Before today’s game, the Dodgers placed on the right Tony Gonsolin on the 10-day injured list due to an inflammation in the throwing shoulder. The placement was retroactive to April 1st. Right-handed Dennis Santana was summoned from the alternative training site to take the place of Gonsolin in the active squad.
Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jorge Castillo of the LA Times) that Gonsolin has dealt with the shoulder problem “In the last days, ”Which explains why Gonsolin still didn’t make his debut in 2021. Gonsolin was hired to play a multi-inning bullpen to start the season, despite the Dodgers’ tendency to manage pitchers and the right-hander’s own track record throughout his short career in MLB, Gonsolin will likely receive some suitable starts as the year goes on.
Gonsolin has 2.60 ERA / 4.11 SIERA in 86 2/3 innings as a major league player, starting 14 of his 20 career games in the 2019-20 seasons. He also started Game 2 and Game 6 of the World Series last fall, although both of his outings were essentially bullpen games, as the Dodgers mixed and matched pitchers during the Fall Classic. With career metrics generally above average, the 26-year-old Gonsolin would likely be seen as a promising rotational building block in a team that was not as deep in pitchers, and it is possible that the Dodgers still use him as a more traditional role holder in the future.