Dodgers News: Dodgers Hope Triple-A Stint Will Benefit Casparius
With the activation of Alex Vesia, the Dodgers decided to option RHP Ben Casparius, hoping he can improve there in the final weeks of the season...
LOS ANGELES, CA—Yesterday saw the highly anticipated return of one of the Bullpen Dawgs in left-handed pitcher Alex Vesia; however, a corresponding move must have been made to add him to the active roster.
The Los Angeles Dodgers decided that the player would be right-handed swingman Ben Casparius, a decision that was not easy, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
“It was tough. Ben has done a lot of nice things for us, he really has. And he’s still a big part of what we’re doing this year,” manager Dave Roberts said.
“We just felt that obviously getting Alex back, it was a tough decision, but getting Ben back to dominating right-handed hitters is something that we felt if we can give him a chance to catch his breath, get to OKC and get back to that, he’ll be more helpful for us the rest of the year and potentially the postseason.”
Casparius was one of the few Dodgers bullpen arms with minor league options, a list that also included Jack Dreyer, Edgardo Henriquez, and Justin Wrobleski.
Casparius was one of the Dodgers’ most dependable arms out of the bullpen to start the regular season, posting a 2.68 ERA in the first three months.
Due to that success and the injury-plagued Dodgers rotation, the team opted to stretch Casparius out as a starter, an experiment that did not last long.
In 9.2 innings as a starter, Casparius saw his once dominant ERA balloon to 6.52, with opposing hitters also posting a .659 slugging percentage and .317 batting average.
After that, the Dodgers eased Casparius’s role back, but the damage had already seemed to be done.
After pitching 62.2 innings during the first half of the season, the Dodgers have done their best to hide him in the second half, with the righty only appearing in fifteen innings, allowing nine earned runs in that span.
Part of the reason the Dodgers decided to option Casparius was due to his lack of efficiency against right-handed batters, as the righty has been mediocre against them this season.
Still, Casparius could be an option for Dave Roberts to turn to in October as the righty has an excellent Hard-Hit-rate of 31.9, which ranks in the 96th percentile, along with an above-average Fastball Run Value of six, which ranks in the 79th percentile.
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