Before today’s game, the Dodgers put right Tony Gonsolin on the 10-day list injured due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The posting was retroactive to April 1st. Right hand Dennis Santana was called from the alternative training site to take Gonsolin’s place in the active roster.
Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jorge Castillo of the LA Times) that Gonsolin dealt with the shoulder problem “the last few days, ”Which explains why Gonsolin has yet to make his debut in 2021. Gonsolin was a ticket to a multi-inning bullpen role to start the season, although the Dodgers have a penchant for running pitchers and the right-hander’s own track record during his short MLB career, Gonsolin will likely have a get off to a good start as the year goes along.
Gonsolin has a 2.60 ERA / 4.11 SIERA over 86 2/3 innings as a major player, and he started 14 of his 20 career games over the 2019-20 season. Last fall, he also started Game 2 and Game 6 of the World Series, although both of his outings were essentially bullpin games, as the Dodgers were mixed and matched pitchers during the Fall Classic. With the generally above-average career stats, the 26-year-old Gonsolin is likely to be seen as a promising rotation building block in a team that hasn’t been that deep, and it’s possible the Dodgers could still use him in a more traditional starter . roll down the road.