There was a surprising reversal of course for the Los Angeles Dodgers when Walker Buehler was in the clubhouse at Dodger Stadium. The rookie right-hander had been scheduled to make a rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The picture became clear when the Dodgers placed Josh Fields on the 10-day disabled list due to inflammation in his right shoulder, and Buehler was activated. On top of losing one of their top relievers to injury, the Dodgers were hindered by a short bullpen because of recent usage.
Buehler appeared in relief of Clayton Kershaw but was knocked around in his first game since June 8. He’d been on the disabled list with a right rib microfracture; and injury that Buehler actually made three starts with.
The Chicago Cubs also knocked around Erik Goeddel and scored a run off Caleb Ferguson. Beyond the loss, Los Angeles faces a question of who will fill the eighth-inning role that Fields occupied.
Manager Dave Roberts indicated he will revert back to playing the matchups, per Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times:
“I don’t know,” manager Dave Roberts said, when asked who would slide into Fields’ eighth-inning slot. “It’s more how they’ve been used previously, how each guy is performing, how a certain matchup against a particular right-handed hitter looks.”
The strategy of using essentially any reliever based on the batter(s) is one the Dodgers have often deployed under Roberts. Though, there have been instances where a reliever carved out a specific role.
Joe Blanton surprisingly emerged as the primary setup man to Kenley Jansen in 2016, and Brandon Morrow did the same last season. Heading into the 2018 campaign, there was some though Tom Koehler would join the aforementioned right-handers as a starter to convert to relief pitching in high-leverage situations.
Koehler has yet to appear in a game, however, as he suffered a right shoulder injury during Spring Training.
The Dodgers may not need to do much shuffling in their bullpen, as there is optimism Fields will manage to return after the minimum 10 days.
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