Dodgers Rumors

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/23/17

By Jeff Todd and Steve Adams | May 23, 2017 at 10:11pm CDT

Here are the latest minor moves from around the game:

The Blue Jays announced that catcher Michael Ohlman has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Buffalo. Ohlman had the option to elect free agency, having been previously outrighted in his career, but he’ll return to Buffalo in hopes of another big league opportunity with the Jays. The 26-year-old went 2-for-9 in his brief MLB debut with Toronto this year, and he’s slashed a more impressive .246/.388/.594 with seven homers and three doubles through 23 Triple-A contests.

Earlier Moves

Right-hander Al Alburquerque has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha, the Royals announced on Tuesday. Kansas City designated the veteran 30-year-old for assignment over the weekend after just four innings with the big league bullpen. Alburquerque has totaled just six innings in the Majors over the past two seasons after serving as a regular in the Detroit ’pen from 2013-15. The hard-throwing Alburquerque has no trouble missing bats but has long been prone to control issue as well. Alburquerque has the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.
Per an Orioles announcement, catcher Francisco Pena has been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. The out-of-options 27-year-old has seen limited action in the majors in recent years, but has slashed .249/.295/.452 in his 1,221 career plate appearances at Triple-A. While he’s a highly regarded defender, Pena may need to boost his on-base abilities before he’ll earn a full shot at the majors.
The Phillies have released southpaw Mario Hollands, per Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter). Once a promising young reliever, Hollands seemingly never fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. The 28-year-old has produced middling results in the upper minors over the past two seasons since sitting out all of 2015. This year, he has allowed a dozen walks in his 13 frames at Double-A.
Also hitting the open market is former Phillies righty Dalier Hinojosa, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The 31-year-old worked to a 1.51 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 through 35 2/3 MLB frames in 2015-16, but clearly hadn’t convinced teams that was sustainable. Hinojosa hasn’t yet pitched this year due to a shoulder injury.
It seems that righty Daniel Bard is back at a career crossroads, as he has been released by the Cardinals, according to Eddy’s report. Bard, once an elite bullpen arm with the Red Sox, ran up 19 walks in 8 2/3 outings at the Double-A level as he has continued to struggle to stay in the zone.
The Braves released veteran minor-leaguer Blake Lalli, per BA. The 34-year-old catcher saw a bit of action at the major league level last year, but he has mostly plied his trade in the upper minors in recent seasons. He was off to a rough start at the plate this year at Triple-A, with a .167/.226/.271 batting line through 53 plate appearances.
Outfielder Tyler Holt has been released by the Dodgers, Eddy reports. Holt has seen action in each of the last three major league campaigns and appeared in 106 games last year with the Reds, but he’s slashing just .228/.306/.274 in 318 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. The 28-year-old was struggling badly in the upper minors with the Los Angeles organization, but will surely hope to regain some lost momentum with another organization.
The White Sox have snapped up righty Jake Johansen, who was released recently by the Nationals, according to Eddy. A second round pick back in 2013, Johansen had failed to make the jump to the upper minors and was cut loose after allowing eight earned runs in 11 2/3 innings at Double-A this year.
Veteran infielder Chris Nelson has joined the Royals on a minors deal, per Eddy. Once a semi-regular player with the Rockies, Nelson has bounced around in recent years and hasn’t seen any major league action since 2014. He spent time in 2016 at Triple-A with the Rockies organization, slashing .232/.273/.310 in 218 plate appearances.
Finally, the Reds have added MLB veteran Vin Mazzaro on a minors deal. He had been working in indy ball, throwing six scoreless frames for the Somerset Patriots, but will now try to crack the bigs for the ninth consecutive year. Mazzaro had a nice run with the Pirates in 2013, but has not seen much MLB action since. He did work to a 3.22 ERA over 67 Triple-A frames last year, with 5.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9, though obviously he didn’t convince many teams with his underlying skills.

