The Dodgers signed lefty reliever Jack Taschner to a minor league deal. Albuquerque Isotopes GM John Traub confirmed in an email to MLBTR that the southpaw was added to the roster yesterday. Taschner allowed one of Allen Craig's two home runs in Sunday's blowout loss to the Memphis Redbirds. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has been stockpiling veteran relievers – he also added Claudio Vargas, Jesus Colome, and Kiko Calero to the Triple A club recently.
Taschner, 32, posted a 6.05 ERA, 7.9 K/9, and 3.7 BB/9 in 19.3 innings for the Pirates this year before being designated for assignment on June 8th. He later elected free agency after refusing an outright assignment to the minors. Taschner's line against lefties in his brief time with the Pirates was odd – he struck out nine and walked one in 6.6 innings, but also allowed eight hits and seven runs.
The Dodgers' bullpen features lefties Hong-Chih Kuo and George Sherrill. Kuo must be used carefully, while Sherrill has struggled.
