Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin won’t be ready for the beginning of the season due to his current ankle injury, manager Dave Roberts announced Friday (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times). He’s expected to open the season on the 15-day injured list. Righties Ryan Pepiot and Michael Grove are the favorites to break camp as the Dodgers’ fifth starter with Gonsolin on the IL.
The Dodgers are hoping for a relatively minimal absence for the 28-year-old Gonsolin, who improbably injured his ankle walking off the field following pitchers’ fielding practice earlier in camp. He’s only just recently resumed a throwing program, and there’s simply not enough time for him to get built back up enough to break camp in the rotation 13 days from now.
[Related: The Dodgers’ Rotation Options if Tony Gonsolin Misses Time]
Gonsolin started a career-high 24 games during the 2022 regular-season, pitching to a sensational 2.14 ERA with a quality 23.9% strikeout rate against a strong 7.0% walk rate over the life of 130 1/3 innings. He undoubtedly benefited from a .207 batting average on balls in play that he won’t sustain over a larger sample, but even with some expected regression he’s still a well above-average big league pitcher. The 132 1/3 innings he pitched between Triple-A and the Majors last year was the highest total he’s reached in any pro season since being drafted in 2016, however, so there are some durability concerns with the talented righty.
Both Pepiot and Grove are well-regarded prospects, though the former has drawn more national fanfare than the latter. Pepiot, 25, ranked among Baseball America’s top-100 prospects both last offseason (No. 99) and this offseason (No. 55). He pitched to a 3.47 ERA in his first MLB cup of coffee last season and a 2.56 mark in Triple-A, combining for a total of 127 2/3 innings. Pepiot’s command has never been his strong point but was particularly troubling in his brief debut last year, when he walked 27 of 160 batters (16.9%). He’ll obviously need to improve upon that mark to have success over the long run.
As for the 26-year-old Grove, he also made his big league debut in 2022, tossing 29 1/3 innings of 4.60 ERA ball. Grove’s 18% strikeout rate was well below average, but he recorded a solid 7.5% walk rate in his first big league audition. He also logged a 3.79 ERA in 76 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, displaying strong strikeout and walk rates along the way as he rose to the Majors.
Either Pepiot or Grove seems capable of filling what’s likely to be a short-term absence for Gonsolin behind a projected top four of Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, Noah Syndergaard and Dustin May. There’s plenty of injury concern amid that group, and May’s workload will likely be monitored in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, so it stands to reason that Pepiot and Grove could both be called upon multiple times over the course of the season. Further down the depth chart, top prospects Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone are joined by veterans Robbie Erlin and Dylan Covey. None are on the 40-man roster, but both Miller and Stone are top-100 prospects themselves and viewed as potential long-term options in the Los Angeles rotation.
The Dodgers will cope. This is nothing new for them, the regular season is not their problem. They’re very good at it.
Go Dodgers.
They shouldn’t participate in PFP. Or walk off the field. They might get hurt!!
Seriously, I hope he is back soon. I don’t think he will get much more than 20 starts this season, but when he is on the mound he is fun to watch pitch.
I really think people are overestimating the Dodgers capability this season.
There offense is comprised of:
Betts
Freeman
???
Their Starting rotation is comprised of:
Urias
120 innings of Kershaw
???
Their bullpen is comprised of:
7-9 guys they found in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium
What is the record for biggest YoY decline in win total? Just curious
Will Smith, Max Muncy, upcoming stars Miguel Vargas, James Outman, JD Martinez with his 43 doubles last year.. Pitching has Dustin May a year after TJ, mark Prior working with Thor, a deep pitching farm system… their pen is one of the bests… but tell me you’re a Padre fan without telling me your a Padre fan
A lot of questions around that group. I guess we will see which way it turns out.
Those are all great ingredients for a .500 team
You citing Max Muncy on the team like it’s a good thing is exactly what I’m talking about,
They can’t just win 100 games “Because Dodgers”
Please enlighten me about the “.500 ingredients” that you speak of. And even after a down year (after a major injury), Muncy still had a 2.7 WAR. But keep trying to sign free agents to victory. And you gotta love that Manny Machado “I’m not Johnny Hustle” clubhouse presence.