Quick Hits: Eibner, Torres, Padres, Gallo

By charliewilmoth | May 21, 2017 at 10:57pm CDT

The Dodgers are experimenting with using outfielder Brett Eibner as a pitcher, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. Eibner pitched in college and reached 95 MPH with his fastball, and he’s now working on developing secondary pitches; it remains to be seen, of course, how those would play against big-leaguers. The Dodgers’ plan is to continue to treat Eibner primarily as an outfielder, but they envision using him as a pitcher more frequently than the typical position player taking the mound to relieve an exhausted staff. If Eibner were to prove effective as a pitcher, he’d become a useful and interesting tactical piece, reminiscent, perhaps, of a two-way player like Brooks Kieschnick, who first arrived in the big leagues as an outfielder but who also ended up pitching for Milwaukee in 2003 and 2004. The added versatility might also help Eibner from being shipped back and forth to Triple-A so frequently, Shaikin suggests — the Dodgers have already optioned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City four times this season. Here’s more from around the game.

The Yankees have promoted top prospect Gleyber Torres to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, as MLB.com’s Matt Kardos first tweeted. Torres hit well for Double-A Trenton, batting .277/.363/.504 over 135 plate appearances this season. The move suggests the 20-year-old could make his big-league debut in the not-too-distant future, meaning that the Yankees could perhaps continue to see relatively quick returns on the trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to Chicago for Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. (Warren, of course, is currently in the midst of a strong season in the Yankees’ bullpen.) Torres ranks second on MLB.com’s list of the game’s top 100 prospects, topped only by another recently traded player, White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada.
The Padres are doing “exactly what they should be doing,” Shaikin writes. The Padres are losing games (their current .348 winning percentage is worst in the Majors), but they’re also piling up prospects through Latin American signings, the Rule 5 Draft and trades of veterans, and they’re grabbing top draft picks as well, just as the Cubs and Astros did prior to their current runs of success. Interestingly, manager Andy Green says one challenge of leading a rebuilding club is getting his players to focus on getting better while ignoring Internet commentary about their current struggles. “Everybody is on Twitter. Everybody reads everything everybody says,” Green notes. “You’re fighting a cultural battle. You have to create something special inside the house, so guys will guard their minds, guard their focus and show up every day to play. Without a doubt, it’s a challenge, but a challenge I welcome every single day.”
Rangers infielder Joey Gallo’s wild season thus far is testing the limits of three-true-outcomes baseball, writes ESPN’s David Schoenfield. The “three true outcomes,” of course, are home runs, walks and strikeouts, and Gallo has piled up big numbers in all three categories, particularly the first and last. In 165 plate appearances this year, he has 13 homers, 21 walks and a ridiculous 65 strikeouts. He’s currently on pace to break Mark Reynolds’ record for whiffs in a season (223), and he could also top Reynolds’ record for most homers in a season with a sub-.200 average (32). Of course, Gallo’s immediate future is up in the air, since Adrian Beltre could soon return from a calf injury. (There’s hope Beltre can begin a rehab assignment next weekend, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently tweeted.) And as Schoenfield notes, Gallo has faded in recent weeks, with a May batting line of just .148/.268/.443.

NL Notes: Pirates, Cardinals, Urias

By charliewilmoth | May 21, 2017 at 5:57pm CDT

Pirates GM Neal Huntington says the team plans to spend money the team recently saved from Starling Marte’s PED suspension, Jung Ho Kang’s prolonged visa issues, and the release of Jared Hughes, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. “As soon as that option becomes available, we’ll gladly pour the money back into the club,” Huntington says. Of course, as Huntington notes, early-season trades are rare. It’s also far from clear that the Pirates, who are currently just 20-24, will head toward the trade deadline as buyers in the conventional sense. If the Bucs are in contention come July, though, it sounds like they’ll have money to spend — the combined total they’ve saved from Marte, Kang and Hughes (minus the 45 days’ salary they paid Hughes as a he departed near the end of Spring Training) comes out to over $5MM. Here’s more from the National League.

