Michael Grove

Grove spent most of last season in the majors, but he was limited to 18 appearances (12 starts) and 69.0 innings due in part to separate groin and lat injuries that required trips to the IL. His overall stat line included an ugly 6.13 ERA and 1.48 WHIP, though his 4.36 FIP was considerably more tolerable. While Grove's numbers last season weren't impressive, there are some silver linings. First, both his strikeout rate (24.2 percent) and walk rate (6.3 percent) were better than league average and were improvements over his previous big-league campaign. Second, Grove was likely the victim of some bad luck -- the .364 BABIP against him was sixth-highest in the league among pitchers who tossed at least 50 innings. Those angles suggest Grove could yet be a solid big-league arm, but it's unclear if he'll get another chance in the rotation. The righty's opportunity to start last year was largely a result of the Dodgers' desperate need for healthy starters, but the team traded for Tyler Glasnow in the offseason, will have Walker Buehler back in action, and have a number of other promising young arms, including likely starters Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan. Clayton Kershaw could also possibly return, and Los Angeles may not be done adding arms via trade or free agency. Grove gave up zero runs and just two hits with an 11:2 K:BB over 8.1 innings across the five games during which he pitched fewer than three frames last year, so there's evidence that his best role may be out of the bullpen.

Grove got his first taste of the majors last season, working mostly as a spot starter and compiling a 4.60 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over seven appearances spanning 29.1 innings. His 7.5% walk rate was in line with his season numbers between Double- and Triple-A, but his 18.0 percent strikeout rate didn't come close to the over-a-strikeout-per-inning promise he showed in each of his minor-league stops. His three-pitch arsenal (mid-90s fastball, high-80s slider, high-70s curveball) is good enough for him to grow in that regard, and Grove has in fact impressed with his overall improvement after posting a 7.86 ERA over 71 innings at Double-A in 2021. Depending on what the Dodgers do in the offseason, there may be a back-end rotation spot up for grabs, and Grove should be a candidate if that scenario plays out. However, there remains a possibility that he ends up in the bullpen long-term.