Max Muncy is a career 0.850 OPS hitter with the Dodgers. Having a hard time making any sense of your post.
They may not be a 100 win team this season and have quite a few question marks but they’re more likely going to be a lot better than a 0.500 team. Stop exaggerating.
@Kewldude69 — Being a Dodger fan here I’m not as optimistic as you are. The Dodgers are definitely lacking in SP. Just having a bunch of rehabbing pitchers doesn’t build confidence being there are no solid 200IP pitchers on the roster.
Exactly my thoughts…..Padre fan….and of course any team that wins 111 games is almost guaranteed to see a big drop in wins. That doesn’t mean they will be a poor team!
People will step up. Some people will produce, others won’t. New bods and triple A guys will contribute. Dodgers will make the post season.
Then it’s a tournament. Anything can happen.
I’m not a Padre fan. Max Muncy is serviceable. Upcoming stars means hopeful prospects who are unproven. Pitchers coming off TJ normally aren’t in peak form. Thor has worked with two teams coaching staffs since his surgury. He likely is what he is. Their Bullpen was one of the best but has experienced much turnover. Its not gonna be the cakewalk you envision.
stymeedome
Pro sports is not easy to predict. If it was, we’d all be able to predict winners in all tbe sports and be wealthy.
It’s a crapshoot based on Chaos theory.
Guys step up. And others don’t.
There was this guy once. Drafted round 6. Pick 199 in the NFL. I think his name was Tom something.
He stepped up when needed and I think he had a pretty good career.
Tell us you’re clueless without actually saying it.
’21 107 wins Giants to ’22 81 wins comes to mind. The Dodgers’ front office have a very long win track record so until they actually falter, I’m betting that they remain competitive.
Good reasoning. They have a ton of new pitchers and positions tearing it up this spring.
The 2021 Giants team had a lot one off seasons, including from their aging veterans. It was not sustainable. And you’re contrasting them to an organization that has made the playoffs 10 straight seasons. Nonsensical.
As I’ve said before the Dodgers have a lot of question marks for this upcoming season. More than in past seasons but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be 0.500.
If they get some production from a youngster or two, May comes back and Thor regains his form they’re going to be very good. Muncy a very good candidate for a bounce back. These are not far fetched assumptions. No guarantees but I can easily see a path where they make the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season.
I don’t think you read Bleacher’s post completely. The response about Giants appeared to be a pushback to the 99socal’s insightless comment.
It didn’t appear to be a comparison those Giants to this year’s Dodgers.
@ggsocal- Being that the Dodgers won like 111 games in the regular season I concur that they won’t come close to doing that again. I feel the Dodgers are on target for 90-100 games and expect the Padres to be there as well.
People are underestimating them lmao. They will cruise to 95 wins. Wouldn’t surprise me if the went well over 100 again. The playoffs are a crapshoot for them, but they have proven for a decade they know how to handle the regular season. Mookie, Freeman and Smith plus their depth pieces is enough offensively.
Could not agree more amk
That bullpen helped them to 111 wins last year.
Look at the dodgers bullpen numbers every year
They… figure it out. almost always with a new cast
Go read the “what happens if Gonsolin misses time” and go to the prospect portion. Elite talent & elite coaching is why reasonable dodger fans aren’t worried about “only” 95+ wins
Overestimated? LAD is a Machine. You left off your list their clean up hitter Will Smith. LOL
And LAD pitching. There’s so much there . That kid Dustin May has the best pure stuff in the rotation and Syndergaard will be better than average given his distance from injury
This poster sounds like a fool. I wish the Yankees had as much as the Dodgers in their rotation
The Dodgers? 30 games from 1991 to 1992.
The Dodgers will no doubt not be as good as last season. But when you win 111 games, no team ever is.
That said the Dodgers are very competitive and very deep.
R Betts RF
L Freeman 1B
R Smith C
L Muncy 3B
R Martinez DH
L Hayward CF
R Vargas 2B
L Peralta LF
R Rojas SS
You forgot All star catcher Will Smith, possibly the best catcher in baseball.
