Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided a host of injury updates this afternoon regarding various relief options for the club as LA hurtles toward their eleventh consecutive playoff appearance, as relayed by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. While right-hander Tony Gonsolin will not be an option for the club down the stretch this year, Roberts provided updates on a pair of relievers who could still impact the club in 2023: right-handers Joe Kelly and Yency Almonte.
Kelly threw a bullpen session recently but is still struggling with pain in his elbow, per Roberts. The veteran righty, who threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings with the Dodgers after joining the club at the trade deadline alongside Lance Lynn, went on the injured list earlier this month with elbow inflammation. According to Roberts, Kelly is expected to return in time for the postseason but there is “a chance he’s not gonna be 100%” when he does. Almonte, meanwhile, has a clearer timeline, with Roberts indicating that the 29 year old is two to three weeks from a return from his knee injury.
Most interesting for Dodgers fans will surely be Roberts’ comments on right-hander Walker Buehler, who’s aiming to return from Tommy John surgery before the 2023 season comes to a close. Buehler hasn’t started a rehab assignment, but Plunkett relays that Roberts still believes Buehler’s long-stated goal of returning to the big league mound for games in September is still on the table, with the manager indicating that the club is planning on Buehler to return to the majors toward the middle of the month. While Roberts notes that Buehler’s stuff is in good shape, his command “hasn’t been good” and is something “he’ll have to work through” on his coming rehab assignment.
Healthy returns to the mound from Kelly, Almonte, and particularly Buehler would substantially deepen the club’s bullpen ahead of the postseason. While the Dodgers have been nothing short of dominant of late with just four losses in August, the club’s bullpen is a potential weak point, ranking roughly middle-of-the-pack in the majors with a 3.83 ERA and having been leaned on for the more innings than any NL bullpen besides those in Cincinnati and San Francisco.
More injury notes from around the league…
- Star Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers underwent x-rays on his wrist after being hit by a pitch during last night’s game against LA and struck from the lineup this afternoon. Fortunately, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic relays that those x-rays came back negative, per manager Alex Cora. Cora added to reporters that Devers could return to the lineup as soon as tomorrow, depending on how the slugger is feeling. That’s surely a relief for Boston, as the 26-year-old infielder is perhaps the club’s most important and consistent players. Devers is in the midst of another season right in line with his career norms; since his breakout campaign in 2019, he’s slashed .288/.351/.529 with a 19.7% strikeout rate and a 131 wRC+. In 530 trips to the plate this season, Devers has essentially replicated that line, slashing .272/.347/.516 with a 18.7% strikeout rate and a 127 wRC+.
- Tigers right-hander Matt Manning is preparing to make his next start on Wednesday after exiting his last start with lower back tightness. With that being said, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press indicated yesterday that Manning actually making his start on Wednesday is not a guarantee. Per Petzold, manager AJ Hinch told reporters that the club will “see how the next couple of days are” regarding Manning’s health before determining whether or not he’ll make his start. Petzold suggests right-hander Spencer Turnbull and left-hander Joey Wentz could be options to take the ball on Wednesday should Manning, who sports a 3.93 ERA in 13 starts with the Tigers this season, require a trip to the shelf.
- Brewers righty Adrian Houser departed today’s start against the Padres after just two innings, having allowed four runs on four hits and a walk. Milwaukee indicated that Houser’s early exit was due to what the club termed “minor forearm tightness.” As relayed by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Houser downplayed the injury’s seriousness in conversations with reporters, indicating he expects to make his next start after taking some time off to rest. Houser’s next start would line up for Saturday against the Phillies, though with a day off on Thursday Milwaukee has the ability to give Houser additional rest without using another starter, should he need it.
This Buehler thing seems like a pipe dream.
Somewhat relatedly, Betts’s numbers this year are strangely similar to those from 2018, and we all know what he was doing then. He’s also suddenly infallible with runners at second base. It’s almost as if LA quietly hired someone shady from his Boston past. Should probably be a bigger story, but MLB needs its golden child.
Mr Alternate Reality is obsessing about his favorite team again. You believe in rigged elections too?
Weird response. Do you know who JT Watkins is?
This year Mookie Betts is having his highest BAbip in years. That is it. If you look at his Baseball Reference page, you will see that nothing else is far off from typical for him.
Actually this is doubly weird because we know Betts was cheating in years past. It’s not exactly outlandish…
Sure, Mr Conspiracy Theory….
He admitted it, sweetie…
Yes and MLB is protecting him and rigging the season for ratings and money. Amirite?
Neon – So what’s your thoughts on how Betts has cheated? I have NEVER heard anything about Betts cheating. The Astros – YES. Cora – TWICE but Betts? What did he allegedly do?
