The Dodgers will promote right-hander Ben Casparius earlier than tomorrow’s sport in opposition to the Cardinals, reviews Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The group will be capable to open a 40-man spot for Casparius by transferring River Ryan to the 60-day IL, however it’s not but clear how they may discover room for him on the 26-man roster.
Casparius, 25, joined the Dodgers group as a fifth-round choice within the 2021 draft. He has been promoted mid-season all 4 years of his profession to this point, going from the Advanced League to Single-A in 2021, Single-A to Excessive-A in ’22, Excessive-A to Double-A in ’23, and eventually, Double-A to Triple-A in ’24.
In 2022 and ’23, Casparius struggled to regulate following his promotions, however this yr, he hit the bottom operating with the Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis Baseball Membership. After placing up a 3.32 ERA and three.15 FIP in 5 begins at Double-A, he has a 3.54 ERA and 4.34 FIP in 13 begins at Triple-A. His strikeout charge briefly plummeted in Oklahoma Metropolis, however after a month-long stint on the IL, he got here again firing on all cylinders. Casparius has a 3.44 ERA, 2.56 FIP, and 35.5% strikeout charge over his final 5 begins. He was particularly dominant in his newest outing in opposition to the Spherical Rock Categorical on Sunday, tossing six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and no walks.
Baseball America ranks Casparius because the No. 20 prospect within the Dodgers system, whereas MLB Pipeline has him at No. 23. FanGraphs isn’t fairly as excessive on the righty, rating him at No. 39. Whereas he’s at the moment working as a beginning pitcher, all three sources agree his future most definitely lies within the bullpen, presumably as a multi-inning, center reliever. To that time, Casparius will be a part of the Dodgers bullpen – not the rotation – throughout his first stint with the large league membership (per Ardaya).
There isn’t a phrase but on who Casparius will exchange on the lively roster. One may need thought the Dodgers would possibility Bobby Miller again to Triple-A following his tough outing tonight (4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 HR, 1 Ok), however Dave Roberts urged in any other case after the sport. The supervisor informed reporters (together with Invoice Plunkett of the Orange County Register), “I assumed [Miller] completed significantly better than he began and stay up for the following [start] being even higher.” Certainly, Plunkett notes in no unsure phrases that Miller will proceed to fill Tyler Glasnow’s spot within the rotation in the intervening time.
Except for Miller, the Dodgers’ solely pitchers with choices are starter Gavin Stone and relievers Alex Vesia and Michael Kopech. Merely put, it’s extraordinarily laborious to think about the group would ship any of these arms to Triple-A. Due to this fact, until the Dodgers are planning to position a pitcher on the IL, their solely different alternative can be to DFA somebody like Brent Honeywell Jr. or Joe Kelly. Kelly has struggled since getting back from a shoulder damage in July (5.59 ERA in 12 G) however he’s a confirmed veteran on an $8MM contract. Honeywell, then again, has a 1.96 ERA in 18 1/3 innings with L.A., however neither his underlying numbers nor his monitor document are almost as spectacular.
