When the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Tommy Kahnle to a two-year contract it was with an understanding, if not expectation, he wouldn’t be ready to pitch for the team until some point during the 2022 regular season.
Kahnle was recovering from Tommy John surgery at the time of joining the Dodgers, and although he had hope for a return late in 2021, that never manifested. Kahnle subsequently was eased through Spring Training this year and began the regular season on the 10-day injured list.
The right-hander joined Low-A Rancho Cucamonga for the start of a rehab assignment earlier this month and recently joined Triple-A Oklahoma City to continue that process.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the final hurdle for Kahnle to clear is pitching on back-to-back nights, which is scheduled to begin Wednesday, and that could lead to being activated for next week’s series against the San Francisco Giants, via SportsNet LA:
“Tommy’s got a back-to-back Wednesday-Thursday. If all goes well, he’ll be with us. I don’t want to put a hard date, but Wednesday-Thursday, and then obviously he’ll have Friday and Saturday off, and we’ll kind of see where he’s at then. He’s feeling good and throwing the baseball well.”
Roughly one week into Spring Training, Kahnle was effectively ruled out from making the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster. He then appeared in just one game — during the exhibition Freeway Series — before beginning the year on the 10-day IL.
Prior to his injury-shortened 2020 season, Kahnle established himself as a key member of the New York Yankees bullpen. In 2019, he had a 3.67 ERA, 3.33 FIP and 1.06 WHIP with 88 strikeouts and 20 walks over 61.1 innings (72 appearances).
Kahnle’s rehab assignment
While with the Quakes, Kahnle started every three games and thew a combined three scoreless innings, striking out three during that span. With Oklahoma City, he pitched out of the bullpen and allowed one run over 2.2 innings across three appearances.
Kahnle is now back with the Quakes and should pitch out of the bullpen Wednesday night.
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