Cody Snavely
Happy Monday! There are plenty of notes to go over from the past week of Dodgers baseball, with more injury news and a tough weekend series against the Padres.
Week recap (4/8/24-4/14/24)
Twins Recap: After the Dodgers suffered their first series loss of the young season, they looked to rebound in Minneapolis against a struggling Twins offense. They would finish the job in the first two games, taking advantage of an above-average pitching staff and elite bullpen. Shohei Ohtani and James Outman were critical contributors throughout the series. James Paxton looked sharp, minus one home run given up to former Dodger Manuel Margot. Tyler Glasnow, however, was untouchable in the second game, collecting 14 strikeouts in seven innings under 90 pitches. The Dodgers would drop the third and final game as the Twins would take advantage of Alex Vesia. The Dodgers end their first road trip at a split 3-3.
- Game One: 4-2 W
- Game Two: 6-3 W
- Game Three: 3-2 L
Padres Recap: It was a frustrating series against the San Diego Padres, who took two of the three games this weekend. The offense was potent in game one but could not hold the lead in large part of the bullpen. Despite hitting numerous home runs, the Dodgers’ pitching staff was the story as in the series finale, they allowed 14 walks for the first time since 1962. The Dodgers hope to rebound against the Washington Nationals today.
- Game One: 8-7 L
- Game Two: 5-2 W
- Game Three: 6-3 L
Ohtani and Mizuhara controversy coming to a close?
Perhaps the biggest news this past week was the conclusion of the federal investigation into Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
On Thursday, April 11th, it was reported that Mizuhara was negotiating with the DOJ to arrange a deal while turning himself in to authorities. TMZ Sports initially broke the story, which was later confirmed by the New York Times’s Michael S. Schmidt.
The biggest takeaway from the story is that the original $4.5 million that was agedly stolen from Ohtani’s bank account was not the full amount. In the story, the DOJ reported that Ippei stole around $16 million over the course of two years.
The next takeaway is that Ohtani has been cleared of any involvement, is an apparent victim in this case, and has cooperated fully with the investigators.
The New York Times further reports that prosecutors laid out the evidence against Mizuhara in an extensive 37-page complaint that revealed a significant amount of details about Mizuhara’s betting habits, his relationship with Ohtani, and how Mizuhara had implicated himself. Investigators also checked text logs between Ohtani and Mizuhara and found no evidence of discussion about gambling.“Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,” Estrada said. “There is no evidence that Mr. Ohtani authorized the transfers to the bookmakers.”
Our own Steve Webb detailed the story, especially Ippei’s betting habits and what the investigators found over the last few weeks.
The only thing that awaits Ohtani is completing Major League Baseball’s investigation, which hopefully should be wrapped up in the next few weeks. However, now the Dodgers and Ohtani can focus on just baseball rather than another controversy.
Is Glasnow emerging as the Dodgers’ new Ace?
The Los Angeles Dodgers made plenty of moves this offseason, but one move in particular went unnoticed: the trade that brought right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers.
Glasnow, 30, made his debut in the 2015 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates until he was shipped to the Tampa Bay Rays in the infamous Chris Archer deal. Glasnow would spend a combined six seasons with Tampa but was plagued with numerous injuries that would remove him from most award contests. However, when healthy, he has the arsenal to be one of the best pitchers in the league.
The Dodgers took a risk not only trading for Glasnow but signing him to a 5-year, $136.5 million extension before he even threw a pitch for the franchise.
Tyler Glasnow is entering his second year fully recovered from Tommy John Surgery. In 2023, he posted his best season yet, pitching a career-high 120 IP, along with 21 starts, 162 strikeouts, and a 3.53 ERA.
In 2024, Glasnow looks dominant and is off to a fantastic start to his Dodgers career. Glasnow is 3-0 in four starts with a 2.25 ERA, 201 ERA+, 2.96 FIP, with 29 strikeouts in 24 innings leading the majors.
In his most recent outing, Glasnow fooled the Minnesota Twins by throwing seven shutout innings and trying to set a career-high in strikeouts with 14 with less than 90 pitches.
Glasnow is clearly number one in the rotation, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto continues to rebound after his first start in Korea. However, I have stated all offseason that Glasnow is right now the best pitcher on the Dodgers, and if he can get to 160-180 innings, he will be in the Cy Young conversation by season’s end.
Dodgers Injured List/Transaction Updates
The Dodgers transaction page has been busy so far this season, and prior to the Padres series, we saw a lot of action.
On April 13th, the Dodgers announced that they placed right-handed pitchers Bobby Miller and Connor Brogdon on the 15-day IL. Miller has looked a shell of himself in his last two starts, and this could be due to shoulder inflammation. Miller will reevaluate next week and see if he can resume his throwing program.
Brogdon, acquired by the Phillies in a trade last week, gave up two home runs in his lone appearance for the Dodgers against the Twins and was placed on the IL due to plantar fasciitis on his right foot.
The Dodgers recalled right-handed pitcher J.P. Feyereisen and left-handed pitcher Nick Ramirez in their place. Also, in the bullpen, an MRI revealed that Blake Treinen had a slight fracture in his ribs, an injury he suffered way back on March 9th. Treinen has begun throwing bullpens but is still a few weeks away.
Perhaps the biggest news was that young right-handed pitcher Emmet Sheehan will continue to be shut down from throwing again as he has not bounced back the way the team has hoped.
Sheehan has been trying to work his way back from a forearm injury he suffered in mid-March; however, with all the arm and elbow injuries in the MLB so far this season and more reports stating the injury trickles down to Sheehan’s elbow, I doubt we will see Sheehan at all in 2024.
The Dodgers will also make more roster moves this upcoming week when Bobby Miller’s turn in the rotation comes up. Dave Roberts stated the team would likely call up a starter from Triple-A and perhaps Kyle Hurt for a potential bullpen game this week.
Lastly, Dodgers right-handed pitcher Buehler made yet another rehab start for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, but it was short-lived. A line drive hit his hand, ending his night.
Buehler, however, remained unscathed and assured he’d be out there soon for another rehab start.
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