Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed reliever Grant Dayton burst onto the scene in 2016, as he made his MLB debut and yielded a 2.05 ERA in 25 appearances. Dayton became one of manager Dave Roberts’ most reliable relievers and was included on the postseason roster.
Dayton has not been able to match that success this season, though, as ineffectiveness and injuries have derailed his year thus far. Dayton’s most recent injury, neck stiffness, has required two separate stints on the disabled list, with the current one beginning on July 28.
While he would prefer to be on the active roster and contributing, Dayton found some comfort in the Dodgers’ depth that’s allowing him to recover in effort to get back on track, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
“Even though I hate being on the DL and I hate not competing, I do think that it’s probably the best thing for me in the long run,” Dayton said. “Even though there was an injury, being able to hit the reset button midseason – you don’t get to do that pretty much ever. This should be beneficial for me.”
Dayton has pitched in 29 games with the Dodgers this season, going 1-1 with a 4.94 ERA, 5.72 FIP and 1.31 WHIP. He has 20 strikeouts against 12 walks in 23.2 innings of work.
With Dayton and Adam Liberatore limited by injuries and enduring some stretches of subpar performances, the Dodgers acquired two southpaw relievers in Tony Watson from the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Tony Cingrani from the Cincinnati Reds before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
Liberatore’s return this season is in question, while Dayton should be activated in the near future. He recently threw a simulated game and the results left Roberts encouraged.