Read the LA Times article about the JT Watkins hire. Betts admits to cheating in it. Thought this was old news…
Watkins’ is an analytical genius, THAT is y he was hired. And his acquaintance with Betts n JD as well. You think Betts would risk getting suspended, hated and banned from the HOF, to get a 3rd ring? LMAO. Plus Shoei coming to town, hell win another 2 easily! Dodger’s rarely have even cheated: Gagne PED, Manny wood PED, Kal Daniels ( corcked bat) ( didn’t do him an fn’ good) Gross: Vaseline
That’s it!
Dodgers are well known for their top notch sign stealing, borderline, but legal! It’s what gets teams very angry, and is what got hou. To start real time sign stealing, to counter LAD. All the cheaters got caught. You can arguably say LAD is immoral in regards to baseball, but they’re not cheaters. Either way bruh, let it go. Dodgers will probably just get knocked out by the Cubs. I can just see Belli doing it too. That’d be dodger luck
Neon Cop – I read the article and what a mockery you are making of it.
Everyone knew there was a crackdown on the Video room prior to the playoffs and nothing happened during the world series. The Dodgers are cry babies but to be fair they got screwed in 2017..
I think they got screwed by Houston just like the Red Sox did in 2017 but the 2018 season and World Series is only tarnished by the presence of Alex Cora as the manager of the Red Sox. He orchestrated the Houston cheating and prompted the Boston cheating. Watson clearly is just as culpable as Cora for having his actions sanction by the biggest cheater in baseball history. BOTH should have been banned from baseball for life.
The HOUSTON 2017 cheating impacted up to 90 games whereas the Red Sox poorly planned cheating scandal had very little impact on anything. The logistics of decoding a sign sequence after a game on Monday so they can use it when they are on 2nd base on Tuesday (NOT IN A SCORING POSITION AS YOU SUGGESTED or on 1st Base) is really a stretch.
First, there is a significant number of players who are uncomfortable getting signs relayed to them from 2nd base with or without a decoder ring on the runners finger. Also, if you ever played baseball you know the timing of putting down a sign, the pitcher accepting it or changing it and then the wind-up happening while you learn from a player to the left of the pitcher who is signalling the pitch by voice or some body action.to you while you are trying to pick up the release point of the pitch and apply the data you just received as to whether it’s a fastball or off speed pitch.
If you count the number of times a runner is on second base and on board with yesterday’s decrypted signal sequence in his head and compare it to every batter getting a garbage can loud signal on every pitch, you can make the argument that what Boston did was ineffective and not significantly different than what sign stealers have been doing for over 100 years when there is a runner on 2nd base.
So the Red Sox and Mookie have nothing to feel guilty about other than being associated with Cora, The Astros, however, not only stole many games during the regular season and post season in 2017 but they effectively got away with it thanks to the dysfunctional relationship between the MLBPA and the commissioner.. How anyone could have concluded this wasn’t an egregious infraction of the rules is beyond me. I couldn’t believe that nobody got just punishment. Not the 3 amigos, not the players and not the players association for not helping clean up the situation. It was an embarrassing moment for baseball when the Houston scandal was identified and virtually ignored by those in charge of baseball.
Superb post! Cheating is not nice, Cora became a manager only because of his one year as a bench coach in which he was the mastermind of the cheating scandal. Shame on him.
Teams are now using PitchAI to decode mechanical tells from opposing pitchers. Who knows exactly what scheme LA uses, but it’s interesting that Betts is only a superstar when the disgraced Watkins is around…
LA Dodgers
2013 NLCS – lost
2014 NLDS – lost
2015 NLDS – lost
2016 NLCS – lost
2017 WS – lost
2018 WS – lost
2019 NLDS – lost
2020 (COVID half season) WS – won
2021 NLDS – lost
2022 NLDS – lost
0 for 9 full season Workd Series championships
9 for 9 full season playoff chokes
Great team … just not in the playoffs…..
There have been no documented instances of cheating regarding the 2018 Red Sox. It looks like not much was going on in the regular season and they had a better winning percentage in the postseason when cheating was impossible due to having a MLB monitor in each video room.
Now, they’re stealing signs from PitchCom. Guess the Dodgers brass actually are geniuses….
Or maybe Mookie is just an all time great player who is always capable of a season like this?
always capable? why’s it only happened twice in his entire career? both times conspicuously with a known cheater’s help. y’all are truly naive.
His non-MVP seasons are easily all star elite caliber. “why doesn’t he put up a 170 OPS+ every year”. Well genius that would make him a top 5 hitter in baseball history lmao. Not exactly an easy thing to do
The guy is a known cheater and you people fall all over yourselves defending him for some inexplicable reason. Why do you think they hired Watkins? Why do you think Betts is magically playing out of his mind like he did in 2018? Use your brain, for once.
