Dodgers spring training 2015: Dodgers beat Padres, thoughts on the bullpen.

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Yasiel Puig (above), Joc Pederson, Justin Turner and Scott Van Slyke homered in the Dodgers’ 9-5 Cactus League win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. Turner, Puig and left fielder Andre Ethier each had two hits for the Dodgers (12-6-6).

The AP recap is here. The box score is here.

Right-hander Juan Nicasio allowed two runs in three innings in a game that was pitched entirely by major-league bullpen candidates. Of those, Sergio Santos allowed a home run to Derek Norris, Jason Lane hit a home run off Dustin McGowan, and nobody else allowed a run.

Since this was a “bullpen game,” a couple thoughts on where the bullpen race stands in light of this game and Brandon League‘s still-unknown shoulder injury:

• Of the 14 relievers who are getting a serious look at a major-league spot — 15 if you believe Chin-Hui Tsao is really still “on the radar” –five have looked flat-out bad at times: Chris Hatcher, J.P. Howell, Mike Adams, McGowan and Nicasio. (Tsao’s last two outings haven’t been so hot, either.)

• If we’ve learned anything about how Friedman/Zaidi/Byrnes operate, a player who is out of options or owed millions of dollars this season is not safe from being traded or designated for assignment. Howell had an injury excuse early in camp, and he’s looked better since his groin healed. Nicasio and Hatcher are both out of options, but Friedman specifically traded for both of them; he also signed McGowan (30 Cactus League batters faced, .407 average). So these pitchers might be given more room for error in camp than incumbents like Paco Rodriguez, Pedro Baez, League or even Howell, who played for Friedman once upon a time in Tampa.

• In terms of results, the best relievers in camp have been right-hander Yimi Garcia and left-hander Adam Liberatore. Both can be optioned to the minors, so the front office might be tempted to stash them there to get a longer look at some pitchers still on the bubble at the end of camp.

Pulling this all together, here’s one example of what could happen: Adams signed March 1, a couple weeks into camp. He’s a proven middle reliever, as proven as they come, but he arrived slightly less than 100 percent healthy. Say Friedman/Zaidi/Byrnes decide they want a longer look at Adams as his health improves, so they select his contract and sign him to a team-friendly deal that includes a club option. Adams pitches some low-leverage innings in the early weeks of the season and either sinks or swims. When League comes off the disabled list, management/coaches can settle on one of the two right-handers — either keep Adams and his flexible, team-friendly contract and buy out the final year of League’s deal, or option Adams to the minors to get more work in. Maybe Adams figures it out before the next right-hander becomes injured or ineffective; maybe he doesn’t and Garcia is the first righty called up.

Really, you could insert Santos or Aardsma in for Adams in that example, though Santos and Aardsma might be evaluated differently in camp since they arrived healthy.

This example was truly pulled from thin air. But when you hear Don Mattingly discuss the bullpen race in such vague terms, it’s reminiscent of the Winter Meetings, when Friedman and Zaidi often characterized their trade discussions as “fluid,” with multiple possibilities hanging in the air. A couple days later, Dee Gordon, Dan Haren and Matt Kemp were all gone. These guys crave personnel flexibility and certainty, and keeping their options open as long as possible until a clear choice emerges. That’s what will happen with the bullpen.