Righty starting pitcher Andy Messersmith was only with the Dodgers for a short time (4 years), but he made his mark.  In 1974, Messersmith was a N.L. All-Star, he won a Gold Glove, he was #16 in the N.L. MVP voting and he was 2nd in the voting for the N.L. Cy Young Award.  Messersmith pitched in 39 games (all starts) for the Dodgers in 1974 and he was 20-6 with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.  He was even better in 1975 for the Dodgers.  He was an All-Star, a Gold Glove winner and he finished #24 in the MVP voting and he was #5 in the Cy Young voting in the N.L.  Messersmith pitched in 42 games (40 starts) for the Dodgers in 1975 and he was 19-14 with 1 save, a 2.29 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.  He was a workhorse for them, completing 19 games, throwing seven shutouts and working 321 2/3 innings for the Dodgers in 1975.  Messersmith pitched in 125 games (123 starts) in his four years for the Dodgers and he was 55-34 with 1 save, a 2.67 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  He is still #2 in WHIP (1.11) and #8 in ERA (2.67) in Dodgers’ history.

The Dodgers have placed 33-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Beckett on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 14th, due to a strained left groin.  Beckett has pitched in 8 games (all starts) and he is 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.  Beckett has given up 50 hits (8 homers) and he has walked 15 batters while whiffing 41 of them in his first 43 1/3 innings pitched.  To replace Beckett in the starting rotation, the Dodgers have activated 29-year old righty starting pitcher Zack Greinke off the D.L.  He was supposed to miss 8 weeks, but he returned in only 5.  He will likely be on a strict pitch limit early on.  He has pitched in 2 games (both starts) for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP.

The Dodgers have signed 30-year old lefty starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez to a minor league deal.  Sanchez pitched in 5 games (4 starts) earlier this year for the Pirates and he was 0-3 with a 11.85 ERA and a 2.42 WHIP.  He gave up a whopping 25 hits (7 homers) and 8 walks in only 13 2/3 innings for the Pirates while whiffing 15 batters…..and that is terrible.  Sanchez has now pitched in 194 games (137 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 39-58 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.  Sanchez might get a shot with the Dodgers if he looks good in the minors.  Sanchez has always had good stuff, he just never learned how to pitch.

UPDATE:  Jonathan Sanchez has a July 1st opt out clause in his minor league deal with the Dodgers.

30-year old righty reliever Brandon League signed a big extension with the Dodgers last year (4 years, $27.5 million bucks), so they decided that he would be the closer over Kenley Jansen.  It has proven to be a mistake so far this year.  League has pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 0-2 with 8 saves, a 6.28 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  He has given up 16 hits (3 homers) and he has walked 4 batters while whiffing only 7 of them in 14 1/3 innings, which isn’t too impressive at all.  If League doesn’t turn things around soon, the Dodgers will have no choice but to replace him as the closer with Kenley Jansen.  Jansen has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 1-1 with 2 saves, a 2.25 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.  He has given up only 13 hits and 5 walks while whiffing 28 batters in his first 20 innings, which is pretty darn impressive.  Jansen has had issues with his heart early on in his career and that is likely why the Dodgers gave League the big contract.  But, Jansen is a far better pitcher than League and he should be the closer for the Dodgers.

21-year old righty starting pitcher Zach Lee is off to a good start in the minors this year for the Dodgers.  He has pitched in 7 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 3-2 with a 2.15 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  Lee has now pitched in 56 games (all starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 18-14 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.  If Lee keeps pitching well, he could get his first shot at the show as Dodgers’ starting pitchers have been falling down like flies this year.  Lee came into this season as the Dodgers’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America.

31-year old lefty swinging 1B Adrian Gonzalez was part of the big deal with the Red Sox that brought Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford to the Dodgers (and Nick Punto).  He played in 36 games for the Dodgers last year and he was 43 for 145 (.297 avg, .795 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers, 22 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Gonzalez is off to a hot start with the bat for the Dodgers so far in 2013.  He has played in 31 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 37 for 108 (.343 avg, .898 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 homers and 23 RBIs.  The Dodgers hope that Gonzalez keeps up the good work while adding some power.

The Dodgers have placed 36-year old righty swinging IF/OF Jerry Hairston on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 6th due to a strained left groin.  Hairston has played in 20 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 13 for 51 (.255 avg, .657 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs.  The Dodgers have called up 28-year old switch-hitting infielder Elian Herrera.  Herrera has played in 27 games in AAA-ball for the Dodgers this year and he was 29 for 116 (.250 avg, .646 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 2 homers, 16 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Herrera played in 67 games for the Dodgers last year in his first taste of the majors and he was 47 for 187 (.251 avg, .671 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.

26-year old lefty starting pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu is looking good so far this year for the Dodgers.  He has started 7 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 3-2 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.  Ryu has given up 41 hits and 12 walks while whiffing 48 batters in his first 43 2/3 innings so far this year, which is very impressive.  With all of the injuries that have ransacked the starting rotation, Ryu has been a bright spot so far.  They need him to keep up the good work moving forward.

The Dodgers have placed 35-year old righty swinging 2B Mark Ellis on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 27th due to a strained right quad.  Ellis has played in 20 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 25 for 73 (.342 avg, .815 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  35-year old lefty swinging Nick Punto will take over at 2B until Ellis is ready to return to action.  Punto has played in 23 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 19 for 54 (.352 avg, .833 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

The Dodgers are going to place 29-year old righty swinging SS Hanley Ramirez back on the D.L. due to a hamstring problem.  Ramirez has played in 4 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 5 for 11 (.455 avg, 1.409 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base.  The Dodgers are calling up 25-year old lefty swinging SS Dee Gordon to replace him both on the roster and likely in the starting lineup.  Gordon has played in 25 games in AAA-ball so far this year for the Dodgers and he is 32 for 102 (.314 avg, .828 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 0 homers, 12 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.  Gordon has played in 143 games in his first two years with the Dodgers and he is 137 of 527 (.260 avg, .614 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 1 homer, 28 RBIs and 56 stolen bases.

UPDATE:  (5/8/2013) - Hanley Ramirez will miss the next 4-6 weeks.