The Los Angeles Dodgers traded right-handed pitcher Carlos Frias to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Frias was designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Brett Eibner, who was acquired in a trade with the Oakland Athletics on Jan. 25.
At that point the Dodgers had seven days to attempt to facilitate a trade involving Frias or place him on waivers. Had the 27-year-old hit the waiver wire and cleared, an outright assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City was presumably a possibility.
Frias was one of two options under consideration for the fifth spot in the Dodgers rotation at the end of camp last spring. However, the job was given to rookie right-hander Ross Stripling.
Thus, Frias was to 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 until May 12, throwing three innings with three strikeouts for Double-A Tulsa.
After a second start with the Drillers, Frias re-joined OKC, and went 3-3 with a 4.46 ERA in eight games (four starts). During that span he was recalled by the Dodgers on June 19, but did not appear in a game.
That changed when Frias joined the team on July 7. He provided needed rest for a taxed bullpen, throwing four scoreless innings in relief. Frias was optioned to Oklahoma City the following day, though never appeared in a game. He was placed on the Minor League DL on July 14.
Then when the Dodgers needed to clear room on their 40-man roster for Clayton Kershaw’s return, Frias was recalled from OKC and transferred to the 60-day DL. He became the Dodgers’ 28th different player to land on the DL last season, which set a Major League record.
Frias went 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 after making his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2014.