Brett Cecil’s struggles in his first season with the Cardinals after signing a $30.5MM contract, as well as seemingly minor injury issues to pitchers like Trevor Rosenthal (arm soreness) and Kevin Siegrist (neck), have strained the team’s bullpen, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Cecil has allowed 11 runs (nine earned) and nine walks in 14 1/3 innings thus far (although he’s struck out 18). It doesn’t sound, however, like GM John Mozeliak is yet on the lookout for late-inning relief help. “On paper I feel like it’s a luxury to have three players who can pitch the eighth and ninth,” Mozeliak says, presumably meaning Cecil, Rosenthal and closer Seung Hwan Oh, although Siegrist has also frequently pitched in the late innings this season. “Clearly, the way Cecil’s performed to date, it’s been tough, it’s been better and it’s been tough again. I still think over the course of the year he’s going to be somebody we can count on, but he’s certainly having to work through some early struggles.”
The Dodgers have announced that they’ve optioned young lefty Julio Urias to Triple-A Oklahoma City, recalling righty Josh Ravin from Oklahoma City to take his place. Urias allowed seven runs (six earned) in 2 1/3 innings against the Marlins yesterday, giving him a 5.40 ERA with just 4.2 K/9 and a 5.4 BB/9 over five starts this season despite allowing just two runs total in his first three. The Dodgers currently have six potential starting pitchers either on their 25-man or soon to be available (Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Alex Wood, plus Kenta Maeda, who is expected to return from the disabled list this week) so they can afford to let the 20-year-old Urias continue to develop in the minors for the time being.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/20/17

By Mark Polishuk | May 20, 2017 at 9:05pm CDT

Here are the latest minor moves from around the baseball world, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

The Dodgers have signed righty Daniel Corcino to a minor league deal. Corcino was with the Dodgers organization from 2015-16, though he didn’t see any major league action during that time. The 26-year-old’s only experience at the game’s highest level came with Cincinnati in 2014, when he pitched to a 4.34 ERA over 18 2/3 innings. Corcino, who opened this year with 9 1/3 subpar innings as a member of the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate, has logged a 4.19 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 750 career minor league frames.

EARLIER TODAY

The Reds purchased the contract of right-hander Asher Wojciechowski from Triple-A, the team announced. In corresponding moves, catcher Stuart Turner was placed on the 10-day DL with a right hamstring strain and righty Nefi Ogando was moved to the 60-day DL. Wojciechowski signed a minor league deal with the Reds last month after being released by the D’Backs near the end of Spring Training. The righty was selected 41st overall in the 2010 draft by the Blue Jays and he has 16 1/3 innings in the majors to his name, all with the Astros in 2015.
Craig Gentry accepted his outright assignment to the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko tweets. Gentry was outrighted off Baltimore’s 40-man roster earlier this week, and he had the option of rejecting that assignment to become a free agent, though he has clearly chosen to remain in the organization. The veteran outfielder hit .162/.256/.270 in 44 plate appearance for the O’s this season.
The Marlins outrighted Mike Aviles to Triple-A yesterday, as per a team announcement. Aviles was signed to a minor league deal less than two weeks ago and was already promoted for a brief stint in the bigs due to Miami’s lack of infield depth, though Aviles was designated for assignment after Christian Colon was claimed off waivers.

Dodgers Place Justin Turner On 10-Day DL

By Jeff Todd | May 19, 2017 at 5:47pm CDT

6:22pm: Turner has only a Grade 1 strain and is expected to be ready within a “couple weeks,” Roberts told reporters including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter). The club anticipates utilizing Logan Forsythe at times at third while Turner is out, the skipper added.

5:47pm: The Dodgers have placed third baseman Justin Turner on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He has been diagnosed with a hamstring strain.

Los Angeles will dearly miss Turner, who has excelled since re-signing with the team over the winter, for whatever stretch he’s out. He has only hit one home run thus far after swatting 27 last year, but is nevertheless slashing .379/.453/.493 over 162 plate appearances.

Turner will be replaced by outfielder Brett Eibner on the roster, as JP Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reported, though obviously other arrangements will be needed in the infield. Presumably, the hot-hitting Chris Taylor and utilityman Enrique Hernandez will see added opportunities while Turner is down.

