Dodgers' Biggest Red Flags Early in 2022 Season

The Los Angeles Dodgers are once again looking like one of the bona fide title contenders here in 2022, and with a stacked roster, they can weather injuries and slumps better than most teams.

That said, they are not without some red flags looking forward.

Veteran All-Stars Max Muncy and Justin Turner have both stumbled out of the gates offensively, while future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is once again battling back issues and the new-look bullpen has been a bit of an adventure despite solid overall production.

Ahead we've taken a closer look at the Dodgers' biggest red flags through the first two months of the season.

Craig Kimbrel has nailed down 10 of 11 save opportunities, replacing Kenley Jansen in the ninth-inning role for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, he has converted those saves while posting a less-than-dominant 4.80 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, and he has allowed at least one baserunner in 13 of his 16 appearances.

The 34-year-old is a future Hall of Famer and one of the most dominant relief pitchers of his era, and his 382 saves leads all active pitchers and ranks eighth on the all-time list. That wealth of experience makes him well-equipped to grind through high-stress situations, but his inability to toss a clean inning is troubling nonetheless.

Veteran Daniel Hudson has some late-inning experience if Kimbrel's tightrope walk falters, and he has three saves and six holds in 16 appearances with a 2.25 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in 16 innings. There are plenty of quality arms up and down the organization, but Kimbrel's lack of dominance has still been a red flag at the back of the bullpen.

Max Muncy and Justin Turner were both All-Stars for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, and they have been staples at the corner infield spots for several years now.

However, both hitters are struggling this season:

• Max Muncy: 168 PA, 69 OPS+, .150/.327/.263, 0.3 WAR
• Justin Turner: 186 PA, 86 OPS+, .222/.285/.383, -0.3 WAR

Muncy was recently placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation in the same elbow that he underwent offseason surgery on, and he has been splitting his time between second base and third base after the Freddie Freeman signing pushed him off first base.

Turner posted a respectable .773 OPS with 15 extra-base hits and 20 RBI in 108 plate appearances in May after a brutal first month of the season, but at 37 years old, it's reasonable to expect some level of regression from his peak performance.

With Edwin Rios swinging it well and Freeman now in the mix, there are in-house options to pick up the slack, but Muncy and Turner are still important players on this Dodgers roster.

Clayton Kershaw went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and a 32-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 30 innings through his first five starts before a back injury landed him on the injured list once again.

The 34-year-old is dealing with inflammation in his right SI joint, which is what connects the base of the spine to the hip bones, and he has been on the sidelines since May 13.

"I do believe it will be a brief stint on the IL," manager Dave Roberts told reporters. "Just looking at previous years of this, going through this similar situation, getting an epidural, and how his body responds to it... He came back here to give us a chance to win the World Series this year, so there's going to have to be some managing of workload. With his experiences and intelligence, he knows when to push and when not to push, and now is not that time."

Luckily, the under-the-radar signing of Tyler Anderson has paid dividends, and young right-hander Tony Gonsolin is in the midst of a breakout season, but the Dodgers rotation is a different animal when Kershaw is pitching alongside Walker Buehler and Julio Urias at the top of the staff.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and accurate through Tuesday's games.