3:50pm: It’s now official, with the Dodgers announcing they have recalled Sauer and designated Ureña for assignment.
8:03am: Speaking to reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) after last night’s extra-innings victory over the Padres, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that the team is planning to recall right-hander Matt Sauer from Triple-A. Sauer is already with the team in San Diego as a member of the taxi squad, but the Dodgers will need to formally add him to the roster before he can pitch this evening. To do so, they will designate veteran righty José Ureña for assignment (per Ardaya).
Drafted by the Yankees in 2017, Sauer made his MLB debut last season with the Royals, who had selected him in the Rule 5 draft. However, Kansas City DFA’d him after he gave up 14 runs in his first 14 games, and he returned to finish out the season in New York’s farm system. The righty elected free agency this past offseason and signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in December. This will already be Sauer’s fifth stint with the Dodgers this year. He made the travel roster for the Tokyo Series (although he did not appear in a game) and has since been optioned and recalled several times. All told, he has thrown 20 2/3 innings over seven appearances, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on 16 hits. The 26-year-old has only struck out 13 batters (16.7% K%), but his low walk rate (3.8%) and high groundball rate (49.2%) have helped him keep runners off the bases and runs off the board. As has been the case each previous time he was recalled, Sauer isn’t likely to stick around on L.A.’s 26-man roster for long. That said, a player can only be optioned five times in a season, so the next time the Dodgers option him will be the last.
Due to the Dodgers limited rotation depth – Tony Gonsolin recently joined fellow starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt and Gavin Stone on the IL – Sauer is likely to pitch multiple innings as part of a bullpen game today. However, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register suggests he will probably come in after an opener rather than start the game.
Ureña signed with the Dodgers last week, shortly after the Blue Jays DFA’d him. As Ardaya notes, the Dodgers will only be on the hook for a prorated portion of the league minimum salary for the few days he spent on their active roster. In that time, Ureña made two appearances for L.A., giving up one run on four hits over three innings. Altogether, he has pitched 18 1/3 innings this season for the Mets, Blue Jays, and Dodgers, with a 5.40 ERA and 5.09 SIERA to show for it. Considering his long MLB track record and versatility – he can pitch into the fifth inning as a starter or touch 98 mph out of the bullpen – he shouldn’t have trouble latching on somewhere else. The journeyman might not be seeing the same success he enjoyed with the Rangers in 2024 (3.80 ERA in 109 IP), but there’s a reason three contending clubs have put him on their roster this season.
When MLB limited the number of pitchers on the active roster we started to see teams use their Triple-A team as an extended pitching roster where they had 16 or 17 regular pitchers and they just sent pitchers up and down constantly as needed. This practice circumvented to cap on pitchers on the active roster.
To prevent that, MLB instituted a new minimum time that a player had to be in the minors before they could be called back up again. So, to circumvent that, teams are now using players like Ureña and Casey Lawrence to circumvent the rule. Now, they sign such players for a game or two and then dump them for a fresh arm and around and around they go. It is time for the league to step in and institute a minimum time such a player must be on the active roster (perhaps the same as the minor league minimum) to try to curb this practice. It’s getting ridiculous.
Either that or simple increase the roster size. But of course that would cost mlb money and they would rather exploit desperate fringe players rather than simply pay fair market value for the services they desire.
“either that or simply increase roster”…Any real union would have pushed for major roster increases decades ago. That’s the best way to serve the majority of MLBPA members.
But, historically the MLBPA has only looked out for the Max Scherzers & Juan Sotos of baseball and the majority of rank & file members are not really represented.
The MLBPA is as much to blame as anyone for fringe players being manipulated and that really needs to be said.
I think the minimum time that an optioned player has to be in the minors predates the cap on pitchers on the major league roster. What is recent is the cap on the number of times a player may be optioned during a season, which is five, after which a player must be outrighted after clearing waivers to go to the minors.
Yet MLB is concerned about pitcher injuries so they institute rules to make it more difficult for fresh arms to arrive so as to not overuse relievers or spot starters. Makes no sense. Another bonehead rule.
When I was reading this I immediately assumed you were going to accuse the Dodgers of using the IL to circumvent the cap. AAA has always been used for this, that’s why it’s sometimes referred to as a “parking lot” – where to stash MLB level players for depth.
Honestly before the 13 pitcher cap, most teams were using 13 pitchers on the active roster, which was up from 12. The “8 man bullpen” was largely derided, but now it’s the standard. This is so recent that MLB The Show still is configured to simulate a season for a 7 man bullpen, and your 8th reliever will… just not pitch (I’ve had guys on the roster an entire year and they pitch like 4 IP).
