The Los Angeles Dodgers transferred Tony Gonsolin to the 60-day injured list on Thursday in order to make room on their 40-man roster for Jack Little.
Emmet Sheehan was optioned as the other corresponding move to the Dodgers selecting Little’s contract from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Gonsolin was originally put on the 15-day injured list June 7 due to right elbow discomfort. Given that Gonsolin is in his first season since having Tommy John surgery, that immediately raised concern.
An MRI of Gonsolin’s right elbow revealed the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) remained intact, but he nevertheless was shut down from throwing at that time.
Gonsolin began to experience right elbow trouble in the days after his start on June 4. He pitched five innings and allowed three runs (two earned) in the Dodgers’ loss to the New York Mets.
“I thought I was just kind of tired from pitching but the next day I woke up and it was super achy. I told the trainers, ‘Hey, I didn’t make it today. Not going to throw, just looking forward to a recovery day,'” Gonsolin explained last week.
“It was six days until my next start, so I was going to take care of it and hopefully wake up feeling way better. We went to St. Louis, woke up the next day and felt a little bit better. 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.”
What does Tony Gonsolin on 60-day IL mean?
With the paper move, Gonsolin now is not eligible to return until Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Gonsolin has gone 3-2 with a 5.00 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 36 innings across seven starts so far this season. He struggled with his command, which led to increased walk and home run totals, especially in the first innings of starts.
In terms of the Dodgers filling out their rotation, Shohei Ohtani is going through his buildup in games, Ben Casparius can be shifted out of a piggyback role, and Sheehan is available despite being optioned.
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