The Tampa Bay Rays recently signed Michael Grove to a Major League contract but immediately placed him on the 15-day injured list. Ryan Pepiot, who previously was teammates with Grove on the Los Angeles Dodgers, was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for the fellow right-hander on the Rays’ 40-man roster.
But less than a week after signing Grove, the Rays transferred him to the 60-day IL as well. That came as a corresponding move to Tampa Bay calling up Trevor Martin in order to replace Mason Englert, who landed on 15-day IL because of right forearm tightness.
Michael Grove’s career
Grove was among a series of roster moves the Dodgers made last November, when he was outrighted off their 40-man roster. The flurry of activity also included exercising team options on Max Muncy and Alex Vesia for the 2026 season, Justin Dean being outrighted as well and Tony Gonsolin getting designated for assignment.
Because Grove has more than three years of Major League service time, he held the option to reject the Minor League assignment in favor of becoming a free agent. That wound up becoming the path he took in November.
That came after Grove spent the entire 2025 season on the 60-day injured list upon having right shoulder surgery in March.
In addition to his shoulder injury, Grove dealt with a right intercostal strain during the 2024 season that resulted in spending nearly two months on the injured list. Grove logged 51 innings over 39 appearances (two starts), finishing with a 5.12 ERA, 3.87 FIP and 1.22 WHIP in 2024.
He was included on the Dodgers’ playoff roster for the National League Division Series, only to get replaced by Ben Casparius prior to Game 3 because of the right shoulder injury.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts later revealed Grove attempted to continue pitching through the shoulder trouble in effort to avoid a lost season to surgery.
Over parts of three seasons with the Dodgers from 2022-24, Grove went 7-7 with a 5.48 ERA and 3.55 FIP in 64 games (20 starts). He was developed as a starting pitcher but embraced a swingman role, and often was utilized as an outright relief pitcher.
Grove performed better in a bullpen role, posting a 4.77 ERA and 3.55 FIP compared to his 6.05 ERA and 4.98 FIP as a starter.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
