True to what’s become the norm under Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, the club tinkered with the fringes of the 40-man roster last October by claiming Brooks Brown off waivers from the Colorado Rockies.
The roster move came on the eve of Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets, and ended Jim Johnson’s brief tenure with the Dodgers as he was designated for assignment to clear room for Brown.
Johnson had already been sent home as he was left off the Dodgers’ NLDS roster and barring injury, was not a candidate to be included in their postseason run in the event they reached the NL Championship Series or World Series.
Brown battled shoulder inflammation throughout last season and appeared in 36 games, going a 1-4 record with a 3.97 ERA, 4.26 FIP, and 1.46 WHIP.
According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the 30-year-old reliever has been shut down as he continues to deal with shoulder trouble:
P Brooks Brown shut down a few days with lingering shoulder discomfort from last season.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) February 20, 2016
The Dodgers sent Brown outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City last December after he cleared waivers. The right-hander made his Major League debut with the Rockies in 2014, posting a 2.77 ERA, 3.71 FIP and 0.96 WHIP in 28 games.
Brown has spent parts of 10 seasons pitching in the Minors for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Rockies. Over that time, he’s a combined 50-65 with a 4.31 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.
Brown averaged 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings during his time in the Minors, which is on par with his 6.3 average in games for Colorado.
This is the second relatively minor injury of the spring for the Dodgers, with the first being Micah Johnson required stitches in his finger after cutting himself while removing an avocado pit.
