Among the organizational depth moves the Los Angeles Dodgers made last offseason was acquiring J.P. Feyereisen from the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade for Jeff Belge.
Feyereisen had undergone surgery in December to repair his right rotator cuff and labrum, and the initial timeline called for him to begin throwing a shortly after the 2023 regular season began. The high-upside stuff he possesses figured be a jolt to the Dodgers bullpen after his terrific 2022 season.
The 29-year-old went 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 24.1 innings in 22 games for the Rays, relying on three quality pitches, which each generate a high whiff rate.
While fellow relief pitcher Blake Treinen is on the recovery path and has made progress, Feyereisen’s outlook is not quite as clear due to a setback earlier this year, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Like Treinen, Feyereisen had major shoulder surgery last winter. According to Gomes, though, Feyereisen had a setback in his recovery recently and had to slow down his throwing program.
“He’s still in a good place long term. We’re just not going to ramp him up if he’s just feeling so-so,” Gomes said. “I don’t know if we can 100 percent say that (he won’t pitch this season). … It’s a little more of a ‘wait-and-see’ approach with J.P.”
While the Dodgers bullpen has improved and stabilized over recent weeks, there is some injury concern. Daniel Hudson also is a question mark to return this season, and Yency Almonte and Joe Kelly were both placed on the 15-day injured list this past weekend.
Feyereisen’s situation is tricky, because with a period before the start of the postseason, there might not be enough time to get him in a spot on the active roster feels comfortable with.
J.P. Feyereisen impressed by Dodgers organization
Although Feyereisen has yet to pitch for the Dodgers, he quickly took notice of the franchise’s commitment to winning.
“Dodgers, Yankees, both of those organizations are top tier and iconic ones in baseball and all of sports,” Feyereisen told DodgerBlue.com in Spring Training.
“These guys win, and that’s the best part about it. The way these guys go about their business, we’ve had meetings where we talk to veteran guys who signed here, and the reason why they’re here is they want to win. That’s why I’m here. I’m chasing that World Series.”
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