6:55pm: Maeda has been placed on the 10-day disabled list after an MRI confirmed that he has a mild hip strain, per a club announcement, which also confirmed Santana’s promotion. The Dodgers did not provide a timeline for Maeda’s return from the DL.
2:05pm: The Dodgers are slated to promote young righty Dennis Santana, as the pitching prospect announced on his own Twitter account. He was already on the 40-man roster but has never previously appeared at the MLB level.
Santana, 22, originally signed out of the Dominican Republic as an infielder but has long since worked exclusively as a pitcher. He was placed on the MLB roster over the winter to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Already an increasingly intriguing name to prospect hounds before the start of the current season, Santana has increased his stock with a good showing in 2018. Through ten starts — eight at Double-A and a pair at Triple-A — he carries a 2.54 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
At present, it is not entirely clear how the Dodgers will utilize the live-armed youngster. He could conceivably make a start or two, fulfill a rotation spot for a lengthier stretch, or step into the bullpen. His performance will obviously help dictate those decisions, as will health developments regarding the rest of the staff.
The Dodgers, of course, have dealt with some rather significant injury issues with their rotation. Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, and Hyun-jin Ryu are already on the DL, and they could soon have additional company.
Veteran righty Kenta Maeda is set for an MRI today on his ailing hip, which forced him out of yesterday’s start early. It’s possible that Maeda will need a trip to the DL, per skipper Dave Roberts. (Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register was among those to tweet the news on Maeda.)
Clearly, the Dodgers will be hoping for a quick bounce back from Maeda, who has recorded 11.7 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in his 52 1/3 innings on the year. While his ERA edged north to 3.61 after yesterday’s shortened effort, fielding-independent metrics value him as a rather dominant starter (2.84 FIP / 3.06 xFIP / 3.19 SIERA).
The dodgers need to keep Stripling in there if he continues to start well, even after everyone gets healthy
And who do you suggest they leave out?
They could give buehler some rest or maybe put him in the bullpen for a little bit
resting Buehler already in the cards. Need his innings for Oct
Walker Buehler’s day off?
Perfect.
Buehler has next to no chance at being available in October. He’s already undergone TJS and his career high in innings is 88.2. He’s currently at 41 innings and I doubt they let him go more than 120. I personally feel that the worst thing for a pitcher’s development is shuffling them back and forth from the rotation and pen.
With four of five starters on the DL it isn’t a matter of who they leave out it’s much more a matter of who they can find to plug the holes. Even if Kershaw can come back and stay back, they’ll still have only four with Wood, Buehler, and Stripling.
Caleb Ferguson is waiting in the wings to fill in spot #5
I guess that kind of makes my point. Whenever you’re looking to somebody who has hardly pitched above single-A to fill out the rotation then that’s probably a sure sign of desperation.
Karrshaw, Ryu, Hill & Maeda – not a bad rotation 4 man rotation but unfortunately all of them unavailable … add Seager to this mix and no wonder why the team is struggling
LA is 9-2 over their past 11, and 9-4 since Turner came back.
Man, what a bummer for the Dodgers…You have Kershaw, Ryu, Hill, Turner, and Seager have all missed a significant chunk of this season..Also, they have had Puig, Forsythe, Cingrani, Garcia, and now Maeda all deal with nagging injuries..
Then add to the fact that they had to deal with some early struggles from Joc, Chris Taylor, Bellinger, Puig, Forsythe, Hernandez, and Barnes from an offensive perspective..And Hill, Cingrani, Hudson, and Garcia have all struggled when they’ve been healthy..
Even the seemingly untouchable Kenney Jensen struggled early on..Add all of that together, and one cannot help but wonder how in the world are they still a relatively competitive team!?!
After all of the injuries and early struggles from the Dodgers, they are ONLY 4.5 games out of 1st place in their division!! You have to give credit to Roberts, and his staff, for keeping this team’s head above water during this incredibly rough stretch..Also though, you really have to give credit to their GM for providing this team with enough depth to tread water during this tough time..
If they’re able to get healthy, the Dodgers will be a force to be reckoned with in the NL..Right now, they’re able to see what they have in some of their younger players, and this will only help them moving forward..
Another FO blowhard. The Dodgers struggled before the major DL stints sans Turner. This year there is no Taylor nor Bellinger to pick up the slack, plus Puig is struggling.
Belli looks lost at the plate. Taylor is a one year wonder and Forsythe is bad. The reason we are “only” 4.5 back is because the DBags have been equally bad the last few weeks. To think that this Dodger team has ANY chance at advancing past the WC or NLDS is absolutely absurd. This bullpen is just as, if not more erratic than those in the past.
LOL I love the point counterpoint. I’m in the middle somewhere but still love our chances
Will you be here with your hat in your hands, if the Dodgers do what you say they won’t?
No he’ll say they were lucky and downgrade any effect the FO has on making this team better.
No he’ll say the Dodgers we’re lucky and downplay any move the FO makes to strengthen the team.
*were
So what you are saying here is, the Dodgers being 3.5 games out with a losing record is possible because the division is so good?