The Los Angeles Dodgers activated outfielder Josh Reddick (No. 11) and right-hander Jesse Chavez (No.58) prior to the series opener with the Colorado Rockies. To clear room on the active roster for Chavez and Reddick, Josh Fields, Ross Stripling and Yasiel Puig were optioned to the Minors.
It’s not yet known which affiliate(s) the aforementioned trio will report to. Reddick is starting in right field and batting cleanup in Tuesday’s game. He was acquired from the Oakland Athletics, along with Rich Hill (No. 44), in exchange for pitching prospects Jharel Cotton, Grant Holmes and Frankie Montas.
Reddick is batting .296/.368/.449 with eight home runs, 28 RBIs, a .348 wOBA, 124 OPS+ and 121 wRC+. He’s enjoyed plenty of success against lefties, hitting .341/.408/.547 with all 20 of his extra-base hits (11 doubles, one triple, eight home runs).
Chavez went 1-2 with a 4.57 ERA, 4.80 FIP and 1.28 WHIP in 39 games with the Toronto Blue Jays this season. He spent the previous two years working as a starting pitcher for the Athletics, which makes Chavez a natural fit to replace Stripling in the swingman role for Los Angeles.
Stripling began the year as the Dodgers’ fifth starter, going 1-3 with a 4.58 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over eight outings in that role. He was pressed into emergency relief duty during an extra-innings game May 22 and got optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City the following day.
Since rejoining the Dodgers on July 23, the right-hander has exclusively been used out of the bullpen. Stripling sported a 2.08 ERA in three relief appearances (8.1 innings) after being recalled.
Puig is batting .260/.320/.386 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs in 81 games. He was limited over the past week by right hamstring soreness, going 11 days between starts. Puig’s demotion reportedly is tied to his off-the-field behavior.
Fields had a 6.89 ERA and 1.66 WHIP over 15 games with the Houston Astros this season. His 2.81 FIP and 28.2 percent strikeout rate are reasons for some optimism, and so too was the success Fields had in the Minors.
Over 23 relief appearances with Triple-A Fresno, the 30-year-old reliever went 1-0 with one save, a 1.65 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, and held opponents to a .192 batting average.