You forgot Muncy who will now have his first full season after a significant surgery. When he’s right he’s top 5 OBP and a 30 HR guy. With the shift gone his stats should improve even more.
You forgot one of the best JD Martinez one of the best DHs ever.
You forgot Hayward who has been a great def outfielder his entire career and has been looking good in spring with his new swing.
You forgot top prospect Vargas who is batting .300 in spring and he wasn’t allowed to swing the bat his first 10 games of spring training due to fracturing his pinky.
You forgot Peralta who has been a solid outfielder and hitter his entire career.
You forgot one the best def infielders in Rojas who may not be the best hitter but a guy who doesn’t need to be.
A rotation of
L Urias
L Kershaw
R Gonsolin
R Syndegaard
R May
You forgot Gonsolin who last year had a ERA just above 2.00 and was 16-1.
You forgot Thor who is healthy and looks dominate so far in spring with an ERA under 1.00
You forgot May who is now fully healthy from TJ surgery and has a spring ERA under 1.00
Not to mention the Dodgers have about 4-5 minor league starters Stone, Miller, Pepiot, Grove, Jackson who would be starters on almost any other team in baseball.
You forgot the Dodgers farm system is probably the best in baseball over the last decade.
You forgot a Dodger bullpen which will primarily be the the same as last year and was a top 3 bullpen in baseball.
The Dodgers will be a solid team and make their 11th consecutive playoff appearance.
As you list all the upsides it’s just as easy for anyone to list a ton of downsides. I won’t bother listing them for I am sure you are smart enough to list them yourself. Either way this is the most uncertain dodgers team there has been in awhile. They could be great, good or even mediocre depending on which hits more the upside or the downside.
To be mediocre, they will need some massively horrible injury luck
Talent is talent
Zerbs63. Excellent post
Zerbs63 Are you serious? I honestly can’t tell if your post is sarcastic?
Peralta and Martinez will have a combined age of 72 this season. And they had a combined WAR of 1.9 last season. Both very good players but you need a reality check on what they have left in the tank.
Heyward? Seriously? Dude has no business on a big league roster and Dodger fan is acting like they signed Willie Mays.
Padres should be better, Giants should be better, so the Dodgers ability to rack up wins will be reduced..
MLBTR kills me with their writing. One player who is statistically below avg, but MLBTR calls them above avg, then a player who is significantly better gets called below avg.
Matt Harvey time!
Maybe but what probably will happen is they let pepiot or Grove cover the innings early on then acquire reinforcements at the deadline wherever they are needed.
That brings the total number of major league players who are starting the season on the IL to 283, and we still have two weeks left of spring training. MLB may have to delay the opening of the season a month or two.
World Series in a blizzard or in Hawaii.
2023 World Series between the Dodgers and Angels in a Typhoon. Games played in Arizona or Texas.
Cool cat Gonsolin nipped by ankle injury, won’t stalk the m(eow)ound fur at least a week as a member of the starting 9, lives.
Put down the green stuff, buddy
Nah. We all need a bit more, probably…
Some of y’all are a little obsessive with your Dodger hate.
That had me laughing
I can see you aren’t really so worried about being misunderstood.
Anyhow, since we’re talking history: no, the Dodgers really could not have stayed in Brooklyn. They designed a new ballpark for a site Robert Moses refused to sell to them. The other part of the problem is after the war a large part of their fan base had abandoned Brooklyn, moving to Queens, and the suburbs. So even if Moses had said yes, the Dodgers would have had tough go of it Brooklyn.
Wow, holding on to that hate for 66 years ever since the Dodgers left Brooklyn for Los Angeles. Bitter much? The Brooklyn Dodgers were the hometown team, yes, but they always were going to live in the shadow of the vaunted Yankees and their insurmountable lead in championships. O’Malley could see that even with competitive and winning teams (won league 6 times from 1947-57, WS 1-5, all losses against NYY and 1 win vs NYY), the Dodgers went from high of 23,000 Avg attendance in 1947 to dwindling down to 13.6 (‘52) NL pennant and WS, 14.9 (‘53) NL pennant & WS, 13.2 (‘54), 13.4 (‘55) NL Pennant & WS win, 15.7 (‘56) NL pennant and WS loss, 13.4 (‘57) last year. Ebbet’s Field capacity was about 32,000 from 1949-1957, so the ballpark always less than half full. The Brooklyn area was in a long decline, attendance by loyal fans declined despite winning teams, resident fans who moved out of the area wanted to drive to the park but there was no parking space available, and Ebbet’s was falling into disrepair because of aging infrastructure. Brooklyn, for many reasons, wasn’t able to support the Dodgers well enough for the Dodgers to stay.
