The Lo Angeles Dodgers welcomed back Alex Vesia from the 15-day injured list on Tuesday and optioned Ben Casparius to Triple-A Oklahoma City as the corresponding move.
Vesia returned after missing just over the minimum amount of time required on the IL despite dealing with a right oblique strain. Though, the speedy recovery was something the left-hander expressed confidence in being the case at the time of going on the injured list.
Vesia joined Michael Kopech as Dodgers relief pitchers to get activated this month. Though in Kopech’s case, he was simply added as the extra reliever permitted on the expanded roster for September.
With Vesia, the Dodgers were facing a decision between four relievers who have Minor League options: Casparius, Jack Dreyer, Edgardo Henriquez and Justin Wrobleski. The Dodgers would have needed to release any of their other relievers to make room for Vesia’s return, which wasn’t a viable option for them at the moment.
Why Dodgers optioned Ben Casparius
The Dodgers relied on Casparius in various roles out of the bullpen earlier this season and briefly moved him into the rotation as they dealt with mounting injuries.
Casparius struggled a bit in his opportunity as a starter and some of that also extended to when he was moved back into the bullpen. The Dodgers are hopeful spending time with the Comets will allow Casparius to recapture some of his dominance.
“It was tough. Ben has done a lot of nice things for us, he really has. And he’s still a big part of what we’re doing this year,” manager Dave Roberts said.
“We just felt that obviously getting Alex back, it was a tough decision, but getting Ben back to dominating right-handed hitters is something that we felt if we can give him a chance to catch his breath, get to OKC and get back to that, he’ll be more helpful for us the rest of the year and potentially the postseason.”
Casparius has appeared in 46 games this season, with 43 of those coming out of the bullpen. He’s gone 7-5 with a 4.64 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 77.2 innings pitched.
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