Prior to today’s game, the Dodgers placed righty Tony Gonsolin on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The placement was retroactive to April 1. Right-hander Dennis Santana was called up from the alternate training site to take Gonsolin’s spot on the active roster.
Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times) that Gonsolin has been dealing with the shoulder problem “the last few days,” which explains why Gonsolin has yet to make his 2021 debut. Gonsolin had been ticketed for a multi-inning bullpen role to begin the season, though given the Dodgers’ penchant for managing pitchers and the right-hander’s own track record over his short MLB career, Gonsolin is likely in line to receive some proper starts as the year goes along.
Gonsolin has a 2.60 ERA/4.11 SIERA over 86 2/3 innings as a big leaguer, starting 14 of his 20 career games over the 2019-20 seasons. He also started both Game 2 and Game 6 of the World Series last fall, though both of his outings were essentially bullpen games as the Dodgers mixed and matched pitchers throughout the Fall Classic. With generally above-average career metrics, the 26-year-old Gonsolin would likely be seen as promising rotation building block on a team that wasn’t so deep in pitching, and it’s possible the Dodgers might still use him in a more traditional starter role down the road.