There does seem to be hope, however, that the hammy pull isn’t a particularly significant one. While the visual cues weren’t terribly promising when the injury occurred, manager Dave Roberts told MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (via Twitter) that he was fairly optimistic about the prognosis while noting that a DL placement was quite likely regardless. Of course, that was before the MRI took place; presumably, we’ll learn more about the current expectations before long.

West Notes: Giants, Dodgers, Mariners, Rangers

By Connor Byrne | May 14, 2017 at 12:05pm CDT

Off to a major league-worst 14-24 start, the Giants look like sellers in the making. The problem is that the veterans they could attempt to move are lacking in trade value, observes Buster Olney of ESPN. The best of the bunch is Johnny Cueto, but the offseason opt-out clause in the right-hander’s contract takes away some of his appeal. Then there’s righty Jeff Samardzija, who owns a 5.44 ERA in 46 1/3 innings (albeit with a 3.43 FIP) and is due upward of $60MM through 2020, as well as aging outfielders Hunter Pence and Denard Span. The 34-year-old Pence is making $18.5MM both this year and next, while Span, 33, is on a $9MM salary through 2018 and has a $4MM buyout for 2019.

Injury Notes: Hill, Ethier, AGon, Bailey, Melancon, Mariners, Kluber, Gray

By Jeff Todd | May 12, 2017 at 9:38pm CDT

Here’s the latest on some notable health situations from around the game:

The Dodgers have updates on a number of players. Lefty Rich Hill is going to return as a starter, but if his blister issue recurs then the team will consider moving him into some kind of relief role, manager Dave Roberts tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). The timeline remains a ways off for outfielder Andre Ethier, meanwhile. He’s still not able to run without feeling pain in his back, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports, making it seem unlikely he’d be able to return early July. Finally, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week, Alanna Rizzo of Sportsnet LA tweets. He may only require two or three games before returning.
On the other side of the city, the Angels are sending righty Andrew Bailey for a visit with Dr. David Altchek, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The reliever “felt something” in his shoulder during a recent throwing session. Shoulder issues have kept him on the DL all year.
Further north, the Giants have cause for hope that closer Mark Melancon will require only the brief DL timeline the club had charted when he was taken off the active roster. As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter, Melancon is reporting reduced symptoms in his forearm. The righty will test things out by playing catch tomorrow.
Continuing up the coast, the Mariners also have a smattering of health updates of note, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. Key young talents James Paxton and Mitch Haniger are moving in the right direction, with the hope still being that they’ll return before the month is out. Reliever Steve Cishek is also close. But Felix Hernandez is going to rest his ailing shoulder a bit more, leaving his timeline somewhat cloudy, and it’s still not clear what to expect from Hisashi Iwakuma.
Indians righty Corey Kluber is moving slowly in his rehab, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Out with lower back issues, Kluber has begun throwing from flat ground but still hasn’t taken the hill. Manager Terry Francona did say that the team is seeing progress, though perhaps the biggest test is yet to come.
Rockies staff ace Jon Gray is also taking longer than had been hoped, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post writes. Gray is still in a walking boot while his broken left foot heals, though the hope seems to be he’ll be ready to shed that soon. While Gray has been able to continue throwing, he’ll obviously need to boost his conditioning and ensure his foot is at full health before undertaking at least some kind of rehab assignment.

Heyman’s Latest: Miller, Marlins, Cole, Tigers, Agency Changes

By Steve Adams | May 11, 2017 at 9:23pm CDT

Last August, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the Diamondbacks and Marlins were in talks regarding a possible Shelby Miller trade that was ultimately vetoed by D-backs owner Ken Kendrick. Roughly nine months later, FanRag’s Jon Heyman adds some more context to the story, noting that the two sides were in talks regarding right-handers Luis Castillo, Jose Urena and Austin Brice were all being discussed as potential pieces for Arizona to acquire, as was left-hander Dillon Peters (not necessarily all four, though Castillo and Urena were likely the centerpieces). One D-backs source tells Heyman the trade was never close, though Heyman cites others who agreed with Nightengale’s report, stating that Kendrick did indeed veto the deal when it was close to fruition. Miller, of course, remained with the D-backs and looked better in 2017 than he did in 2016 before suffering a torn UCL and undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Heyman’s weekly American League and National League Notes columns reveal a few more interesting hot stove items…

