The Dodgers have claimed right-handers Jake Jewell and Ryan Meisinger off waivers from the Cubs. Both pitchers were designated for assignment over the weekend.
Jewell and Meisinger become the latest names to join a Dodgers bullpen that has been increasingly shuffled by injuries. Of the current roster mix, Phil Bickford, Shane Greene, and Evan Phillips have also been acquired just within the last few months, with Greene and Phillips both also joining the club in August. Since today is the last day for teams to acquire players who can eligible for postseason play, L.A. is exploring all avenues to find pitchers who could very end up providing some important innings some October.
Both Jewell and Meisinger are looking for a fresh start after brief and rocky tenures with the Cubs. The duo signed minor league deals with Chicago during the offseason, and the Cubs selected Jewell to the big league roster on July 29 and Meisinger on August 12.
Jewell ended up posting a 9.90 ERA over 10 innings in Wrigleyville, allowing five home runs in that small sample size. Over 38 1/3 career innings with the Angels and Cubs, Jewell has a 7.75 ERA and below-average strikeout and walk rates, though he has induced grounders at a 56.6% rate. Jewell has consistently posted high groundball rates throughout his seven pro seasons (all in the Angels organization prior to 2021) but consistent results have been hard to come by. His Triple-A numbers did improve to some extent after he was converted to full-time relief work in 2018.
Meisinger’s MLB resume isn’t dissimilar, as has surrendered a lot of homers en route to a 7.26 ERA over 31 career innings with the Cubs, Cardinals, and Orioles since the start of the 2018 season. Walks have been Meisinger’s biggest issue at the big league level and at Triple-A Iowa this year, though his six years in the minors have shown some promise as a reliever. Meisinger has a 2.68 ERA and 29.8% strikeout rate over 272 innings in the minor leagues, starting only three of his 171 appearances.
Odd that 2 guys on a dog crap team end up on a team trying to repeat a World Series.
No doubt. I was thinking the same thing. It’s crazy how things shape up sometimes.
Almost like records aren’t indicative of an individual’s talent. Super odd.
Friedman, to himself: “what if I claimed all the relievers?”
Worth a shot. Struck gold once with Bickford.
Bickford has been REALLY good, I hope he doesn’t regress next year
i dunno, Bickford was an odd case given thw disruptions in his developmental timeline. these dudes just flat out stink.
took em both
Is this a one day or 2 day tryout for the Cattle type players?
Both would make good batting practice pitcher.
They’ll be gone by the weekend.
We agree! Well said!
We?
You got a mouse in your pocket or something?
Not a mouse, a small cat. Her name is Minnie
Jake Jewell. Former Angels farmhand. Hadn’t heard that name in a while.
Dodgers have a few injured players.
This is what happens when you don’t address a weakness prior to the trade deadline. Claim nearly everyone and ride the DFA merry-go-round.
Not every team can have studs up and down the bullpen, without even considering injuries.
Still, their relievers have the 4th best ERA in the league, so maybe it isn’t all doom and gloom
Seems like an incremental way to build lower level depth. If you claim the Cubs’ #41 guy and he’s better than say, your #45 guy, then you’ve made your system just a little better (as long as no one else claims him). Do that often enough, and you’ve got a stronger 40-80 than you had before.
At a price of constantly cutting people after a few days! Might make some business sense ,but at what a price for the players! I get upset at how even The brewers Bring people up for one or two days and sometimes DFA them!
Giants had picked up Jewell before last years shortened season and I was expecting to see him do well but am not sure if he even made the alt site. I like his underlying numbers. He misses bats and is a ground ball pitcher. If he can cut his barrels down he’ll be effective for the dodgers.
My assumption is this is just some warm bodies to have in AAA and to call-up in case you just need someone to eat a handful of innings in a blowout before getting DFA’ed.
Is Jewell a diamond in the rough?
No, just rough…
Zaidi picked up him and Darin Ruff in the same month thinking the same. Turns out Ruff was his diamond..
They’ll be signing Brad Hand if he becomes a free agent. Book it.
DITTO!
Dodgers haven’t gone dumpster diving in a couple days. They are looking to set a required for transactions, aren’t they?