Cody Snavely
After another shaky outing on Friday night, where he allowed ten earned runs spiking his ERA to 4.98, Tony Gonsolin was finally placed on the IL before the Saturday doubleheader. Gonsolin, an all-star last season after a career year, struggled after a forearm strain lingering with him since last August, which saw him placed on the IL and have a limited role in the postseason. However, it looks like that injury could still bother Tony, who will go out for further testing. With Gonsolin out of the rotation for likely the rest of the year, who will step up and take his place?
Ryan Pepiot
The Dodgers finally activated Ryan Pepiot yesterday after a lengthy rehab for an oblique injury that he suffered in the final weeks of Spring Training. However, before that injury, it seemed like Pepiot was due to take over the 5th spot in the rotation if not a lengthy arm for the bullpen. Pepiot is the logical option to take Gonsolins place in the rotation as he has been building up innings in AAA with the OKC Dodgers, which also saw him win pitcher of the week after taking a no-hitter into the 7th inning. Pepiot, who has a major league-ready change-up and seemed to change his arm slot, looks poised for the opportunity.
Ryan Yarbrough
Another option for the Dodgers is recently traded LHP Ryan Yarbrough, a starter for the Royals and Rays. Yarbrough has been shifted to the bullpen since that trade to LA, where we have seen him piggyback off Dodgers starters such as Bobby Miller to eat innings essentially. Although, Yarbrough has been dominant since joining the Dodgers, posting a 1.74 ERA in 10.1 innings of work. The Dodgers could keep Yarbrough in his current role, being a guy who comes in mid-game throwing 3-4 innings if needed.
Emmet Sheehan/Gavin Stone
The Dodgers could also look to the minor leagues to replace Gonsolin, especially when rosters expand in September, and two names that come to mind are Sheehan and Stone. Emmet Sheehan, who was in the Dodgers rotation previously, would be the most likely option as he has shown peaks of elite stuff at the MLB level, such as his debut, where he threw six innings of no-hit ball, however, since Sheehan has posted an ERA near six. On the other hand, Gavin Stone has had an up-and-down year as when he was called up in early May, his MLB career did not get off to the best start, which saw him get sent back down to AAA. Since that send-down, Stone has improved, such as working on his pitch selection, and it has shown in OKC, where he is pitching much better. Although it seems if Stone will make the roster down the stretch, it would be in a bullpen role similar to his last call-up.
Walker Buehler
One name to keep your eye on as we get closer to September is Walker Buehler, who will likely make his season debut after his second Tommy John Surgery. Buehler, who went down last year, has missed all of this season rehabbing his elbow and has made great strides where he and the Dodgers feel comfortable that he can make the roster sometime in September. Dave Roberts also mentioned it is hard to imagine if Buehler will be ramped up in time to start games and go more than three innings but could be used as an opener with guys like Ryan Pepiot, Ryan Yarbrough, or even Bobby Miller following him in Postseason games.
The Dodgers will have another pitching dilemma in the rotation with Gonsolin done for the year. It seems. However, they have plenty of options internally compared to earlier in the year.
