The Dodgers announced a set of roster moves today, including the selection of left-hander Zac Rosscup’s contract from Triple-A. Infielder Edwin Rios was also called up to the majors, while Caleb Ferguson and Tony Gonsolin were optioned to Triple-A. To create a 40-man roster spot for Rosscup, A.J. Pollock was shifted to the 60-day injured list.
This will be the 25-year-old Rios’ first taste of Major League action, following five seasons in the Dodgers’ farm system after being a sixth-round draft pick in 2015. Rios is ranked as the 12th-best Dodgers prospect by MLB.com, whose scouting report touts Rios’ power, bat speed, and hard-contact ability. As you’d expect from a Dodgers player, Rios can play multiple positions; he has primarily been a corner infielder in his young career, though he has experience in left field over the last two seasons and a handful of appearances in right field.
Rios will add another left-handed bat to the L.A. roster, and functionally seems to fill more or less the same role as the hot-hitting Matt Beaty, another lefty-swinger. The Dodgers are no strangers to roster churn, of course, and have the comfort of a big lead in the NL West to mix and match their lineup while waiting for Pollock and Corey Seager to return from the IL.
This will be Rosscup’s second stint with the Dodgers, as he first joined the organization on a waiver claim in July 2018 before being let go after the season. Rosscup has already changed uniforms twice this season, and has a 4.80 ERA over 15 total innings for the Mariners and Blue Jays. Rosscup’s career has been defined by both a lot of strikeouts and a lack of control, and those two trends have continued this season to the tune of 22 strikeouts and 16 walks over his 15 frames of work.
Still, his lopsided career splits (left-handed hitters have a .536 OPS against Rosscup, compared to a 1.016 OPS from righty batters) make Rosscup a good LOOGY-type pitcher for a Los Angeles bullpen that is short on southpaw depth, as Julio Urias is the only other left-hander in the relief corps. Ferguson was posting solid numbers earlier in the season but has struggled badly as of late, allowing runs in five of his last seven outings while posting a 9.72 ERA over his last 8 1/3 innings pitched.
Excited to see what Rios can do. That’s if he’s not up too briefly.
Not positive, but I think Rosscup gave LA an immaculate inning last year(?)
Yes he did, in Colorado nonetheless which was even more shocking.
It was in Seattle. I was there, though I didn’t know what had happened until I saw the highlights.
Rosscup isn’t good enough for anybody else’s bullpen but he’s good enough for the Dodgers?
Don’t understand Pollock being sent to the 60-day. He was supposed to be available to be reactivated right after the All Star break. Can that be made retroactive?
Pollock could spend 59 days on the 10-day IL, be flipped to the 60-day, and be activated the next day.
Thought maybe that was it. Thanks for the clarification!
It’s just a paper move that doesn’t change anything. He’s already spent 58ish days on the DL. I thought they may maneuver something like this just to open a roster spot for the short term.
I find it hard to believe that the Dodgers don’t have any 20 year old rookies that can pitch as bad as Rosscup in his 30s. Horrible pick
How can Friedman construct such a deep every day line up and put himself in the position to go dumpster diving for the pen? LA pen has been a problem for years after Jansen.
Probably because bullpens are so volatile. Relief pitchers are up and down every year its hard to know what to expect. Had they traded for Ryan Pressly last year that may have been seen as dumpster diving. Now he is a top 5 setup man in baseball.. At this point their pen has been so bad they are going to need a big name to fix it, but dont act like these minor moves are how they intend on fixing it. Rosscup is not going to be the only LHP they get outside the organization this year
I sure hope you are right. It’s hard to be impressed with the results of their bullpen construction theories over the years or to get from that any expectation that the approach is about to change.
The rumors coming out give more hope than previous years. In the past there were maybe a few rumblings close to the deadline about certain guys but nothing too crazy. Were a month from the deadline and hearing about them having intrest in the big names among bullpen arms. Its never been like that.
The only rumor that surprised me was the one about Vasquez. Otherwise what I am hearing is more along the lines of player who would fit their needs, names we could easily come up with ourselves. Not sure those stories can be taken as evidence of actual interest in any one of them. More like speculation.
Rios just rakes. His swing reminds me of Adrian Gonzalez. Power. Feel for the barrel. And he has started to show a bit more discipline this year. The issue is he can’t play the field. He is horrible at 3B, barely passable at 1B, and I’d hate to see his 20 run speed in the outfield. If the NL had the DH he would have been up last year. Hopefully the Dodgers can hide his glove enough to let him hit.
Well to be honest, watching Beaty is just as rough. At least Rios can play it. The problem with the current rookie group on the active roster, is they don’t really have positions. They are in that overachiever category where they can all hit to varying degrees, but they can’t profile at those positions. That exception being Rios. I’ve always loved Rios’ bat just a tough fit when the club is healthy. I do feel for Rios though, because due to injury Muncy got his opportunity and never looked back.
He might end up being traded. It doesn’t seem like there is room for him.
Time to unselect his contract