Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with reporters today, and shed some light on the Dodgers’ pitching plans and health situations heading into the postseason. Tyler Anderson was confirmed as part of the playoff rotation, as since Tony Gonsolin is still recovering from a forearm strain, Roberts said Gonsolin will throw no more than four innings in a game, if that. Dustin May (who just went went on the injured list yesterday due to back tightness) is slated for a bullpen role if he is healthy enough to participate.
Yency Almonte might be activated from the 10-day injured list during the Dodgers’ series against the Padres that begins on Tuesday, Roberts said. Almonte hasn’t pitched since August 3 due to elbow tightness, but the right-hander had a rehab outing scheduled for today with Triple-A Oklahoma City. In his first season in Los Angeles, Almonte has become an underrated piece of the bullpen mix, posting an excellent 1.15 ERA over 31 1/3 innings.
Some more from around the NL West…
- Madison Bumgarner has thrown his last pitch of the 2022 season, as while he isn’t injured, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (Twitter links) and other reporters that the D’Backs will use younger starters in Bumgarner’s usual rotation spot. While Bumgarner avoided injury for the first time in his three Arizona seasons, there wasn’t much to love about the left-hander’s performance, either from a bottom-line (4.88 ERA in 158 2/3 innings) or Statcast perspective — Bumgarner did pitch generally well in the first half of the season before fading after the All-Star break. The Diamondbacks owe Bumgarner $37MM over the 2023-24 seasons, the two final years of the five-year, $85MM free agent deal that has thus far been a bust for the club.
- The Giants placed outfielder Luis Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list yesterday, as a lower-back strain has ended Gonzalez’s season. This is the second time back problems have sent Gonzalez to the IL this season, as Giants manager Gabe Kapler told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters that Gonzalez had “been dealing with it ever since he even got off the IL, and I just think he was a more explosive, dynamic player going into that injury….He really has earned the right to be out there, he’s battled less than optimal physical condition to give us everything he’s had.” In both his first season in San Francisco and in his first season with real Major League playing time, Gonzalez hit a respectable .254/.323/.360 over 350 plate appearances. As Kapler noted, the back injury certainly impacted Gonzalez’s performance — he had an .808 OPS in 180 PA prior to his first IL stint, and just a .552 OPS in 170 PA after returning to action in early July.