Ahead of their series finale against the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they selected the contract of left-handed reliever Darien Nuñez and optioned righty Mitch White. Nuñez will wear No. 62 in his first career Major League callup.
It’s no secret the Dodgers have been struggling, losing the first three of a four-game series against the Marlins. Their pitching staff has been depleted with Clayton Kershaw being the latest to go down with an injury, leaving their bullpen needing to pick up extra slack.
Wednesday night was the latest bullpen game, with White tossing four innings of relief, allowing three hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out five and walking one. Overall in 13 games for the Dodgers this season, White has pitched to a 3.93 ERA, 3.99 FIP and 1.47 WHIP with 19 strikeouts and nine walks in 18.1 innings.
After pitching four innings on Wednesday and being unavailable for Thursday’s series finale and then likely another bullpen game on Friday, it made sense to option White and bring in another fresh arm in Nuñez.
The Dodgers originally signed the southpaw out of Cuba in 2018. He has been solid with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, posting a 2.79 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 39 strikeouts and 15 walks across 15 appearances (29 innings). He also pitched one scoreless inning with Double-A Tulsa at the beginning of the year.
Whenever Nuñez gets into a game for the Dodgers, it will represent the 28-year-old’s Major League debut.
Tsutsugo outrighted to OKC
Since Nuñez needed to be added to the 40-man roster, the Dodgers got ahead of that a day early by outrighting outfielder Yoshi Tsutsugo to Oklahoma City after he cleared waivers.
Tsutsugo has struggled to get going offensively in his short time in the Dodgers organization, but he now has the ability to continue to work on his swing at the Triple-A level without being on the 40-man roster.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
