PHOENIX _ Major League Baseball's decision to implement a rule requiring every pitcher to face at least three batters starting this season is expected to affect left-handed relievers more than anyone else. Many have resided on rosters as specialists for years, used to face a left-handed batter or two before handing the ball back to the manager. They are now an endangered species. It's adapt or find another line of work.
Adam Kolarek did not panic when he initially saw that the rule was on the table last year. Yes, his career splits _ a 410-batter sample size _ are drastic. Yes, the Dodgers acquired him in a deadline deal last July to use him almost exclusively against left-handed hitters. Yes, a role would have been more easily carved without the rule. But he maintains the left-handed specialist label doesn't fit.
"I never considered myself a lefty specialist until I came to the Dodgers," Kolarek said.
The Tampa Bay Rays had Kolarek regularly pitch against right-handed batters _ he's faced more righties than lefties in his three major league seasons _ but the Dodgers didn't acquire him for that. The numbers illustrate why.
Right-handed batters have hit .299 with an .849 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 229 plate appearances against Kolarek in his career. Left-handed hitters have batted .199 with a .524 OPS in 181 plate appearances. The difference in effectiveness is ample.
"Adam has been a lefty killer throughout his entire career," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Now with the rule change, the challenge for him is to be able to feel confident in getting out a right-handed hitter. Now it's kind of, 'How do I attack right-handed hitters?'"
Kolarek, 31, enjoyed his two months in the limited role last season. He savored the chance to pitch every night when he arrived in Los Angeles. He relished the opportunity to encounter the opponent's best left-handed hitter in big spots.
None were bigger than the three times he faced Washington Nationals star Juan Soto in the National League Division Series in October. He retired Soto each time, twice with strikeouts, on 18 pitches. Those were the only pitches he threw in the five-game series.
"I think it's an exciting role," Kolarek said. "I really enjoyed it just as a competitor."
This spring, he must prove to the Dodgers they can depend on him in an expanded capacity to win a different job in the bullpen.
"We're going to give him every opportunity to face right-hand hitters to kind of see how that plays out," Roberts said. "But I have every confidence that Adam will figure some things out and be effective against the right-handed hitter."
