have been to lose someone like Lux this a major problem for a team assembled by Friedman.
Yes, the club had high hopes for the 25-year-old shortstop after his breakthrough in 2022. But the most recent Dodgers rosters would have had enough talent and depth to adapt seamlessly.
This year’s team is not built the same way.
For now, they will fill the shortstop role with Miguel Rojas, a talented veteran glove who should stabilize their infield defense in the off-season.
But after an off-season where they’ve lost more talent than they’ve added, the Dodgers’ offense is likely to take a hit without Lux in the lineup, and their depth is worryingly depleted just weeks into spring camp.
It’s not that the Dodgers don’t have a major league pedigree. Of the 12 other position players likely to make the team, five are former All-Stars and two have won MVPs.
However, many of them aren’t sure they’ll be day-to-day contributors, which is why the team seemed likely to deploy outfield platoons and regular infield rotations.
And after just one injury from Lux, most of those roles may need to be expanded.
A few examples: Chris Taylor and Mookie Betts will likely play more at shortstop and second base, positions they have experience with, but will nevertheless add variables to their seasons.
Trayce Thompson, David Peralta and Jason Heyward – who were once expected to play part-time against specific pitching matchups – appear to be lining up for more regular at bats.
There is also more emphasis on Miguel Vargas succeeding defensively at second base, with no natural replacement to provide a backstop behind him.
Without Lux’s left-handed bat, the Dodgers could be more prone to pitching right-handed, especially in the bottom half of the lineup.
“I think coming into camp we felt really good about our group of position players and felt like it was pretty well sealed for the most part with good depth behind it,” said Friedman. “Now we feel less good about it. So we will certainly talk a lot about the different profiles that can fit.”
There isn’t one “profile” that Friedman says would work best, leaving the door open for additions in the infield or outfield.
The Dodgers have a number of candidates they like, such as James Outman, Luke Williams and Yonny Hernández.
They will also evaluate other outside opportunities, though Friedman tempered expectations that a signing or trade was imminent.
“Spring training is usually not the best time for that kind of move,” he said. “But we’ll have conversations and see what’s possible and what’s not.”
A few remaining free agents could make sense, such as Jurickson Profar, José Igleisas, Andrelton Simmons or Didi Gregorious, but Friedman said the Dodgers could focus more on the trade market if they can’t find suitable internal replacements.
That route doesn’t offer easy answers, though, at least not in the middle of spring when trade prices are high — especially for a team like the Dodgers trying to respond to a serious injury.
“It’s not the most natural time to trade,” Friedman said, adding, “A lot of ambulance chasers came out after (Lux’s) injury.”
The most likely scenario, Friedman indicated, is that the Dodgers do little for now, instead using the early part of the season to take stock of their roster before trying to meet a bigger trade deadline.
The risk there, of course, is that the Dodgers could stumble out of the gate and dig themselves an early hole in the standings – similar to what happened in 2018, when Justin Turner and Corey Seager’s injuries nearly derailed their campaign before the blockbuster deal for Manny Machado and ultimately to a second consecutive World Series appearance.
Friedman tried not to entertain such a scenario on Friday.
Sitting in a chair by the bullpens at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch facility, he discussed the options his team is considering, optimistic that a contender’s building blocks remain within their reach.
“Obviously the Lux injury is hurting us in multiple ways,” he said. “But … we feel like we have the talent in place to put us in a really good position in July, and then assess that market, and then hopefully put ourselves in the best position to go out and to win a World Series.”
And if they don’t have to deal with major injuries anymore, he’ll take that too.
They’ve only suffered losses so far and it’s already giving them a rare headache early in the season.
