Always looking to add depth to their Minor League ranks, the Los Angeles Dodgers made a handful of under-the-radar acquisitions last offseason. One of those saw the club acquire Jaime Schultz from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Caleb Sampen.
A 14th round selection in the 2013 MLB Draft, Schultz received his first call-up with Tampa a year ago. He logged 22 appearances (one start) at the big league level, pitching to a 5.64 ERA, 5.40 FIP and 1.15 WHIP with 35 strikeouts against 17 walks in 30.1 innings.
Despite his overall struggles during the 2018 season, the Dodgers extended Schultz an invitation to Spring Training. He made the most of his opportunity, tossing seven shutout innings over his first seven Cactus League appearances.
Schultz nevertheless was optioned to Minor League camp at the midway point of March. While he wasn’t included on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, the right-hander worked his way back to the Majors by the second week of April.
Schultz appeared in three games for the Dodgers that month before again being optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He returned for one more outing in July, finishing the MLB portion of his campaign with a 7.20 ERA, 6.41 FIP and 1.80 WHIP to go along with three strikeouts across five innings of work.
Schultz received the bulk of his reps with the Dodgers’ top Minor League affiliate, going 2-3 with a 5.85 ERA in 47 games. He was designated for assignment in September to create room for Rich Hill on the 40-man roster, later being outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City after clearing waivers.
2019 highlight
Schultz tossed three scoreless innings during his brief time with the Dodgers in April, allowing just one hit while striking out three batters. While he fared well over the small sample size, the 27-year-old was optioned back to Oklahoma City to compensate for Clayton Kershaw’s return from the 10-day injured list.
2020 outlook
Schultz was among the group of Dodgers’ Minor League players to become free agents at the conclusion of the 2019 season. He has already found a new home for the upcoming year, agreeing to a Minor League contract with the Oakland Athletics.
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