Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Dodgers’ dugout will be a little more crowded when the team opens up its homestand against the Padres on Friday night. On September 1st, rosters of all MLB teams could officially expand to 28 players. And, while it’s a far cry from the massive September expansions that we saw in years gone by, it does give manager Dave Roberts a few more options to choose from.
On the pitching side, Clayton Kershaw was activated and started Thursday’s game in New York. In addition, Phil Bickford was added to the active roster, being recalled after a brief stay down in OKC. Bickford joins Heath Hembree and Jake Reed, new arms who saw action during the Mets’ series. One pitcher who won’t be pitching for the Dodgers in early September will be Brusdar Graterol, who went on the IL on Thursday after complaining of elbow pain in his last appearance in Miami.
Somebody who will be coming back though will be Blake Treinen. The Dodgers will be looking to Treinen to shore up the back end of the bullpen, and perhaps take some of the closing pressure of Craig Kimbrel. Treinen, who has only made three appearances this year, has been on a slow steady rehab for much of the summer. The Dodger stopper has made 7 appearances in Oklahoma City this season, and has had mixed results. His triple-A ERA is 4.50. One hopes that he can rediscover the fire that made him such a vital piece in 2020-21. Nothing’s been officially announced yet, but look for Treinen to join the active roster sometime this weekend.
On the position player side, the roster expansion has meant the return of infielder Miguel Vargas. Vargas had a very brief stay on the big-league roster in August. In two games with the club, Vargas was 2-for-8 with a double, a stolen base, and 2 RBI. Vargas doesn’t have the flexibility on defense of Hanser Alberto, but it will be another option for Doc if he wants to sit JT or Muncy at third for a game or two.
The somewhat troubling news, in addition to the Graterol IL move, is that Tony Gonsolin will be getting an MRI on Friday after it was initially thought that he wouldn’t need one. Gonsolin will be a big part of the Dodgers postseason plans this year, so any addition time on the IL could be problematic for his return to full strength in time for the Dodgers’ first playoff game, which will almost certainly be on Tuesday, October 11.
Also, in the coming weeks, there should also be a return of both Yency Almonte and Tommy Kahnle, and who knows, maybe even Danny Duffy. We shall see. Whatever the roster looks like in October, September is going to be very interesting as the Dodgers’ management looks to create the unbeatable postseason machine. Decisions will need to be made.
