The Dodgers’ injury-plagued bullpen got some reinforcements today, as the team activated Kirby Yates from the 15-day injured list and Michael Kopech from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Chris Stratton was designated for assignment to open up space for Kopech on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, while Yates returns to take the place of yet another injured pitcher, as Los Angeles placed Tony Gonsolin on the 15-day IL due to right elbow discomfort.
Turning to Gonsolin first, the idea of another elbow issue is particular ominous for a pitcher who is only just returning from a Tommy John surgery. Recovering from that August 2023 procedure kept Gonsolin sidelined for all of last season, and then a back injury suffered during Spring Training delayed his 2025 debut until April 30, and Gonsolin has since posted a 5.00 ERA over 36 innings and seven starts.
It is perfectly normal for pitchers to look rusty in the wake of such long absences from the mound, though there hasn’t been a lot to love about Gonsolin’s 2025 performance. Pluses include an above-average 24.2% strikeout rate and the fact that his 93.5mph fastball velocity matches his pre-surgery career average, though Gonsolin was never a high-velo pitcher. Beyond those numbers, Gonsolin has been allowing a lot of hard contact and been walking batters (11.2BB%) at an ungainly rate, plus the home run increase that emerged in 2023 has carried over to 2025.
Any lingering elbow issues could explain these struggles, though Gonsolin and the Dodgers can only hope that this discomfort is only a temporary problem. Gonsolin is surely disappointed over being sidelined again so soon after returning to action, and Los Angeles has now lost another arm from its starting rotation.
Even with Kopech and Yates activated today, the Dodgers’ injured list stands heavy with pitchers, as 14 hurlers remain sidelined. Gonsolin, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki comprise most of the rotation names on the list, with other starters like Gavin Stone, River Ryan, and Kyle Hurt gone for 2025 due to longer-term injuries. Emmet Sheehan had a Tommy John surgery in May 2024 and is only in the early stages of a rehab assignment, but he could be available after the All-Star break. Shohei Ohtani has also been ramping up his throwing progression and is expected to return to pitching in the second half, and by this point, the Dodgers may need Ohtani’s arm as much as the lineup has relied on his MVP-level bat.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Justin Wrobleski comprise the current makeshift L.A. rotation, and Ben Casparius is the likeliest candidate to get starts in Gonsolin’s place. The question must again be asked if the Dodgers’ staff will ever reach a true breaking point on the pitching front, as the club has remarkably remained a top contender (and last year’s World Series champion) in spite of the seemingly never-ending stream of injured arms.
Getting Kopech and Yates back will at least deepen the relief corps, which recently lost former closer Evan Phillips to a Tommy John surgery. Tanner Scott remains the Dodgers’ first choice for saves but manager Dave Roberts recently said Scott wasn’t a lock for the closer role, so an experienced former closer like Yates or perhaps Kopech might get some consideration for ninth-inning work.
Yates had a 4.34 ERA over 18 2/3 innings for the Dodgers, though his peripherals suggest that Yates has suffered from a lot of bad luck. The right-hander returns after a three-week stint on the IL due to a hamstring strain, while Kopech is making his season debut. Kopech dealt with some forearm soreness early in Spring Training, and then developed a shoulder impingement near the end of camp that led to his placement on the 15-day and eventually the 60-day IL as he needed more time to properly rebuild his arm strength.
Los Angeles signed Stratton to a Major League deal on May 25, and this is already the second time the righty has been DFA’ed during his brief time in Dodger Blue. Stratton cleared waivers, opted for free agency over an outright assignment to Triple-A, and then quickly re-signed with the Dodgers just yesterday to a new contract. After allowing a run during an inning of work in yesterday’s game, Stratton has a 6.75 ERA over four innings and three total appearances with L.A. It could be that today’s move is a paper transaction that could see Stratton soon back with the Dodgers in a few days’ time, or he could again choose free agency and this time seek out a role on a new team.
Gonzo just got back!
Musical chairs with the injured pitchers.
Still doesn’t explain why the offense is so inconsistent.
Might have to do with having the deadliest hitter in MLB hitting leadoff and hitting useless solo home runs.
Just the inconsistent bottom of the lineup and Mookie still struggling. Conforto is a black hole, Edman outside of his 4/5 game in the Yankee slaughter has done nothing since returning from injury.
Teoscar has been terrible since he came back from the DL. He was playing like an MVP before the injury.