This is just the game changing, and the roster cap rule tried to get out ahead of it. It probably didn’t do enough, to your point. The limiting guys going up/down to 5 times a year also tried to stop this sort of pitching carousel.
There used to be 10 pitchers on a roster, so teams are keeping more than ever before at 13, which is pretty much standard now.
But be aware of unintended consequences. If a player has to be on the active roster 15 days they won’t get a chance in the first place. For the Urena’s of the world the system isn’t so bad. They get a couple days MLB pay. If they get claimed they get to stay in the majors since they are out of options. If they clear waivers they have the choice of going to the AAA affiliate or becoming a free agent and trying to find a better deal. The problem is our perception of DFA is the player is being released. When in most cases it’s just a procedural move to get the player to the minors. So in a couple days Urena will be on another MLB team or pitching for the Dodgers AAA affiliate. Just keep the suitcase ready
“But beware of unintended consequences”..Arena is desperately chasing 10 yrs of service time so he won’t care how and where he gets it.
Such is the life of a Major League baseball player and this is the life they signed up for.
MLB – he surely is trying to get to 10 for that pension at 55 – approx 20 years away for him – but at over 18 mil in contract salaries probably not “desperately”.
He likely is more motivated just to be on an mlb team and playing the game as long as he can.
@Deckard – Agree.
They should do away with limiting the number of pitchers on active roster. Teams used to be able to send down a position player to get an extra arm for a tough stretch of games.
They should also do away with the rules on when position players can be used in a game.
I suspect that we’ll see implementation of taxi squads in the near future. Active game rosters would still be 26 (or reduced back to 25) but you can swap players with the taxi squad game by game.
111 pitches 9 ERS over 4.2 IP for Sauer. The Dodgers got their fresh arm and used & abused him as is their standard practice regarding MLB pitchers. I am sure Sauer will be optioned to AAA tomorrow.
I am all for protecting MLB SP arms. But there has to be repercussions for abusing the MLB 26 man roster for bullpen games.
Out of curiosity I went and spent 2 minutes on baseball- lreference, prior to today the most pitches Sauer had ever thrown in a game was 98 pitches back in a 2022 start.
I don’t think I can recall a team leaving an arm in there to take one for the team to the degree that Roberts did tonight with Sauer.
They showed him in the dugout shortly after he was finally pulled and it looked like he was massaging the muscles in his pitching forearm.
I totally agree.
Looks like they Sauer’d on Urena.
That’ll work
Or they sweetened on Sauer
I think they may sour on Sauer. But I’m sweet on our best bullpen arm, Kiké!
I hear he is a Sauer patch kid.
Jose Urena is getting passed around like that special stuff at a sesh.
Pass the dutchie on the left hand side
Braves should pick him up lol
If Urena were any good they’d be naming stadia or sporting buildings after him. Instead, here we are
Nats should try to sign Urena
Just 3 innings pitched for the Dodgers. Had him going over 5 innings, so close!
Now do Domingo German. Would love to see the Dodgers rolling out a Sauer-Kraut combo come Octoberfest.
“Now do Domingo German”…Whatever happened to Domingo German? The last I heard of him, he was being placed on a “bad boy” list for alcohol and behavioral issues. He seemingly could help a couple teams as a 5th starter or extra BP arm.
I’m pretty sure he’s still a free agent. He was awful in the handful of games he pitched last year
Sauer sb starting one of the next two games over Miller or Wrobleski.
Wrobo starts Wednesday
No, he’s not. I don’t think Miller is even on the 40man right now anyway. In either case it’s doubtful Sauer starts a game but rather will likely throw medium/long relief
Yeah, Sauer theoretically does long relief after the opener. But I’m pretty sure they never DFA’d Miller….
No he wasn’t DFA’d, I think he was sent straight down to aaa. I THINK he has this one final year of options. I could be wrong though
Miller pitched tonight in OKC. Not good: 3.1 innings, 10 earned
Am I crazy? I’d much rather see Urena in a game than Sauer. Not to mention length is an issue/ You can definitely get more innings out of Urena
Not any more we can’t…
It’s a toss=up for sure. I just think based on history there’s a slightly better chance of getting more out of Urena than Sauer.
God hurry up allstar break..
Shohei looked so good throwing live BP today. Soon come.
They cycling through fresh arms. Urena just one of many expendables for eating innings in the middle of a very long season….
thought he looked good enough to hang around a minute. jerry hairpiece seriously needs to lose that thing. he looks totally ridic
That toupee was a Carpeteria special.
Let’s hear the calliope.
Musical Chair IL manipulation continues.
Would have been nice to have Sauer make it a difficult decision, but we’re back at Next Man Up!