The Los Angeles Dodgers fielded a 24-man roster for the opener of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday, as Walker Buehler was optioned to High-A Rancho Cucamonga minutes before first pitch.
A corresponding move wasn’t immediately announced, but the Dodgers are expected to recall J.T. Chargois from Triple-A Oklahoma City to assume Buehler’s roster spot for the time being.
The 23-year-old, fresh off a 10-day disabled list stint, was initially scheduled to make a rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City before rejoining the Dodgers. But those plans were altered when Buehler instead piggybacked Clayton Kershaw against the Chicago Cubs.
The right-hander was pegged for five hits and five runs and only retired three batters. Buehler was ultimately tabbed with his second loss of the season, as he showed signs of rust in what was his first game in nearly three weeks.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained the decision to send Buehler to the Minors was made so he will be able to build up his innings base, via SportsNet LA:
“The decision to option Walker was just to give him the best opportunity to build up. You look at optioning him, giving him a runway to get his pitch count up, it gives him the best chance to come back and help us. … Thinking through other scenarios where we could avoid an option, at the end of the day it was best for Walker and best for us.”
Given the Dodgers’ abundance of injuries in the starting rotation thus far, Buehler has received a much heavier workload than originally anticipated. He has already logged a career-high 52.1 Major League innings and is well on track to reach triple-digits in his rookie campaign.
With High-A Rancho Cucamonga, Buehler will be afforded an opportunity to pitch at his own pace and make a steady return from injury in preparation for contributing to the Dodgers during the second half of the season.
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