“Inconsistent bottom..Conforto is a black hole”…Getting the useless Conforto $15M+ may have been Boras’ greatest job of agency to date. Why the Dodgers keep running Conforto out there with full time at bats is beyond me.
Yeah because it did’t work last season hitting Ohtani lead off. If only they could have had a better plan.
Among the funny parts of this criticism is that everyone who follows baseball seriously should know that batting orders in today’s game are created with analytics. Lots of fans claim to love the analytics game. Then they see it played, and not so much.
Right. And there is only one AB per game where we know no runners will be on.
The simple math behind batting first is that it maximizes the number of PAs for that player. I’m sure the Dodgers have a precise figure for how many more PAs Ohtani gets batting first in the course of a season, over batting second, third, or fourth. No doubt they also have more sophisticated data grading the way he is pitched in different places in the batting order. We can be sure the reasons are mathematically optimized.
“Yeah becauseit didn’t work.”….I think debating whether Otani at leadoff “works” is not the best approach. I think the real issue is whether it maximizes Ohtani’s power and overall greatness as a hitter.
Ohtani’s such a difference making hitter, batting him anywhere will “work” to a large extent.
But that being said and analytics aside, I can’t see how batting your most impactful, feared and powerful batter leadoff maximizes his power and overall excellence as a hitter. Not to mention potentially driving in more runs if batting 3rd/4th in the batting lineup.
But then, you don’t have access to the math the Dodgers are no doubt using.
“But then, you don’t have access”..That is certainly true, but for me analytics is at it’s best when combined with the eye test and traditional baseball knowledge. That is but one man’s personal opinion.
I’m no fan of analytics. In fact, I think it’s the worst thing to happen to baseball in my lifetime. At the same time, I understand how it drives every aspect of the game we watch now, and I am not going to misunderstand that reality just because I don’t like it.
I think the offense has been fine overall. When the pitching staff, and porous defense, is consistently giving up 5 runs a game, it is difficult to outslug the opponent every single night.
Here they go, again. Musical Chairs, ala, Dodger Style.
Who’s next?
Could retired highly successful pitchers who had multiple years of being injury free make a difference today if an owner would pay that retired pitcher to take a prominent roll in an organizations minor league player development? Greg Maddux and Mike Mussina are a couple who come to mind, who were highly successful and who played multiple years without the need of surgeries. If I were an owner, I would offer Maddux or Mussina to come out of retirement with a lucrutive offer to join my organization as a regular member of the player development staff or at the very least, as a consultant, with the goal of reducing the amount of pitcher injuries. .
Moose wants nothing to do with baseball after he retired and is content with his farm and car collection. He probably would’ve skipped his HOF induction if given the choice.
They played when you could get away not throwing full effort. Pitchers batted and teams often played all glove no bat guys up the middle.
DD – those are some factors but not really “the answer”. Consider, pitchers only batted in NL (at least going back 50 years to the time where relievers became important), and not all teams had no hit middle infielders (although some did on one side or the other for sure – and some still do for that matter).
Spin rates and max effort every pitch – some of which are as a product of the modern BP allowing a pitcher to start knowing 5 is good enough most days – is the likely culprit. Weight room – don’t think a lot of pitchers spent much time in the weight room in the 70’s, 80’s, is a likley factor.
All in all, just part of the game as it has developed. A guy knows if he can manage to only have 1 TJ in first 6 years of professional ball then he is up for a big payday and then, whatever happens happens.
I didn’t think he looked too bad in his last start against the Mets. Wondering if this is anything serious or just a way to get another pitcher on the roster while they skip his next start to give him rest.
I’m wondering that too. They said they didn’t know was getting moved when kopech and Yates come back, then all of a sudden it’s goslin
Maybe in a normal year this is a LAD rest period but with the state of the rotation, I’d say this is wishful thinking. More likely a real injury – serious or not, who knows.
Also for consideration, May is likely on an innings limit and no reason to risk his FA status so wonder how many more starts he has – 5, 7?
Stratton getting DFA’d is crazy
Another tj for gonsolin?
That was quick
Jump to many conclusions? That was quick.
Say to say, the loss of Gonsolin isn’t that big as he wasn’t pitching well. The team is deep enough to shrug and say Next Man Up.
In fact, this may be a good thing if Casparius gets a bigger role. I assume they kept him in the pen because Treinen/Yates/Kopech/Phillips were all out, but maybe having a couple of them return will help the team do the right thing.
Must have hurt his elbow throwing at Lindor’s foot.