O’Malley had a new privately funded stadium planned in 1952 of 52,000 with a dome (pretty forward thinking) but ran into difficulties acquiring land and political opposition by Robert Moses, NYC planning commissioner who wanted O’Malley to move to a City owned Queens stadium (future Shea Stadium). O’Malley refused saying “we’re the Brooklyn Dodgers, not the Queens Dodgers” plus not wanting to be beholden to NYC politics. In the end, after many many public squabbles, Moses and O’Malley would / could not agree on a suitable stadium solution and O’Malley took the Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1957 after the season ended.
Could O’Malley have had a new stadium in Queens? Maybe but not to his liking or terms. Could he have built his own new Stadium? No, Moses prevented that almost every step of the way. Were Brooklyn fans heartbroken, YES! But as a business decision, O’Malley practically had NO CHOICE. He would have had to somehow refurbish Ebbet’s without being able to add parking needed to attract commuter fans, he would have no ability to expand the park, and frankly despite rabid and loyal fans, the home attendance support just wasn’t there. The NY Giants baseball team faced the exact same problems and stadium opposition and, with O’Malley’s urging, also left New York for San Francisco.
You can blame O’Malley all you want, it’s your right, feelings, and even justifiable. But there was no practical or business way O’Malley was going to stay in business in Brooklyn, too many changes had happened locally, and NYC would not ALLOW him to build what he wanted, and instead tried to force him into the Queens stadium proposal. NYC politics had everything to do with essentially driving O’Malley out of Brooklyn, IMO.
Ebbet’s Field was touted to last 200 years, hyperbole of course. It only lasted 47 years before being torn down in 1960 for apartments which still stands. Citi Field has some architectural features that honor Ebbet’s.
Hate the Dodgers and O’Malley for that all you want if you want to remain bitter for the rest of your years. The Dodgers have moved on, the world had moved on, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have been more successful, both on the field and in Attendance.
Brooklyn, from 1883-1957 over 75 years won 12 NL pennants and were 1-9 in the World Series (2 pennants did not play a WS). The Los Angeles Dodgers from 1957-2022, 67 years have won 12 more NL Pennants, WS 6-6, been in postseason 27 times, including last 10 years straight against arguably more numerous good teams.
Saratoga are you talking about the 64 worlds fair?
Does TLDR mean Too dumb, couldn’t read in your case?
Let me summarize. Moses blocked a new stadium in Brooklyn or anywhere else other than Queens. Attendance was in the dumps in Ebbets. Queens was not going to draw more fans in crappy stadium. O’Malley made the smart decision and got the F out of there.
Wait! You said you didn’t hate the Dodgers. So all of that was a lie?
LMAO, you are trying to say you are 96 years old?
Okay saratoga, the 64 worlds fair was a massive failure and lost money for most involved. The ones who made money were crooked politicians. Moses’ fair wasn’t even sanctioned by the international body that controlled world’s fairs because he was charging for exhibitions and many major countries avoided it . It wasn’t an official world’s fair and acted largely as an advertisement for corporations. Moses was a crook and history on both sides sees him as a villain
Why was attendance so crappy in Brooklyn?? Was it solely a lack of parking?? I’m sure Brooklyn didn’t have the money it has now, but was it really that poor?? Would you say it was income based that kept fans from coming out?? Or were the Yankees just so much more popular that it didn’t matter how well the Doddgers played?? Just seems weird to me all the attendance issues. It’s New York City for crying out loud.
Ignorant SOB, it was mostly a function of shifting demographics.
