The Dodgers are set to get some rotation reinforcements this week, as manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including ) yesterday that right-hander is expected to return from the injured list to start Wednesdays game against the Marlins. It will mark Gonsolins first appearance on a big league mound in nearly two full years. The right-hander last pitched on August 18, 2023 (against the Marlins, coincidentally) but surrendered ten runs on five homers in 3 1/3 innings of work after having pitched through arm troubles for weeks. That final difficult start capped off a six-start stretch where Gonsolin surrendered an 8.01 ERA in 30 1/3 innings of work, so its not hard to see the impact Gonsolins woes had on his effectivene s. The right-hander was placed on the IL after that mid-August start and underwent Tommy John surgery on September 1. He mi sed the entire 2024 season as a result of his rehab despite flirting with the po sibility of a late-season return, and entered Spring Training fully healthy and ready to battle for a rotation job this spring. Unfortunately, the injury bug once again bit him when he was hit with a bout of back tightne s late in the spring. That led to another season started on the injured list, but now he looks poised to finally get back on the major league mound as a starting pitcher. Thats the role he held for the entirety of his best season in the majors, when he made the 2022 NL All-Star team on the back of a 2.14 ERA in 130 1/3 innings of work acro s Tim Flannery Jersey 24 starts. Whether hell keep that role long-term or move to the bullpen at some point this year remains to be seen. It wouldnt be a shock to see a strong performance keep Gonsolin in the mix for starts all year long, but he does have some big league experience as a reliever and the Dodgers on-paper rotation is extremely crowded when anything close to fully healthy. When the clubs rotation mix is firing on all cylinders, , , , , , and all seem likely to be ahead of Gonsolin on the organizational depth chart. With that being said, the Dodgers rotation mix is far from healthy at the moment, so Gonsolin should get a reasonably long runway as he looks to earn a more permanent spot on the starting staff. Speaking of those rotation injuries, Roberts provided reporters (including ) with an update regarding Snell on Friday. Per Roberts, an MRI Snell underwent earlier in the week revealed no new findings beyond his previously-known shoulder inflammation. The manager added that he believes the club has dodged a bullet by shutting Snell down before the injury became more serious. The southpaw was set to receive an injection to help battle the inflammation but has yet to begin a throwing program. That leaves a timetable for his return to action somewhat murky, though Roberts suggested that the lack of structural damage leaves the door open for a somewhat quicker return to action. Barring further setbacks, it seems as though Snell should at least be back on a big league mound before Ohtani. The two-way superstar threw his first bullpen se sion since returning from paternity leave yesterday, as relayed by . After not throwing last Saturday during his absence, Ohtani played catch rather than throw off the mound on Wednesday and limited his bullpen se sion yesterday to just 31 pitches, but hes expected to resume his regular schedule of light mound work on Wednesdays and a full bullpen se sion on Saturdays this coming week. While its good that Ohtani has resumed throwing, it appears that theres been little progre s in terms of his actual readine s of MLB games. Hes still limited to just fastballs and splitters for the time being, and wont advance to facing live hitters until hes utilizing his entire pitch mix. Club GM discu sed Ohtanis slow-going rehab with reporters (including Chen) yesterday, calling it a week-by-week proce s. We have a general sense, weve got to make sure that hes feeling good and were being smart so we cant lose the offensive side of it as well, Gomes said, as relayed by Chen. In a lot of these rehabs, you kind of set a date and work backward. I think on this one, youre moving forward, because its a one-of-one type thing. While the Dodgers floated the month of May as a potential timeline for Ohtanis return during the winter, Ohtanis pitching build up was paused prior to L.A.s series against the Cubs in Tokyo. That pushed back his timeline, and while no dates have been floated for his return since then it seems likely that hell resume pitching in the majors again at some point in the second half. Austin Davis Jersey
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