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Justin Bruihl

Dodgers Designate Dylan Covey For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced today that left-hander Justin Bruihl and right-hander Andre Jackson have been recalled to the club. In corresponding moves, right-hander Dustin May was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain and righty Dylan Covey designated for assignment.

The Dodgers have been facing various challenges with their pitching staff in recent days, leading to much improvising. They played a 12-inning game against the Twins on Monday, using six relievers after Noah Syndergaard lasted just four innings. On Tuesday, Clayton Kershaw was also bounced after just four frames, requiring the bullpen to pick up the remaining five.

That led the club to select Covey’s contract yesterday to give the bullpen a fresh arm. It was a good thing that they did, since May had to depart after just one inning with elbow pain. It was later reported that he has a flexor pronator strain and will likely miss four to six weeks, making today’s injured list placement inevitable. Covey stepped in and threw four innings in relief of May, allowing a couple of earned runs on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Four other pitchers came in after him as the Dodgers managed to pull off a 7-3 victory.

Despite playing a key role in that victory, Covey has been nudged out of his roster spot as the club was once again facing an exhausted pitching staff and needed some fresh arms. Prior to joining the big league club, he had a 4.22 ERA in 32 Triple-A innings on the year. The Dodgers will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He hasn’t really been a major league regular for a few years, pitching in the CPBL in Taiwan in 2021 and 2022, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see some other club express interest given the mounting pile of pitcher injuries around the league. In the event he does clear waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, by virtue of having a previous career outright.

Dodgers Select Dylan Covey

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1:37pm: The Dodgers formally announced the selection of Covey’s contract from Triple-A Oklahoma City. In a pair of corresponding moves, lefty Justin Bruihl was optioned to Triple-A and right-hander Jimmy Nelson was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Nelson hasn’t pitched in the Majors this season as he recovers from 2022 Tommy John surgery, and his rehab assignment was recently halted due to some soreness, so his move to the 60-day IL was largely a formality and not a particular surprise.

1:06pm: The Dodgers are going to select the contract of right-hander Dylan Covey, manager Dave Roberts tells reporters, including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The righty isn’t currently on the 40-man, so the club will need a corresponding move or moves to get him a spot there and on the active roster.

Covey, 31, pitched for the White Sox from 2017 through 2019, primarily as a starter. He logged 250 1/3 innings over those three seasons but registered an unimpressive 6.54 ERA. He got grounders at a solid 50% clip but struck out just 15.3% of batters faced while walking 10.1%. The Red Sox gave him eight relief appearances in 2020 but he put up a 7.07 ERA in those.

He then spent the next two years with the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, faring quite well. He made 33 starts there over 2021 and 2022 with a 3.63 ERA in 198 1/3 innings. He returned to North America this winter by signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers and currently has a 4.22 ERA through 32 Triple-A innings over six starts and one relief appearance, getting grounders on 62.2% of balls in play.

He will add a fresh arm to a bullpen that has been busy this week. The club played a 12-inning game on Monday and then saw Clayton Kershaw last just four innings yesterday, leading to the relief corps getting plenty of work. Covey can slot in and potentially cover multiple innings if need be, with the club’s next off-day not until May 25, next Thursday.

Dodgers Activate Clayton Kershaw

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As expected, the Dodgers have activated legendary southpaw Clayton Kershaw for his start today. Justin Bruihl was optioned to Triple-A to open the roster spot, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (via Twitter).

The veteran southpaw was at his best before a balky back sent him to the injured list for 33 days. He returns owning a 1.80 ERA/2.27 FIP over 30 innings with a stunning 32-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Kershaw’s return couldn’t come at a better time, given the current uncertainty over the health of Walker Buehler. The Dodgers are clinging to a one-game lead over the Padres in the division. It’s too early to think about the standings, but given the competition in the NL West recently, there doesn’t figure to be much margin for error. Regardless, the Dodgers’ +109 run differential is the best mark in the National League by a decent margin (the Mets are second at +68). Even without Kershaw, the Dodgers rotation has set the tone with a league-leading 2.71 ERA.

