Tony Gonsolin became the eighth starter and 14th pitcher overall to find his way to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ injured list at present time as he’s out with right elbow discomfort.
It’s not the first time that Gonsolin has been inactive this season as he opened 2025 on the 15-day injured list with a minor back issue that stemmed from a workout late in Spring Training. It caused Gonsolin to miss the first 30 games of the season, but this latest injury is much more concerning given his Tommy John procedure from 2023.
The worst-case scenario seems to have been ruled out after an MRI showed that Gonsolin’s UCL is intact, but it remains unclear when he will start throwing again.
The reality of the situation has hit Gonsolin hard and he is extremely frustrated by the position he finds himself in, but he’s still holding out hope that he can contribute this season.
“I know ultimately how I’m feeling is I’m letting the team down and those are innings that I should be eating up,” Gonsolin said. “It’s baseball, it happens, injuries happen. It just really sucks. I’m very frustrated.
“After all the time I spent strengthening it and going through that, then to have my back (injury) and now this, I’m just very frustrated with where my body is at. That it’s not holding together as of now.
“Just trying to get through it, hopefully this isn’t too long and I’ll finish the year strong in the playoffs.”
Gonsolin’s right elbow discomfort began sometime after his start against the New York Mets on June 4 with what he believed was general fatigue, but worsened over time. With six days until his next start, he notified team trainers that he was going to take a day off from throwing in the hopes that he would feel better the next day.
“We went to St. Louis, woke up the next day and felt a little bit better,” Gonsolin said. “Went through my normal prep stuff to play catch, played catch and was pretty achy on every throw, so we came back in and I let them know 90 feet didn’t feel great.
“The plan was to do more recovery stuff and ideally the next day get a bullpen in, not miss a start or anything. But because I stopped throwing they recommended we get it looked at. So doctor came over, checked it out, recommended some imaging, we did that, luckily nothing wrong with the UCL.
“Just shut down for a while and not sure when I’m throwing yet. Just trying to do some recovery stuff.”
Gonsolin partially feared the worst or at least a slight tear in his UCL, but it was a different sensation from the one he felt two years ago.
“I thought there was a chance, but it was definitely feeling way different than when I did it two years ago,” he said. “I was probably in more pain now than two years ago when my UCL was fully torn. That didn’t really hurt. I think the fact that it was post-start, I thought maybe there was a little tear in it but I’m glad there’s not.”
Ben Casparius replacing Tony Gonsolin?
A lack of healthy starting pitchers has seemingly created an opportunity for Ben Casparius to join the rotation. Casparius has been one of the Dodgers’ best high-leverage bullpen options this season, and also he moonlights as a long reliever whenever called upon.
Casparius made 57 starts over four seasons in the Minors before the Dodgers converted him to a reliever upon his promotion to the Majors last season.
Now with a pressing need in their rotation, manager Dave Roberts called it a “likely possibility” that Casparius returns to his natural role.
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