The Los Angeles Dodgers have made several roster moves during their series against Cincinnati Reds, including placing Caleb Ferguson on the 15-day injured list due to left forearm tendinitis. Ferguson’s IL stint is retroactive to June 17.
The Dodgers selected the contract of Trayce Thompson and transferred Walker Buehler to the 60-day IL as the corresponding moves on the active and 40-man rosters.
The Dodgers’ decision to place Ferguson on the IL was made in part to comply with MLB’s enforcement of the 13-pitcher limit that began on Monday. The left-hander also has been dealing with soreness since his appearance against the San Francisco Giants on June 11.
Despite having already missed time this season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Ferguson does not believe his forearm injury is serious, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Ferguson said his forearm has been “a little sore” since the series in San Francisco over a week ago. The lefty reliever has pitched just once since then, retiring both batters he faced last Tuesday against the Angels. Ferguson returned from a second Tommy John surgery this season but said the injury is “not really” something to be concerned about.
Ferguson made his first appearance of the season on May 16, when he threw a scoreless inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City following his 2022 debut, then got recalled in early June.
Ferguson has appeared in six games for L.A. thus far, pitching five innings and giving up no runs or hits. However, the 25-year-old has struggled with command, walking four batters in his brief sample on the mound.
Since his appearance against the Giants two weeks ago, Ferguson has pitched in only one game, retiring both batters faced against the Los Angeles Angels on June 14.
Roberts avoided using Ferguson in multi-inning situations
While Ferguson has proven capable of logging multiple innings during his career, the Dodgers have avoided using him in those situations this season. “I think we’ve done it with (Daniel) Hudson, we’ve done with (Brusdar) Graterol,” manager Dave Roberts began.
“We’ll probably stay away from Fergie doing that, but (Yency) Almonte has done it, (Evan) Phillips has done it. So just having a number of guys to go do an up and down, as we like to call it, you can maximize matchups and also have an opportunity to use less pictures.”
Not being able to use potentially Ferguson for multiple innings in a single appearance presumably was another factor in the Dodgers placing him on the IL as they are in the midst of playing 20 consecutive games without a day off.
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