Bruihl, 24, has been a vital cog for manager Dave Roberts’ bullpen since making his debut last season. Over the two seasons, the California native has a 3.34 ERA/4.35 FIP over 35 career innings. This season, Bruihl has a 3.86 ERA/4.79 FIP in 17 appearances totaling 16 1/3 innings. Bruihl has held lefties to a punchless .250/.273/.250 line in 35 plate appearances this season, but he’s given it back to righties, who have hit .269/.394/.539 across 34 plate appearances.

Dodgers Announce Series Of Roster Moves

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The Dodgers announced a flurry of roster moves prior to today’s doubleheader against the D-backs. Right-hander Mitch White has been reinstated from the Covid-related injured list, with righty Blake Treinen moving to the 60-day injured list in order to open a roster spot. Los Angeles also optioned lefty Caleb Ferguson in favor of lefty Justin Bruihl, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers also placed right-hander Tommy Kahnle on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right forearm and brought righty Ryan Pepiot up as the 27th man for today’s twin bill.

Additional moves seem likely to take place between the day’s games, as manager Dave Roberts announced to reporters that lefty David Price will be activated from the Covid IL for the second game against Arizona (Twitter link via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). That’ll require an additional 40-man move.

Treinen’s move to the 60-day injured list further solidifies what Roberts explained earlier in the month when he told reporters that while the right-hander was forgoing an additional visit to a third-party doctor and would instead focus on rehabbing his shoulder with an eye toward returning after the All-Star break. Treinen enjoyed a dominant 2021 season for the Dodgers but pitched just three innings in 2022 before landing on the injured list with the shoulder injury that’ll now officially cost him at least half the season.

Turning to Kahnle, any forearm injury to a pitcher is generally cause for some concern, as they’re often portents to more treacherous diagnoses. In the case of Kahnle, he’s only just returned from Tommy John surgery and has seen his average fastball (95.5 mph) check in a fair bit shy of its pre-surgery levels in 2019 (96.6 mph). The Dodgers signed him to a two-year, $4.75MM deal prior to the 2021 season, knowing he’d miss the first season of the contract while rehabbing that surgery. He’s appeared in just four games for L.A. this season. The team did not provide a timetable for his potential return.

David Price Replaces Joe Kelly On Dodgers’ NLCS Roster

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Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts announced that right-hander Joe Kelly has been removed from the team’s playoff roster following a bicep injury that occurred in the first inning of last night’s game. Left-hander David Price has been added to the 26-man roster in his place.

Kelly ran into trouble serving as an opener against the Braves, allowing a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman that ultimately proved inconsequential as the Dodgers stormed back not long after. After facing just four batters Kelly walked off the mound with what is being termed a biceps strain. Even if the Dodgers advance to the World Series this strain will prove season-ending for Kelly. Injury removals of this sort render players ineligible to return for the current or next series, meaning even a speedy recovery wouldn’t enable Kelly to rejoin the pen.

Despite last night’s hardships Kelly had been a reliable weapon out of the bullpen for Roberts, as he allowed just one run in 4 2/3 playoff innings up to that point. That had continued a trend of strong work this year, as the bespectacled reliever finished the season with an impressive 2.86 ERA/3.08 FIP, a 27.5% strikeout rate, and 58.4% roundball rate across 44 innings.

Price meanwhile has served as a utility pitcher of sorts in his first regular season action with Dodgers. Following his opt-out of last year’s shortened season Price has embraced the role of occasional starter, middle reliever, and game finisher. Opposing batters haven’t had much difficulty facing the former Cy Young winner, hitting .272/.339/.428 with just a 17.8% strikeout rate. An above average ability to avoid hard contact and keep the ball out of the air however has allowed the lefty to post a serviceable 4.03 ERA/ 4.23 FIP across 73 2/3 innings this year.

In one more piece of ominous Dodgers news, Roberts also reported that left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl is dealing with arm soreness.  On the year the rookie pitched to a 2.89 ERA/ 3.97 FIP with a strong 50% roundball rate across 18 2/3 innings. While the lefty sported only a 15.1% strikeout rate in his inaugural season he displayed much stronger bat-missing abilities in the minors throughout his career, frequently checking in with strikeout rates north of 30%. A call hasn’t been made on whether or not to replace Bruihl on the roster just yet, though this continues an unwelcome trend of playoff injuries for the team after replacing Justin Turner on the roster yesterday.