Despite the fact that multiple reports suggest the bidding price for the Marlins is around $1.3 billion, some have suggested to Heyman that the team’s lack of revenue and significant financial commitments to Giancarlo Stanton, Wei-Yin Chen, Martin Prado and others will ultimately lower the sale price after a full financial examination. Heyman adds that despite prior reports, he’s been told that Alex Rodriguez was never actually offered a spot in the Tagg Romney/Tom Glavine group that is vying to purchase the Marlins. Whether A-Rod was made an offer or not, the key takeaway is that it appears he won’t be involved in the sale.
Rival executives believe that Pirates ace Gerrit Cole could land on the trade market this summer, per Heyman. The former No. 1 overall pick would make for an extremely interesting addition to the summer trade market, though Bucs certainly needn’t feel compelled to trade him. Cole is controlled through the 2019 season and is earning a perfectly reasonable $3.8MM this season (though that number will spike in his second trip through arbitration this winter). Nonetheless, with two and a half years of club control left, Cole would fetch a significant haul of young talent if he were actually made available. It seems quite likely that the Bucs will listen on Andrew McCutchen and Tony Watson this summer (Watson, like Mark Melancon last year, is a pending free agent), but Cole would have the most significant value of the bunch.
Even if a closer upgrade were available to the Tigers at the moment, they don’t have the money to make an addition (or at least wouldn’t be willing to spend it). Detroit recently demoted Francisco Rodriguez from the ninth inning in favor of Justin Wilson following a brutal start to the season for K-Rod, and their bullpen has once again been a weak spot. Heyman notes that GM Al Avila at one point made a trip to Triple-A Toledo and “read the riot act” to right-hander Bruce Rondon, who has responded by dropping 15 pounds. Rondon was once viewed as a potential closer of the future, but he’s yet to establish himself and has had issues with his conditioning and effort level.
Heyman also reports a pair of agency changes, noting that Red Sox top prospect Rafael Devers is now a client of Rep 1 Baseball, while Dodgers top prospect Yadier Alvarez is now repped by Wasserman. Neither has made his MLB debut yet, though both are considered among the game’s top 25 to 50 prospects and could theoretically surface in the Majors within the next calendar year or so (Devers, who is already in Double-A, appears closer than Alvarez, who has just 18 innings in High-A). Both changes are now reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains representation info on roughly more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any inaccuracies or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Injury Notes: Liriano, Story, Maeda, Braun, Red Sox

By Steve Adams | May 11, 2017 at 5:44pm CDT

The Blue Jays announced that left-hander Francisco Liriano has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to inflammation in his left shoulder. Righty Leonel Campos has been called up from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move. While Liriano becomes the third Blue Jays starter to land on the disabled list (joining J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez), Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets that the team is hopeful that Liriano won’t need to spend more than the minimum 10 days on the shelf. Right-hander Mike Bolsinger will remain in the rotation and make what would’ve been Liriano’s next scheduled start on Monday, per Nicholson-Smith.

