The Los Angeles Dodgers designated Carlos Frias for assignment in order to create room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Brett Eibner, who was acquired in a trade with the Oakland Athletics.
Los Angeles has seven days to attempt to trade Frias or place him on waivers. Should he clear waivers, the club would then be in position outright Frias to the Minors. The right-hander was one of multiple pitchers who struggled to remain healthy last season.
Injuries resulted in Frias competing with Ross Stripling at the end of Spring Training for the fifth spot in the Dodgers rotation, which ultimately was awarded to the rookie.
Frias was subsequently optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, but strained an oblique muscle during a bullpen session on April 7 and was placed on the disabled list two days later. He didn’t debut last season until May 12, throwing three innings with three strikeouts for Double-A Tulsa.
After a second start with the Drillers, Frias re-joined Oklahoma City. He went 3-3 with a 4.46 ERA in eight games (four starts). During that stretch the Dodgers recalled Frias from OKC — on June 19 — however he did not appear in a game.
Frias joined the club a second time on July 7, and turned in four scoreless innings of relief, providing needed rest at the time for weary Dodgers bullpen. Frias was optioned to Oklahoma City the following day, only to never appear in a game. He was placed on the Minor League DL on July 14.
Frias was then part of history in September, as he was the 28th player the Dodgers put on the disabled list last season, setting a Major League record. The paper move transferred him to the 60-day DL, which created room on the 40-man roster for Clayton Kershaw’s return.
Frias made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2014, and has gone 6-6 with a 4.50 ERA, 4.05 FIP and 1.38 WHIP in 33 games (15 starts) over parts of the past three seasons.