Alright Neon Cop back to the nursing home. MLB is definitely looking the other way on cheating by Watkins who they already busted once because it’s te
he Dodgers who they want to be good. Sure. Meatloaf at 4pm.
You’re so close to getting it. Why would LA hire a guy who cheated against them? You can do this…
The 10 game juggernaut vs HOU and LAD has 3 games left at home vs HOU. I think it’s a morale victory that the team has escaped with a 3-4 record. That bodes well for the rest of the season if they can win 1 or 2 of 3 from HOU at home.
3 easy games vs KC on the road and 3 tough games in TB will be a much easier stretch if Devers is back and available to play before HOU leaves BOS. If he is hurting at the end of the HOU series they could afford to rest him vs KC so he’s ready for TB.
After TB the team has a schedule that could keep them over .500 if they continue to handle both NYY and TOR. They also have CWS to pad their wins against. The remaining 10 games include 7 vs BAL who they will need to win 3 or more against and they’ll need to beat TEX in TEX at least one of three times. If they accomplish all that, who knows, maybe somebody besides NYY will fail miserably. TOR seems like the most likely candidate and TEX is struggling so BAL, HOU or SEA seem like division winners with TB the 2nd WC which means BOS would need to pass both TEX and TOR to get the 3rd WC spot.
BOS will need Devers to make such a run!!
Don’t forget though, Seattle has the tiebreakers against Boston.
The head to head vs Houston will go to the winner of the 3 game set.
Finally, the rangers, the head to head will depend on the winner of the September series. Boston needs to split to win it.
Of the wildcards to surpass, boston’s best chance is to run down Tex and hope Seattle keeps the AL west crown. I think HOU is too good overall for them to rely on running them down
3 easy games vs. K.C.? The Sox have been garbage playing against garbage (A’s, Nationals, etc.) That blame falls on Cora.
Milt – Two of the lowest lowlights of the season was getting swept at home by the Pirates and Cardinals.
Cora is now trying to win games, but it’s too little too late. Somebody needs to make the moron understand that games in the first half of the season are just as important as August games.
Cora said in 2020 he had learned that lesson after 2019.
I would toss the A’s in there as well. The Pirates were at least good for a bit.
This Rangers collapse is the best collapse since last years Mets
The Ranger through August 15th had only lost 4 games in a row one time in April when they gave up 2 walk-off wins to a hot CIN club. Josh Jung turned a double play on 110 MPH shot to 3B that fractured his thumb.
Calling the Ranger 8 game losing streak which is over a collapse is ignorant in light of the outstanding season they are having. Losing jung has hurt them so their winning percentage is bound to go down with a top hitter (Jung) and a top pitcher (Eovaldi) out of their line-up. Nate will be back soon and Jung will be back in September.
I’m afraid the collapse of the Texas Rangers is greatly exaggerated. Every team hits a cold spell. Theirs was prompted by a key injury but they will be fine because they have great talent, a great manager and a great GM all things missing from the Bloom Red Sox.
Excellent post! Rangers have a much brighter future than Red Sox under Bloom, especially when deGrom returns.
Turnbull is 5 days away from reaching 5 years of service time and will gain Free Agency after the ’24 season if he gets those days. Watch what the Tigers do here.
IMHO, their relationship is severely strained due to Turnbull claiming an injury when he got sent down in May and thus, continued to gain service time while on IR.
If Joey Wentz gets the start (even as he’s been awful lately) it will tell us what the Tigers think of Spencer T.
I’m curious what happens… I wouldn’t be surprised if Turnbull isn’t dealt over the winter.
Absolutely. This guy needed his agent to tell him he was hurt. No thanks…welcome a deal in the offseason.
Manning has become a pretty solid starting pitcher. No huge K rates or power pitching… none of that fancy stuff the analytic nerds love. Just gets guys out. Lowering his WHIp every year. Getting his era down. Less walks. He will make a solid number 4 in a decent rotation if he could stay healthy. Still, never over 100 innings in 1 major league year. He’s only 25… I bet he turns into a very solid pitcher.
I like Manning too. For some reason he kind of reminds me of a RH’d Andy Petit. He obviously isn’t at his level yet, but I’m seeing some similarities.
Mr neon cop… Mookie cheated?? Come on… what’s this world coming to… next you’ll say my buddy Brasier is a cheater cause since he signed with Dodgers he has a sub 1.00 era!!! ( you might have something on that one)
“Meanwhile” can’t come in the middle of the sentence. It needs to be at the start.