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Dodgers To Promote Michael Grove

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The Dodgers will promote right-handed pitching prospect Michael Grove on Sunday, and Grove will make his MLB debut in some capacity during Los Angeles’ game with the Phillies.  Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including J.P. Hoornstra of The Southern California News Group) that Grove will either work as a starter, or as a bulk pitcher behind an opener.

The 25-year-old Grove was a second-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2018 draft, and could have gone higher if he hadn’t had over a full season of college ball wiped out by Tommy John surgery.  Both MLB Pipeline (23rd) and Baseball America (24th) place the righty within their rankings of the team’s top 30 prospects, citing his big fastball that sits in the 96-99mph range, and with Pipeline also giving his slider a 60 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale.

A midseason arm slot adjustment helped Grove achieve better results at Double-A last season, and he has kept it going this year with a 2.76 ERA, 32.8% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate over 16 1/3 frames (still at the Double-A level).  The drop in walk rate is a particularly good sign given the control problems that hampered Grove earlier in his minor league career, and he has allowed only one home run this season after giving up 26 long balls during his first 122 2/3 pro innings.

Scouts aren’t sure if Grove’s stuff will allow him to remain as a starter in the big leagues, or if he could eventually be used as a bullpen weapon.  Theoretically, Grove could be an intriguing choice as a multi-inning reliever if L.A. doesn’t feel he can succeed in a normal starting role, and the Dodgers’ creative pitcher usage allows for many possibilities for Grove’s future.

For now, he’ll get to bypass Triple-A and jump right to the big leagues.  Clayton Kershaw’s recent trip to the 15-day injured list left the Dodgers down two starters (Kershaw and Andrew Heaney), and in need of some rotation help during a stretch of 31 games in 30 days.  Prospect Ryan Pepiot also recently made his MLB debut and could be the likeliest candidate for a more extended look, so it’s possible Sunday’s outing could be a one-off for Grove.

Trevor Bauer’s Appeal Hearing To Begin On May 23

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Major League Baseball handed down a 324-game suspension to Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer last month after finding he’d violated the Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy. Bauer denied all wrongdoing and immediately announced plans to appeal the ban, and Britt Ghiroli of the Athletic reports that hearing is set to begin on May 23.

That’s not to say a resolution is forthcoming shortly. Ghiroli reports that the process is likely to take place over several days in the coming months, with scheduling subject to the availability of the arbitrators. The panel will consist of three individuals — one of whom was selected by the league, one selected by the Players Association, and one independent arbitrator approved by both parties.

Three women have made public allegations that Bauer assaulted them during sex. He was not charged criminally, but the league has the authority to hand down discipline even in the absence of charges (as it did in this instance). The pitcher has denied the allegations.

Bauer’s appeal marks the first time a player has contested a ban under the Domestic Violence policy. (All previous players found to have committed a violation agreed to their suspensions). The 324-game suspension is the longest handed down by the commissioner’s office since the policy was put into place. Bauer was on paid administrative leave between last July — when the first woman’s allegations were made public — until the suspension was announced on April 29. He is not being paid during the appeals process. Bauer signed a three-year, $102MM free agent deal with the Dodgers that runs through 2023.

Dodgers Place Clayton Kershaw On Injured List

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The Dodgers are placing Clayton Kershaw on the 15-day injured list due to right SI joint inflammation, the club informed reporters (including J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group). The team doesn’t anticipate it being a long-term absence. Reliever Garrett Cleavinger has been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move.

The SI joint is in the hip/pelvis area, so Kershaw is fortunately not dealing with any arm concerns. He missed most of the second half of last season due to forearm/elbow issues, so this latest injury would seem to register as a much more minor issue. Walker Buehler will take the ball tonight against the Phillies in Kershaw’s stead.

Kershaw turned 34 years old last month, but despite his age and last season’s injuries, the three-time Cy Young award winner has again been dominant. After signing a one-year, $17MM deal to return to L.A. during Spring Training, Kershaw has tossed 30 innings across his first five starts. He owns a 1.80 ERA with a stellar 29.4% strikeout rate. Owner of perhaps the game’s best command, the eight-time All-Star has only walked three of the 109 batters he’s faced.

