We’re beginning to count the days instead of the weeks before legitimate baseball begins, which means a number of things. First, the initial excitement of Spring Training has come and gone and now we’re ready for baseball that counts. Second, we get to really relish the small sample sizes and freak out over a bad inning or couple of plate appearances. Third, we’re seeing players going down with injury playing baseball that doesn’t count, which is a total drag. Just give us real baseball already, please.

When I previously rated the Los Angeles Dodgers’ offseason, I was satisfied with what they did, despite the fact that, unusually for them, they weren’t making the splashiest of splashes. Even though they lost Greinke to a division rival, they could have fared a lot worse. The big reason for that was that, although they didn’t go all in on any of the biggest prospects, they spread out the risk and focused on making sure that they had plenty of depth, especially on the pitching front.

With Clayton Kershaw as their unquestioned ace and Alex Wood, Brett Anderson, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy already on the books (despite the latter two working back from injuries), the Dodgers signed Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir to fill out the rotation. While they lacked the one-two punch they had with Kershaw and Zack Greinke, Los Angeles looked like they had more than enough depth to make sure there were quality arms throwing innings and alleviate concerns over any potential injury in the rotation. But then March rolled around...

When Brett Anderson accepted the Dodgers’ qualifying offer, he was coming off of a season with a career high 180 innings pitched and an ERA of 3.69. In two of the three prior years he had put up a sub-3.00 ERA (of course, his 2013 was another beast altogether, one which he would like to erase from the records). The problem was that, from 2012 to 2014, he averaged just 40.8 innings pitched per season, so health was a serious and legit concern. Had Anderson been able to get a multiple year deal this offseason, he’s probably wishing he would have gone that route, as he’s not going to have as much of a chance to rebuild his value now, after undergoing back surgery earlier this month. He’s out until at least June, and quite possibly longer.

Hyun-Jin Ryu threw a bullpen session earlier this week, but then it was announced that he wouldn’t be pitching at all during spring training and the earliest he would be back is in May. Now, Ryu’s absence wasn’t unexpected, and the Dodgers want to make sure he fully recovers since he’s signed through 2018, but there had been optimism on the Dodgers’ part that Ryu would be back very early in the season and now that’s not the case. Brandon McCarthy is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery and there’s no date for his return, although he could show up at some point later this year.

Scott Kazmir is still ready to go, but his velocity is dipping into the mid-80s. While the Dodgers are publicly saying that they aren’t worried (after all, it’s just spring training), the last time Kazmir’s speed dipped this much, he was out of the majors for a couple years before he became an amazing comeback story, due mainly to his getting his velocity back up. It’s certainly too early to be truly freaking out, but there’s some cause for concern. Kenta Maeda seems to be settling in and adjusting his first go around in the MLB, but there’s a reason he got a eight-year $25 million contract with loads of incentives if he is able to stay healthy and effective. Alex Wood was scratched from a start due to forearm soreness, but just came back and pitched a few solid innings, so we can just assume and hope that was just normal spring training pains and not an indicator of anything to come.

All in all, the Dodgers are now likely looking at Kershaw, Kazmir, Maeda and Wood in the one through four spots and then either Mike Bolsinger, Brandon Beachy or prospects. The Dodgers are still trying to figure out what to do with newly-signed 25-year-old Cuban prospect Yaisel Sierra, as it had originally looked like he would be pitching in relief, but could get bumped up to starting with everything else going on in the rotation. Prospects Julio Urias and Jose De Leon are back in the minors now, as the Dodgers are in no interest to rush them, at least yet, although that could change more quickly than LA might like.

The Dodgers built their rotation with injuries in mind and now they just have to cross their fingers and hope that Kazmir and Wood are A-OK and that Maeda performs as planned.  While it looks like they may have enough depth to hold out until reinforcements arrive, whether in the form of players returning from injury or promoting prospects to the majors, we’re going to have to wait and see if the Dodgers made the right decision in going for quantity over quality this offseason.