A few more notable injury updates from around the league…

The Rockies have placed shortstop Trevor Story on the 10-day DL due to a strained left shoulder, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports. Story initially suffered the injury two nights ago in at-bat against the Cubs, though his struggles at the plate have been an ongoing issue since Opening Day. Story took Major League Baseball by storm in 2016 when he hit 27 homers through just 415 plate appearances as a rookie, though a torn ligament in his thumb cut his season short in early August. It’s possible that there are some lingering effects of that issue, as Story has batted a woeful .180/.289/.396 with a 37.5 percent strikeout rate through his first 33 games in 2017.
The Dodgers have lost yet another starter to the disabled list, as right-hander Kenta Maeda has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to tightness in his left hamstring. Maeda, who took a shutout into the ninth inning of last night’s game, has been excellent over his past three outings (2.21 ERA, 21-to-4 K/BB ratio in 20 1/3 innings) following a rough start to the season. There’s no word on precisely how long Maeda will be sidelined just yet, though he joins Rich Hill, Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and Brock Stewart on the L.A. disabled list.
Brewers slugger Ryan Braun is likely headed to the disabled list, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter links). Braun recently had an MRI on a strained calf and has also been dealing with some forearm discomfort, and a short trip to the DL would allow him to rest up both issues. “I can’t really run or throw,” Braun told reporters (via Haudricourt). “Hopefully, if I get [a] little bit of downtime I’ll be able to get back to full strength.” That doesn’t sound like there’s a lengthy trip in order, but it certainly does seem to suggest that a DL placement is looming.
Carson Smith is throwing a pair of bullpen sessions this week for the Red Sox, writes WEEI’s Rob Bradford, but fellow right-hander Tyler Thornburg doesn’t appear to be that far along. Both Smith and Thornburg were acquired over the past two offseasons in an effort to help build a bridge to Craig Kimbrel, but injuries have prevented the Sox from reaping any value from either trade. ““With Tyler, we’ll still trying to get him through some more aggressive flatground work,” manager John Farrell told reporters earlier this week. “…“It’s been a little bit of a puzzle for all involved here including Tyler, because the MRI’s that he’s gone through, while showing a little bit of an impingement, hasn’t revealed anything more structural than that.”

Andrew Toles Diagnosed With Torn ACL

By Jeff Todd | May 10, 2017 at 5:40pm CDT

Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles has been diagnosed with a torn right ACL, the club announced and Ken Gurnick of MLB.com was among those to tweet. He’ll require surgery to repair the ligament that seems likely to keep him out for the remainder of the season.

For the time being, at least, Brett Eibner will take his place on the active roster, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). Also coming up is Scott Van Slyke, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links), with reliever Adam Liberatore also hitting the DL with a groin strain. The two new additions to the roster, however, both hit from the right side.

The left-handed-hitting Toles, 24, hurt himself chasing down a flyball in the left field corner in an attempt to preserve an ongoing no-hitter. But he couldn’t make the catch and had to be helped off the field after going down awkwardly.

Today’s news represents the worst-case scenario. While Toles should have every hope of returning to full health after his ACL is repaired, the recovery time required makes it all but certain he won’t return in the present season.

Toles had engineered a meteoric rise to the majors last year, finally (and suddenly) making good on his promise. He had previously been a third-round pick of the Rays who washed out of baseball and ended up sitting out the 2015 season. But he hit at every level in 2016, including the majors, where he slashed .314/.365/.505 in 115 plate appearances.

That late-season showing made Toles a clear part of the Dodgers’ plans for the current campaign. If anything, though, his importance has increased: Toles is one of six Dodgers players who has accumulated more than 100 plate appearances thus far. Though he’s not quite hitting at last year’s pace, Toles is sitting at a productive .271/.314/.458.

Of course, that offensive work has come almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, as the Dodgers prefer to use him in a fairly strict platoon role. But he was a highly useful piece, and one that will be missed. While Los Angeles is fortunate in that top prospect Cody Bellinger has opened his career with a bang, and is capable of playing a corner, he had been slated to spend most of his time at first base with the struggling Adrian Gonzalez resting his ailing forearm. Instead, Bellinger will occupy left field for the time being, skipper Dave Roberts told reporters including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). He added that the organization will look to accelerate Gonzalez’s rehab timeline in the wake of the injury.

Looking ahead a bit, Andre Ethier could ultimately take over as the primary left-handed-hitting platoon corner outfielder, though he’s still a ways away from returning and features quite a different skillset than Toles. Ultimately, there are still plenty of scenarios for the Dodgers to have quite a productive outfield unit. So long as Gonzalez can return to take the lion’s share of time at first, the team can allow Bellinger and Yasiel Puig a chance to hold down near-everyday jobs in the corners, with platoon pieces such as Ethier and Franklin Gutierrez on hand to pick up any slack.

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