Andrew Heaney is also on the injured list, leaving the Dodgers with a four-man group of Buehler, Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin and Tyler Anderson in the starting staff for now. David Price has been out of action since late April due to COVID-19, but he’s begun throwing and could return to the club next week (link via Sarah Wexler of MLB.com). Price, however, has worked exclusively in relief this year and probably wouldn’t step back into the rotation out of the gate. The Dodgers also recently selected highly-regarded pitching prospect Ryan Pepiot to make his major league debut; Pepiot was optioned back to Oklahoma City after a start on Wednesday.

Dodgers Select Yency Almonte, Option Ryan Pepiot

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The Dodgers have selected right-hander Yency Almonte onto the major league roster and optioned Ryan Pepiot to Triple-A Oklahoma City, reports J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Pepiot had been selected himself only Tuesday in order to start yesterday’s game against the Pirates.

Almonte, who made 114 appearances for the Rockies between 2018 and 2021, was off to a strong start in the Pacific Coast League, covering 15 1/3 innings striking out 42.4% of batters faced and issuing only a single walk. But while he was effective in 2018 and 2020, Almonte’s big-league numbers aren’t nearly as rosy. In 124 career innings in the bigs, the righty owns a 5.30 ERA (4.83 FIP) with strikeout and walk rates of 20.7% and 9.7%, respectively. As with any former Rockie, though, Almonte’s overall numbers don’t tell the whole story; while his career ERA of 6.46 in 71 home innings is ghastly even by Coors Field standards, his 3.74 mark in 53 innings at sea level is far more palatable.

Pepiot’s Wednesday debut was something of a mixed bag. While he allowed no runs in his three innings of work, he also walked a bit of a tightrope, issuing five walks and one hit) didn’t give manager Dave Roberts much length — perhaps precipitating the call for an additional arm. While being optioned would ordinarily require a player to remain in the minors for ten days before being recalled, though, his stay could be much shorter. As Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic notes, Pepiot would be eligible to serve as the 27th man for Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Diamondbacks. With no timetable set for the return of Andrew Heaney from shoulder problems, the Butler product’s trip to Oklahoma City could well be little more than a procedural move as the Dodgers attempt to navigate an innings crunch.

Dodgers Designate Robbie Erlin For Assignment

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The Dodgers designated lefty Robbie Erlin for assignment, according to an announcement from the team.  The move accompanies the club’s selection of Ryan Pepiot’s contract.

Erlin, 31, spent 2021 with the Nippon Ham Fighters of NPB.  He inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers in February, and returned to a 40-man roster when his contract was selected Saturday, allowing him to serve as the 27th man in a doubleheader against the Cubs.  In his first big league action in nearly 20 months, Erlin posted a scoreless mop-up inning Sunday and then gave up a pair of runs to put a game in Pittsburgh further out of reach on Monday.

Considered one of the 35 best prospects in the game when the Rangers sent him to San Diego in the Mike Adams deal at the 2011 trade deadline, Erlin underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2016.  The Padres bounced him from their 40-man in October 2019, and then he moved to the Pirates and Braves before heading overseas.

In that classic MLB circle of life, Erlin has surrendered his Dodgers 40-man roster spot to Pepiot, who ranked 90th on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list.  Pepiot, a 24-year-old righty, is a 55-grade prospect with what BA describes as a “devastating” changeup but “below average control.”  Pepiot hasn’t yet solved the control issue in his 68 Triple-A innings, but the Dodgers needed a starter for this afternoon’s game in Pittsburgh.

Dodgers To Promote Ryan Pepiot

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3:42 PM: Right-hander Ryan Pepiot, selected by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2019 amateur draft, will indeed make his major league debut tomorrow, reports Juan Toribio of MLB.com (Twitter link). As noted below, the move had been widely speculated after Robbie Erlin — the most logical candidate on the active roster to start tomorrow afternoon’s game against the Pirates — worked in relief both Sunday and Monday.

It’ll be the first taste of the majors for Pepiot. After reaching Triple-A last year in his first full minor league season, the Butler product has cruised through 26 1/3 innings (over six starts) with a 2.05 ERA at Triple-A Oklahoma City. With no timetable set for Andrew Heaney’s return from the IL, it could be more than just a spot start for Pepiot should he find some success.