Dodgers Remove David Price, Billy McKinney For NLCS

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The Dodgers narrowly survived a five-game tilt with their rival Giants, but now they must quickly turn the page and prepare for a seven-game NLCS rematch with the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately for Dodger fans, the club will continue without star first baseman Max Muncy. The injury the knocked Muncy out of the lineup in game 162 will keep him out at least through the World Series.

Here’s how the rest of the roster breaks down for the NLCS…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The most notable subtraction from the NLDS roster is southpaw David Price. He’s essentially replaced on the roster by the southpaw Bruihl. Though Price was on the NLDS roster, he did not appear in a game against the Giants. Bruihl provided the Dodgers with a more traditional bullpen lefty while giving up the potential length provided by Price. The veteran Price has plenty of postseason experience, whereas Bruihl is a 24-year-old rookie with just 21 big league games under his belt.

Regardless, it will be Bruihl in the bullpen alongside Vesia preparing for showdowns with Freddie Freeman, Eddie Rosario, or Joc Pederson. Bruihl faced 43 lefties over his 18 1/3 Major League innings, compared to just 30 right-handers. Those same-handed hitters struggled to a .150/.209/.150 mark with just six hits – none for extra bases. Of course, Freeman is usually protected in the lineup by righty Austin Riley, and with the three-batter rule, Bruihl likely won’t escape usage against opposite-handed hitters if he makes an appearance.

They also removed outfielder/first baseman Billy McKinney from the roster. The well-traveled McKinney had mostly been used as a late game replacement at first base. With Beatty, Pujols, and Bellinger on the roster, however, that’s a role the Dodgers should have no trouble filling. Manager Dave Roberts likely trusts both Beatty and Bellinger at first late in games, depending on what the match-ups at the plate dictate.

What is interesting is that the Dodgers chose to add an additional pitcher for this round. Right-hander Evan Phillips will give Roberts another arm with which to mix-and-match. They now have 13 pitchers and 13 position players. Phillips, 27, is a well-traveled righty who has logged innings in his professional career with the Braves, Orioles, Rays, and Dodgers. He made one appearance with Tampa this season before being claimed off waivers by the Dodgers. He appeared seven times down the stretch for the Dodgers, logging more than one inning in five of those seven outings.

The decision to remove McKinney and add Phillips leaves Roberts with a five-man bench. Most days, Pujols, Barnes, Beatty, Souza Jr., and Lux will be available to Roberts off the bench.

As for the rotation, the Dodgers are going with a bullpen game in game one, with Knebel serving as the opener, just as he did in game five against the Giants. Scherzer and Buehler should line up for games two and three.

Dodgers Select Justin Bruihl, Place Garrett Cleavinger On IL

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The Dodgers are placing Garrett Cleavinger on the IL with a right oblique strain, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Taking his place on the roster will be Justin Bruihl. The club had an open spot on the 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move is not necessary.

Bruihl, an undrafted free agent out California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo, is a 24-year-old lefty. He pitched 15 Double-A innings this year with an ERA of 1.20, earning himself a promotion to Triple-A. In 22 2/3 innings there, he has an ERA of 3.57. He has excellent strikeout and walk rates at both levels.

For Cleavinger, this is yet another bounce in a season full of them. He’s been optioned four times and this will be his second IL stint. In 18 MLB innings this year, he has an ERA of 3.o0, with a decent strikeout rate of 25%, but an elevated walk rate of 14.3%.

In other Dodgers news, Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times reports that Gavin Lux is about to begin a rehab assignment and that Corey Knebel is expected to be activated Tuesday. Lux has been out since mid-July with a hamstring injury. There might not be much room for him in the middle infield once he’s healthy, given that Corey Seager is back and has been joined by newly-acquired Trea Turner. In 313 plate appearances this year, Lux has a slash line of .227/.307/.349, for a wRC+ of 83.

The return of Knebel will be most welcome, since the Dodgers bullpen has been weathering a slew of injuries lately. The righty has only thrown six innings this year on account of a lat strain but can be a potent weapon when healthy. From 2015 to 2018, he threw 214 1/3 innings out of Milwaukee’s ’pen, with an ERA of 3.02 and a massive strikeout rate of 35%. But health has been the big issue in recent years, as he’s only thrown 19 1/3 innings since that time due to various injuries.

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