Tony Gonsolin is starting the 2023 season on the 15-day injured list after he sprained his left ankle while walking off the field during one of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ workouts at Camelback Ranch.
The Dodgers were originally hopeful it would be a short-term injury, but it was severe enough that Gonsolin missed the remainder of spring and needs an IL stint.
Ryan Pepiot earned the fifth spot in the Opening Day rotation for the time being, but Gonsolion is continuing to progress toward a return.
“Tony threw a bullpen [Monday], and Mark Prior said it went really well,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Felt good. My assumption is in the next few days he’ll throw another one and kind of keep progressing.”
Gonsolin was only able to throw around 20-25 pitches in his bullpen, according to Roberts, which means he is still has a full buildup ahead. The right-hander is essentially where he would normally be at the start of Spring Training, which places his timeline at about a month needed to prepare himself.
“Given the amount of time he’s spent away from the mound, I think that’s close to fair,” Roberts said. “I think the timeline we’re thinking about is end of April for him to be back. Like I said, he’s still got to continue to progress.”
Gonsolin threw 2.1 scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels in his only Cactus League start this spring. The 28-year-old is coming off an All-Star season where he posted a 2.14 ERA in 130.1 innings.
Daniel Hudson potentially returning with Tony Gonsolin
Daniel Hudson underwent season-ending surgery last June for a torn ACL in his left knee and more recently has been dealing with right ankle tendinitis that came about during the rehab process. But the biggest trouble for Hudson has been lingering discomfort in his knee after pitching.
The pain caused the Dodgers to taper back from his work, but they did not totally shut Hudson down. Still, Hudson initially was not responding well even with the lighter workload.
However, there was some encouraging news as Roberts said the 36-year-old was improved following his last bullpen session.
“The last one, I heard it was better,” Roberts said. “He’s not going to be with us for Opening Day, he’s going to stick around at Camelback to stay on the routine. I think (Walker) Buehler is on that same program. So it’s still kind of a slow process for Huddy.”
Roberts also remains hopeful Hudson can return at the end of April, around the same time as Gonsolin, but he acknowledged the timeline is less clear.
“Given that it’s not as much of an ask as far as length when he does pitch, that would be my hope,” Roberts said. “The training staff might say differently, but I would love to see that he could be back at the end of April. That seems doable.”
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