10:09 AM: The Dodgers have added right-handed pitching prospect Ryan Pepiot to their taxi squad, and manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett) that the move “just leaves the option” for the club to potentially start Pepiot for Wednesday’s game against the Pirates.  If Pepiot does start, it will mark the 24-year-old’s MLB debut.

By using Robbie Erlin in relief work both on Sunday and Monday, Roberts admitted that “certainly makes it more likely” that Pepiot will indeed get the ball for Wednesday’s game.  However, Roberts also cited Andre Jackson as a potential starting candidate, and said that “we’re not going to commit to” a starter for now, “but certainly getting [Pepiot] here in town puts us in a position where we can do that if we choose to.”

There could be some gamesmanship at play here, since it would seem a little unusual for the Dodgers to disrupt Pepiot’s Triple-A routine by bringing him to Pittsburgh and then leaving him on the taxi squad.  Or, the Dodgers might simply be weighing some roster considerations, as Pepiot would need to be added to the 40-man (whereas Jackson, who is also at Triple-A, is already on the 40-man roster).

Los Angeles has the need for an extra arm due to a doubleheader last Saturday against the Cubs, and then another doubleheader scheduled for May 17 against the Diamondbacks.  All told, the Dodgers are in the midst of a stretch of 14 games in 12 days, so whomever starts on Wednesday will also take the mound for one of those two May 17 games.

Pepiot was a third-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2019 draft, and looks to be the latest in a long line of quality arms developed out of the L.A. farm system.  ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked Pepiot 59th on his preseason list of baseball’s best prospects, crediting the right-hander with “probably has the best changeup in the whole minor leagues, an at least 70-grade Bugs Bunny-type offering.”  Baseball America (ranking Pepiot 90th on their top 100 list) and MLB Pipeline (99th) have similar praise for Pepiot’s changeup, with BA’s scouting report even giving the pitch a perfect 80 on the 20-80 grading scale.

Pepiot’s 94-97 mph fastball is another premium offering, earning 70-grades from BA and Pipeline.  However, his fastball control isn’t great and his slider and curveball are pretty average, leading to questions about whether or not Pepiot’s ultimate future might be in relief pitching.  Over 151 total innings in the minors, Pepiot has a 3.75 ERA, 30.22% strikeout rate, and 11.21% walk rate — this include a 2.05 ERA over six starts and 26 1/3 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.

Dodgers’ Victor Gonzalez To Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery

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Dodgers left-hander Victor Gonzalez will undergo arthroscopic debridement surgery on his pitching elbow, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).  There is hope that Gonzalez will be able to pitch this season, though it will ultimately depend on what doctors find during the procedure.

Gonzalez has yet to pitch in 2022 after developing elbow inflammation during Spring Training.  The southpaw was roughly expected to be back on the mound by now, though further examination revealed that surgery was required.  As a result, Gonzalez now faces an extended absence, even if he is able to make it back before the season is over.

The 26-year-old made his MLB debut in 2020, posting a 1.33 ERA over 20 1/3 innings in the regular season and then a 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 frames during the Dodgers’ run to a World Series title.  After that dream rookie year, Gonzalez was still pretty effective in 2021, delivering a 3.57 ERA over 35 1/3 innings, as his workload was limited by foot and knee injuries.

David Price and Mitch White are expected to return from the injured list in the next week or two, bringing some help to a Dodgers pitching staff that has once again been thinned out by injuries.  Some are relatively minor health problems, while others (like Gonzalez or Blake Treinen) are longer-term in nature.  For Treinen, Roberts said that the veteran righty will look to rehab his ailing shoulder without another visit to a doctor, and Treinen won’t be back until after the All-Star break.  Treinen has pitched only three innings this year due to shoulder soreness, and had been slated to undergo an MRI.

Dodgers Select Robbie Erlin

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The Dodgers are planning to select left-hander Robbie Erlin onto the big league roster, the team informed reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). They won’t need to make a corresponding move. Erlin will serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Cubs, and they already have a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster.

Erlin is back in the big leagues for the first time since 2020. A former division rival, the 2009 third-round pick spent the 2013-19 seasons as a swing option for the Padres. A quality strike-thrower, he didn’t miss many bats but he rarely handed out free passes or served up home runs. Erlin posted a cumulative 4.57 ERA in that time, but he missed most of 2016 and all of the 2017 season because of Tommy John surgery.

