As the Dodgers plan out their NLCS roster ahead of the first game of the series tomorrow, manager Dave Roberts spoke to reporters about the club’s plans for the upcoming best-of-seven set. Among the options the club is considering for the roster, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, is right-hander Tony Gonsolin.
Gonsolin, who has spent the entire 2024 season to this point rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, began a rehab assignment in September and built up to 50 pitches in those games but was more or less ruled out for the postseason by Roberts two weeks ago, when he indicated that “something really unforeseen” would need to happen in order for Gonsolin to pitch in the playoffs. Evidently, the swath of injuries to the club’s pitching staff that have occurred since then constitute a sufficiently unforeseen circumstance that the Dodgers are once again considering the right-hander for a role in the postseason rotation.
Roberts (as relayed by Ardaya) ruled out both Joe Kelly and Brusdar Graterol for the NLCS this evening when discussing the club’s options, and right-hander Michael Grove is ineligible to return before the World Series after being removed from the club’s NLDS roster due to injury. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez was among those to relay that Roberts added lefty Alex Vesia to the growing list of hurlers expected to be unavailable for the NLCS, as he’s dealing with an intercostal injury that Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times notes left Roberts to express optimism Vesia may be able to return for the World Series if the club advances.
Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips, Ryan Brasier, Anthony Banda, Daniel Hudson, Ben Casparius, Edgardo Henriquez, and Landon Knack all were on the club’s NLDS roster and figure to once again be available for the club’s upcoming series against the Mets, and with each of Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto expected to reprise their roles in the club’s rotation that leaves just one open spot to be filled by either Gonsolin or Brent Honeywell Jr. though it’s certainly feasible that Henriquez or Casparius could also be left off the roster to accommodate the addition of both arms.
That may be a wise decision for the club at this point, as Roberts noted (as relayed by Jack Harris of the L.A. Times) that Yamamoto will not be pulled off his current schedule of five days off between starts. Those required days off between starts would leave Yamamoto able to start just one game in this series, meaning that the club will have to turn to its relievers to handle as many as two games this series assuming that Flaherty and Buehler make two starts each. The addition of multi-inning arms like Gonsolin and Honeywell, then, could provide the club with some much-needed length out of the bullpen that they currently only stand to get out of Knack.
In 37 2/3 innings of work spread between 20 appearances with the Dodgers and Pirates this year, Honeywell has pitched to an excellent 2.63 ERA but has done so with lackluster peripherals, including a 12.1% strikeout rate and a 4.28 FIP. Gonsolin, meanwhile, hasn’t pitched in the majors since the middle of the 2023 campaign but sports a career 3.19 ERA and 3.99 FIP 79 appearances (including 71 starts) in the majors since he made his debut back in 2019. The righty’s postseason resume is lackluster, however, as he’s surrendered a 9.20 ERA in 14 2/3 frames during the playoffs throughout his career.
Will Gonsolin ride in on a white horse?
No, but cat-man gives the Dodgers 9-lives
They need someone like gonsolin since they basically have no starting pitchers in the bullpen because they’re all injured
Could ohtani pitch in game 7 of the WS?
Yes Ohtani can pitch in game 1 and 7 of the 2025 series.
No
At this point, an ideal situation might involve Cat-man and Knack putting in 2-3 effective innings during NLCS.
Bring on the Mets. Start Casparius since he was a starter all year in the minors and had gone 4.1 against Colorado ( even though he didn’t start the game ) so maybe he could go 5.
The Mets stumble against pitchers they’ve never seen before.
Like Gomer Pyle says: “Sur-prise, Sur-prise, Sur-prise !! “
Him or Knack should get the game 3 nod IMO.
Or piggyback them to go 6 innings, but may not be most feasible path with two RHPs.
I assume you have some data about the Mets stumbling against pitchers they’ve never seen before. And is this data of any different than other teams?
A run an inning for Tony in the postseason. lol. I hope they use him!
Who uses the word lackluster twice in the same paragraph?
Lackluster writers.
The injury hits keep on coming. Vesia, Kelly, Graterol, Grove. Dodgers going to have enough pitchers if they get to WS? Yamamoto’s velocity was up a couple of notches in game 5. Last time that happened he had a long IL stint. He only pitched 5, so hope he’s fine.
Think happy thoughts
Desperate measures….
Interesting that Alden Gonzalez got a different impression from the same media session: x.com/Alden_Gonzalez/status/1845255985176379473
We all know what’s going to happen. The Dodgers will run out of starters, their bullpen will be exhausted, the series tied 3-3, and Ohtani will say screw it, announce he’ll start game seven, and after not throwing a pitch in over a year, he’ll toss a perfect game and hit four HRs leading the Dodgers to the World Series, then in front of worldwide audience, announce he bet his year’s salary ($2MM) on the Dodgers win tonight and as penance will donate all gambling winnings to the newly created Ippei Mizuhara Gambling Addiction Foundation, and then ascend to Valhalla from the pitcher’s mound while the world looks on. The Dodgers will then go on to lose to the Yankees four games to none in the World Series, and all will be right in the universe.
The only thing that will turn out true in the above is my last sentence.
I think your crystal ball is a little foggy, including the last sentence.
Kudos. Pretty funny.
I remember when Honeywell was the top prospect for the Rays and pitched in the futures game.
I would love to see how good he could have been if he stayed healthy.
I think it’s a terrible idea to trot him out there against MLB hitters for the first time in a year during a playoff game. I’d rather have Honeywell on the roster, who can give us at least 2 innings if called upon. It’s just too much pressure and too critical for a guy who’s still shaking off the rust.
You were correct.
The team that wears the most number of yellow cleats will win
Mr. Deeds needs to learn basic syntactical rules. “Meanwhile” has to start the sentence; it can’t come in the middle, set off by commas.