A pair of injured Dodgers have been ruled out to return this season, manager Dave Roberts told reporters including Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, who reports that neither Tyler White nor Scott Alexander will suit up for the Dodgers in September.
White landed on the injured list more than two weeks ago owing to a right trapezius strain. The 28-year-old joined the Dodgers in a late-July trade when the Astros could no longer justify holding onto him and his .612 OPS. Unfortunately, his performance was even worse in the brief showing he got as a Dodger. By Fangraphs’ WAR, White has been one of the least valuable hitters in baseball this year, though he won’t have a chance to reverse his fortune over the last month of the season.
Alexander, meanwhile, has tallied only 17 1/3 innings pitched this year thanks to injuries and his deployment largely as a lefty-specialist. He excelled in that role last season—his first with the Dodgers—though his performance has taken a hit in 2019. He’s managed to strike out just 4.9 batters per nine innings, which is made that much worse when compared to the 3.6 walks he concedes per nine innings. He has been on the injured list since mid-June while dealing with forearm inflammation. He’s already spent 60 days on the shelf, so he is eligible to be activated, though evidently he isn’t ready to return to game action.
Neither White nor Alexander seemed likely to crack the Dodgers postseason roster, and either could be a candidate to be designated for assignment. Alexander will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, while White remains in his pre-arb years. Even with years of team control, neither has made an especially strong case to remain on the team beyond this season, though it wouldn’t be costly to keep the duo around in hopes that they can return to form. Alexander, in particular, has a strong track record as a groundball-inducing lefty, though the Dodgers’ need in that department has been filled by Adam Kolarek.
why the Dodgers even claimed White is beyond me. could use a spin on a rebuilding team to rediscover his mojo. Toronto or Detroit seem like good options.
DET already has an overweight DH who can’t field or run.
And Tyler has the Dodger beard thing down!
A DFA and try to forget he was ever here for White. Alexander is the kind of marginal reliever the Dodgers will cross the street to get so they might just tender him a contract.
Tyler White is max muncy’s “before” pic.
White was claimed to be a stopgap at 1B to get Joc the hell out of there. At the time Freese, Kiké, and Taylor were on the IL and we needed another infielder.
there isn’t a single being on the planet disappointed these two players will miss game time.