The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Alex Verdugo on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain, optioned Tony Gonsolin to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and recalled Edwin Rios and Caleb Ferguson prior to Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Verdugo joins Chris Taylor, Kiké Hernandez and David Freese in position players the Dodgers have recently lost to the IL. He was scratched from Monday’s series opener due to back soreness, though manager Dave Roberts considered it a mild case.
“I definitely don’t think it’s severe. It’s something with where we’re at, to think about putting him in jeopardy at all, to make it a longer issue, we’re just trying to guard against that,” Roberts said.
He didn’t believe a stint on the injured list was forthcoming. “That could change, but right now, where we’re at, I think a day of just staying away from him is a benefit,” Roberts added.
Verdugo is batting .294/.342/.475 with 22 doubles, 12 home runs and 44 RBI in 106 games. Despite battling back trouble on multiple occasions this year, the Dodgers maintain it is more of a muscle trouble than a disc issue.
Gonsolin returns to Oklahoma City after throwing six shutout innings in his Dodger Stadium debut to earn a first career win. Gonsolin is 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA in three games (two starts) for the Dodgers.
Following Monday’s win, Roberts indicated the club was going to discuss what was next for the right-hander. Gonsolin is believed to be a candidate to be part of the Dodgers bullpen come the postseason, which would require more relief appearances.
“If we’re going to see him in that role, you’ve got to give him the best opportunity to have success,” Roberts said.
Rios joins the Dodgers for a second time this season and in the midst of an impressive stretch with OKC. Upon making his MLB debut earlier this season, Rios went 4-for-15 with one RBI in eight games with the Dodgers.
Meanwhile, Ferguson was recalled for a fourth time this year. Since being optioned to Oklahoma City, he allowed three runs in two innings across two appearances. Overall this year, Ferguson has pitched to a 1.76 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 15.1 innings for the Triple-A affiliate.
Ferguson hasn’t fared quite as well with the Dodgers, going 0-1 with a 5.88 ERA in 27 games (one start).