47 was the end of the war and 48 was the local peak for the league as a whole. 49 to 53 saw league wide attendance decrease and sports like Basketball and football become popular.. The average attendance was a little below Brooklyn’s in the 50’s
For anyone interested in all the gory details about how the Dodgers came to leave Brooklyn, read “The Last Good Season” by Michael Shapiro. The go to history of Robert Moses is “The Power Broker” by Robert Caro.
You’re rooting for injury to another human being. Look in the mirror and grow up
Wise up! Your leg is being pulled.
Seriously. It’s comical how people are reacting. I bleed blue but I admit, saratoga’s posts gave me a chuckle
Stone looks every bit the part of a future star in this league. LAD would do well to legthen him out a bit and let him take a crack at a SP spot.
I think that (was/is) the plan. He was a starter most (all?) of last season, then his arm got all noodly near the end. I have concerns about his durability over 162
You are forgetting Ryan Pepiot.
Breakout this year.
Only if he can stop walking a batter 6 times a game.
Yeah. If only the first 10 starts of a guy’s MLB career didn’t lock in his entire career arc, maybe Pepiot could help this team
Did you read the article?
“who improbably injured his ankle walking off the field following pitchers’ fielding” — Sigh. if there’s one thing you can be sure of, the Dodgers WILL find a way to get injured
Tell that to the Mets (Nimmo today, Diaz, Quintana, Coonrad), Padres (Musgrove), Astros (McCullers), Nats (Cavalli), Tigers (Jobe), Giants (Crawford, Gonzales), Reds (Senzel), Etc.
Injuries happen, it’s part of the stress and strain of playing the game.
Wow never realized other teams get injured too! Thanks for the major eye-opener
Going out on a limb here. Dodgers win 91 games. Get WC berth
Dodgers will be fine. They’ve undergone a huge culture shift the last few years. Guys like Seager, Bellinger, and Joc were great players but none were considered the hardest workers. Freeman, Betts, and lesser additions like Miguel Rojas to cite a recent example, are known for their consistency, health and work ethic.
That farm system is stacked and one of the best in baseball for a reason.
Kewldood I think he’s underestimating by far but you’re also overestimating pretty much all of them. JD Martinez 43 doubles were at Fenway. Doubles park. Dustin May is not going to throw a lot of innings. Just cause Prior is there doesn’t make Thor not a question mark. You’re going to have to find a lot of innings outside the 1-5 rotation. Muncy has to be a lot better. And the rookies are unprovens.
But agreed that the pen is good and unprovens/reclamations could always turn around a season. Giants proved that. Still, no guarantees.
Look at La’s farm this year compared to SF’s farm a few years ago when they fell off a cliff
Having organizational depth (that is very talented) who are ready to step up for veterans who struggle is a very big difference
20% of the Dodgers prospects in the top 100 overall will become a MLB average player. Less than 5% will have a 4+ WAR season in their career. Those are the odds and the Dodgers have not beaten those odds in the past. Counting on organizational depth to fill more than one position a season is a fools errand.
If the Dodgers were only having to count on prospects to fill one position, it would be a good thing to have good organizational depth. That is not the case. At least 2 positions and possibly 3 will be filled with rookies on opening day. At least one spot in the rotation will as well. 3 rookies will get 10+ starts in 2023 on that staff.
20% of those will be league average. The others below league average.
The Dodgers don’t have the superstars to make up for that. Betts, Freeman, Smith, and Urias in his walk year. That’s it.
A whole lotta heat, is what Ryan will be bringing. C’mon go Peppy!- with apologies to the ghost of David Cassidy
16-1 2.14ERA 130 ings 79 hits.. I know it was only 24 starts but how this guy tony not get any Cy young talk is cray
His teammate went 17-7 with a 2.16, leading the league in ERA among qualified starters. Gonsolin didn’t hit inning threshold for his ERA to be in qualified group. And Gonsolin missed Sept. both guys are back this year.
All of that is to say… LA’s pitching is pretty darn good
Right..looking forward to seeing what Gavin Stone will become
Apparently Gonsolin is not back, hence the article about him starting the season on the IL.
Baseball is life.
A cat purring is one of the most comforting sounds in the world and while it certainly means your cat is happy and comfortable, the sound has also been long associated with a therapeutic healing ability on human bones and muscle.