The Los Angeles Dodgers made a flurry of roster moves prior to Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants, with one being reinstating Edwin Uceta from the 10-day injured list and optioning him to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
It is a second time this season the Dodgers have activated a pitcher off the IL and immediately optioned him to Oklahoma City. They previously did so with Brusdar Graterol, who has been instructed to refine his command while down in the Minors.
Uceta had been on the IL since July 10 due to a left lumbar strain. He is 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in 11 games (one start) for the Dodgers this season. Uceta has also struggled in minimal time with OKC thus far in 2021, going 0-2 with a 4.97 ERA in four games (two starts).
Prior to this year the right-hander had never pitched above Double-A. He was part of the Dodgers’ player pool for the 2020 season but got suspended and placed on the restricted list to finish out the year.
At the conclusion of the 2020 season, Uceta participated in the Dominican Winter League, where he posted a 1.96 ERA over six appearances and faced multiple All-Stars. “When I went up there I basically pitched against the Toros del Este, which had most of the Major League talent,” Uceta recently said.
“Some players like Gary Sanchez and Yasiel Puig, so that really helped me out.”
Uceta learned from suspension
While the Dodgers removing Uceta from their alternate training site at USC last year was a down point in his young career, the 23-year-old has grown from the mishap.
“It was a learning experience,” Uceta said. “There was a little bit of miscommunication with the mismanagement of a food item I ordered to the hotel. From that, I wouldn’t say it unraveled, but it didn’t go the way that we wanted it to.
“It’s something I’m going to learn from and grow from.”
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