The Los Angeles Dodgers activated Tony Gonsolin off the 15-day injured list Wednesday and optioned Andre Jackson to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room on their 26-man roster.
Gonsolin returns after suffering a sprained left ankle during Spring Training. The Dodgers originally expected him to recover in time for Opening Day, but Gonsolin was bothered by swelling and slow progress resulted in beginning the year on the IL.
The right-hander had seven strikeouts and threw 57 pitches (35 strikes) over three-plus innings while allowing just one hit and issuing two walks in a rehab start for OKC last week. The lone hit Gonsolin allowed was a two-run homer.
Gonsolin was removed after issuing a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth inning, but he continued to throw in the bullpen during the fifth.
While on the IL, the 28-year-old used the downtime to work on his mechanics. “I feel like I’m in a better spot now, actually,” Gonsolin recently said.
“I started to create a little bad habit with landing. The arm action was a little weird, the timing of the throw was a little weird. So got with Mark Prior and C-Mac (Connor McGuiness), and they saw it immediately. They’re like, ‘Hey, man, if you’re going to throw, you need to do it the right way.’
“So it’s a blessing in a way that I was able to correct some of the mechanical stuff or feel like I’ve corrected some of the mechanical stuff.”
Jackson was optioned for the second time this season after beginning with the club on Opening Day. He recalled late last week when Evan Phillips was placed on the paternity list. Brusdar Graterol went on paternity leave as the corresponding move to Phillips returning Tuesday.
Jackson has appeared in five games for the Dodgers thus far, posting a 7.94 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and 10 strikeouts across 11.1 innings. It was discovered that Jackson was tipping pitches in his April 14 appearance against the Chicago Cubs, which resulted in allowing four home runs over two innings.
He made one appearance since getting recalled, going three innings while giving up two runs on five hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
Tony Gonsolin starting against Pirates
Gonsolin is scheduled to make his first start of the season on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Dodgers were expecting him to make at least one more rehab appearance before returning, but the injury to Michael Grove forced their hand. Gonsolin will be on a limited pitch count as he continues to build his arm back up.
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