The Los Angeles Dodgers lost a key part of their bullpen earlier this week when Yency Almonte was placed on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow tightness.
The right-hander last pitched on Aug. 3, throwing a scoreless inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. He was credited with his eighth hold of the season and extended his scoreless streak to 11 innings.
When the Dodgers first placed him on the IL, manager Dave Roberts was optimistic there was no serious injury to Almonte and he was just dealing with “normal soreness” that built up rather than occurring in one specific moment.
Almonte then underwent an MRI, which confirmed he is only dealing with soreness. The 28-year-old is not expected to have a lengthy IL stint and will continue throwing.
“He said he feels good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Almonte. “There’s still some kind of soreness. I don’t know if he’s more kind of aware of it (because of MRI), so we’ll just continue to have him playing catch and see where he’s at each day.”
Prior to his elbow injury, Almonte had been in the midst of a career year and emerged as a valuable late-inning option for Roberts.
Almonte has one save and pitched to a 1.15 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 29 games for the Dodgers this season. He was among a handful of players to sign a Minor League contract with the team during Spring Training.
Almonte among several Dodgers pitchers expected to return
Almonte’s success has helped the Dodgers bullpen push ahead despite losing Victor González, Brusdar Graterol, Daniel Hudson, Tommy Kahnle and Blake Treinen to injury since Opening Day of the season.
Hudson will miss the remainder of the year after undergoing surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee, but Almonte, González, Graterol, Kahnle and Treinen are all candidates to return this season.
Additionally, the club also remains hopeful Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Dustin May can return to the rotation to make an impact down the stretch and into the postseason.
Are you following Dodger Blue on Instagram? It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
