Cody Snavely
Happy Monday! The Los Angeles Dodgers made plenty of moves this past week as they wrapped up their first home series and road trip.
Week recap (4/1/24-4/7/24)
Giants recap: After winning their first series of the year, taking three of four games against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Dodgers hosted their NL West rivals, the San Francisco Giants, in a three-game series. The Dodgers’ offense continued to mash as newly acquired Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández blasted his fourth home run of the season.
Mookie Betts also continued his hot start by blasting another homerun off Logan Webb in game two. The Dodgers went for the sweep against young left-hander Kyle Harrison. The Dodgers would do just that and more as Tyler Glasnow would deliver yet another quality start, and Shohei Ohtani would finally blast his first homerun in a Dodgers uniform. The Dodgers would end their homestand with a 6-1 record as they head on their first road trip on Thursday against the Cubs.
- Game One: 8-3 W
- Game Two: 5-4 W
- Game Three: 5-4 W
Cubs recap: After a strong homestand, the Dodgers traveled north, facing off against the Chicago Cubs in a three-game series. However, the Dodgers’ pitching and offense went cold as the Cubs took the series, giving LA their first losing series of the year. Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone were blasted. However, the lone bright spot was Yoshinobu Yamamoto picking up his first career win.
- Game One: 9-7 L
- Game Two: 4-1 W
- Game Three: 8-0 L
Dodgers Injured List/Transaction Updates
The Dodgers have yet to active right-handed starter Blake Treinen from the 15-day IL as he rehabs a bruised rib that he suffered on a lined drive in Spring Training a few weeks back. While he began throwing, Dave Roberts reiterated that he was a “ways away.”
The Dodgers transferred right-handed relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol to the 60-day IL to make room for newly acquired left-handed relief pitcher Nick Ramirez, who needed a spot on the 40-man.
Taylor Trammell, who the Dodgers claimed after being DFA’d last week by the Seattle Mariners, will take his spot on the 26-man roster since he is out of minor-league options.
Walker Buehler, who is making steady progress in his rehab, made his first start this past Sunday. He pitched 3 1/3 innings and allowed three runs while striking out two on 54 pitches. He followed this up with a strong second rehab start for OKC on Saturday, going 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, and 6 Ks on 65 pitches.
Dave Roberts mentioned that Buehler would need around 4-to 5 starts until he is called up to the team.
With the flurry of roster moves, the Dodgers DFA’d Nabil Crismatt to make room on the roster for Dinelson Lamet.
The Dodgers also released left-handed pitcher Matt Gage to make room for Taylor Trammel. However, shortly after the release, the Dodgers re-signed Gage to a minor league deal.
The Dodgers also traded for recently DFA’d Phillies relief pitcher Connor Brogdon, who will join the team in Minnesota. A roster move must be made before that is official.
Ohtani & Dodgers making headlines for the wrong reasons
Prior to the Dodgers’ road trip, star two-way player Shohei Ohtani blasted his first home run of his Dodgers career in his final at-bat against the San Francisco Giants. However, the moment that should have been celebrated by Dodgers fans was shrouded by controversy.
Ambar Roman, the lucky fan who caught the ball, was immediately escorted by Dodgers Stadium security. After the game, she exchanged the valuable ball with Ohtani, receiving two caps, a ball, and a bat, all signed by Ohtani himself.
However, not even twenty-four hours after the exchange, many on social media claimed it was not fair, stating the fan should have gotten way more than what she initially got.
To make things worse for the Dodgers, Sam Blum of the Athletic posted an article about the whole situation, claiming that Ohtani had never met the fan, as his interpreter suggested.
The article also stated that the Dodgers pressured Roman into taking a lesser deal, threatening not to authenticate the ball, rendering it worthless if it leaves the stadium.
The Athletic, per an auction house representative, valued the ball at $100,000. This stirred the pot even further when Roman’s husband, Alexis Valenzuela, stated they took advantage of her and separated the couple after the ball was caught.
The whole situation is a PR nightmare, but it’s an easy fix if the Dodgers just invite the fans back and reward them with something more, like actually meeting Ohtani himself. Steve Webb highlighted the events in more detail on our website, so be sure to check that out.
The Dodgers did the right thing and contacted the fan and her family, inviting them to an on-field Dodgers experience.
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