Along with setting their Opening Day roster, the Los Angeles Dodgers placed right-handed reliever Tom Koehler on the 10-day disabled list with a mild anterior shoulder capsule strain. Koehler’s DL stint is retroactive to March 26, making him eligible to be reinstated to Friday, April 6.
Koehler is not expected to be back anywhere near that soon, however, as he has yet to pick up a baseball since suffering the injury at the beginning of Spring Training. Los Angeles signed Koehler this offseason with the intention of him playing a big role in their bullpen, perhaps even replacing Brandon Morrow as the team’s setup man.
The 2017 season was a particularly difficult one for Koehler as he struggled with the Miami Marlins as a starter and wound up being optioned to Triple-A and eventually traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.
He found some success as a reliever with Toronto though, which is one reason why the Dodgers decided to take a chance on him.
Koehler yielded a 7.42 ERA in 60.2 innings as a starter last season, compared to a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings as a reliever. His strikeout rate also went from 7.6 to 8.3 after his move to the bullpen.
The Dodgers did not sign anyone from outside the organization when Koehler went down this spring, as there was a glut of options already in the organization to replace him.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is not yet sure who his setup man will be, as Josh Fields, Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez and J.T. Chargois could all get opportunities.
Both Koehler and Justin Turner will head to Arizona after the Dodgers opening series against the San Francisco Giants to continue their rehab.