Upon returning, Erlin assumed more of a multi-inning relief role. He started 12 of 39 outings in 2018 and worked 55 1/3 frames over 37 appearances the following season. He split the shortened 2020 campaign between the Pirates and Braves, struggling to an 8.10 ERA in 26 2/3 innings over nine games.

Last year, Erlin joined the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. He tossed 38 innings of 3.32 ERA ball before returning stateside on a minor league deal with the Dodgers. The 31-year-old has started three of his five outings with Triple-A Oklahoma City, allowing 15 runs in 21 2/3 frames with 20 strikeouts and nine walks.

Presumably, Erlin will take on a long relief role in L.A., given the strength of the Dodgers’ starting staff. The bullpen has also been excellent in the early going, posting a 2.65 ERA that ranks third-lowest in MLB. However, Los Angeles lost star reliever Blake Treinen to the injured list a couple weeks ago, and his recovery from shoulder soreness isn’t going as hoped. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) the righty is headed for an MRI early next week as he continues to deal with discomfort.

Outrights: Gutierrez, Fulmer, Guerra

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A trio of players recently designated for assignment have cleared outright waivers.

  • The Orioles announced that third baseman Kelvin Gutiérrez passed through the wire unclaimed and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. Having never previously been outrighted and owning less than three years of MLB service time, Gutiérrez doesn’t have the right to refuse a minor league assignment. He’ll join the Tides and try to play his way back to the big leagues, where he’s seen some action in each of the last four years. The majority of that time came in 2021, when he combined for a .232/.292/.316 showing in just under 300 plate appearances with the Royals and O’s. The 27-year-old logged only sporadic action in each of his other three seasons, including 12 games with Baltimore this year.
  • Dodgers reliever Carson Fulmer has cleared waivers, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. Selected to the majors last weekend, he stayed on the active roster for just two days and didn’t make an appearance before losing his spot. The 28-year-old is coming off a 6.66 ERA in 25 2/3 innings with the Reds last season, a continuation of big league struggles for the former eighth overall pick. The Dodgers were intrigued enough by Fulmer to take a no-risk flier in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft over the offseason. Assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, he has allowed only four runs in 11 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts but eight walks. Fulmer has previously been outrighted, meaning he had the right to refuse the assignment; he is again listed on OKC’s active roster, however.
  • Rays reliever Javy Guerra has passed through waivers unclaimed, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. A recent convert from shortstop to pitching, Guerra has very little mileage on his arm, including just 24 1/4 innings in the minors. He’s logged 33 frames at the big league level over the past four seasons, with an 8.45 ERA. Lack of results notwithstanding, he’s just 26 years old and is playing catch-up. If he can learn to harness his triple-digit velocity into better results, he could earn himself another shot at the bigs.

Dodgers Designate Carson Fulmer For Assignment

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The Dodgers have designated reliever Carson Fulmer for assignment, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was among those to relay. Utilityman Zach McKinstry was also optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to comply with the reduction in active roster sizes from 28 to 26.

Fulmer’s stay in the majors lasted just two days, as Los Angeles selected him when Mitch White hit the COVID-19 injured list on Saturday. He didn’t wind up making an appearance, and his time in the organization could now be coming to its end. While L.A. didn’t need to clear 40-man roster space, Fulmer was out of minor league option years. The only way to take him off the big league club was to remove him from the 40-man entirely.

Los Angeles acquired Fulmer in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft, which took place during the lockout. The Dodgers selected him out of the Reds organization after Cincinnati had passed him through outright waivers last May. He opened the 2022 campaign with Oklahoma City and tossed 11 2/3 innings over eight appearances. The righty allowed four runs (three earned) and struck out 12 batters but issued eight walks.

The eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the White Sox, Fulmer appeared in the majors every year from 2016-21. He has 130 2/3 MLB innings under his belt, although he’s managed just a 6.41 ERA with a subpar 19.2% strikeout rate and a lofty 13.4% walk percentage. The Dodgers will presumably place him on waivers in the coming days; Fulmer would have the right to refuse a minor league assignment if he clears after having been outrighted in the past.

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