The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled Michael Grove and selected the contract of Shane Greene. Garrett Cleavinger and Reyes Moronta were optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room on the active roster, and Victor González was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Grove is starting the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies for his MLB debut. Grove is the Dodgers’ No. 23 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, but FanGraphs is much higher on him, ranking Grove as No. 11 in the organization.
He primarily relies on a hard fastball and mixes in a power slider and curveball that have consistently generated high strikeout numbers throughout his time in the Minors.
In five starts for Double-A Tulsa this season, Grove has posted a 2.76 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched while striking out 22 hitters. He also threw 71 innings for the Drillers last season but did not have much success, finishing with a 7.86 ERA.
The main aspect that has been holding Grove back is a lack of control, and this season he seems to have figured something out. His walks per nine innings dropped from 5.32 during last season to 2.76 this season, and additionally, he has gone from allowing 2.41 home runs per nine to just 0.55 this year.
Despite his poor showing last year, the Dodgers remained high on Grove and added him to their 40-man roster during the offseason in order to protect against potentially losing him in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft.
Though, that was never held because of the MLB lockout.
With the promotion, Grove has achieved the rare feat of making the jump from Double-A to the Major Leagues and skipping Triple-A altogether.
Dodgers bullpen adds fresh arm
Greene first joined the organization last year after he was designated for assignment by the Atlanta Braves.
He pitched to a 4.05 ERA, 6.62 FIP and 1.20 WHIP in 6.2 innings over nine appearances for L.A. and was DFA’d in late September. Greene re-signed with the Dodgers on a Minor League contract this past March.
He’s struggled with Oklahoma City, posting a 5.87 ERA and 2.22 WHIP over seven games.
With the addition of Greene, the Dodgers at minimum have an option out of the bullpen who hasn’t pitched since May 10.
Moronta logged two innings in Saturday’s loss. He was called up as part of a flurry of roster moves on April 24.
Cleavinger is headed back to OKC two days after getting recalled as the corresponding move to Clayton Kershaw being placed on the 15-day injured list with right SI joint inflammation. Cleavinger also appeared on Saturday, throwing a scoreless inning.
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