A rough start to the season in Philadelphia sent Brogdon to Los Angeles, where he got hurt in April and spend the remainder of the season on the injured list.
It was a rough 2024 season for right-hander Connor Brogdon, who found his way to the Dodgers in April but spend all but two weeks on the injured list.
After a pair of productive seasons in the Phillies bullpen, including pitching four scoreless innings in the World Series, Brogdon fell off a bit in 2023. This year he got off to a bad start, allowing runs in all three appearances within Philadelphia’s first four games of the season, including a game-losing grand slam on April 1.
The Phillies designated Brogdon for assignment on April 2, which made him a fresh arm available for the Dodgers to acquire four days later, for minor league left-hander Benony Robles.
Brogdon got into a game in his second day with the Dodgers, making him the 18th of a franchise-record 40 pitchers used by Los Angeles this season. This was April 9 in Minnesota, with Brogdon tabbed to finish off the ninth inning with a 6-1 lead.
The first two batters he faced hit solo home runs, continuing his early-season malaise. The Dodgers still had a sizable lead, and Brogdon retired his next three batters without incident. Brogdon to this point allowed nine runs (eight earned) in three innings, with more walks (six) than strikeouts (three), and four home runs allowed among his 19 batters faced.
Nobody knew it at the time, but that was Brogdon’s final major league game of the season.
Plantar fasciitis landed Brogdon on the injured list on April 13, and shortly thereafter he went to Camelback Ranch to rehab at the Dodgers facility. Brogdon began a rehab assignment on May 5 and pitched two games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, but it was shut down soon after. He was moved to the 60-day injured list on May 19, making roster room for newly-acquired left-hander Anthony Banda.
Brogdon’s rehab started anew in late August, first with a scoreless inning for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, then back to Oklahoma City. He pitched well in Triple-A down the stretch with a 35.4-percent strikeout rate and a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings, but he never got the call back to the majors, and remained on the injured list through the end of the season.
2024 particulars
Age: 29
Stats: 1 IP, 2 R with Dodgers; 3.46 ERA, 13 IP, 5 BB, 19 K for Triple-A Oklahoma City
Salary: $761,000 (Dodgers responsible for $724,177)
Game of the year
Since he only pitched once for the Dodgers, we’ll go with a minor league game here. Brogdon retired all three batters he faced for Triple-A Oklahoma City in a scoreless ninth inning on September 15, earning a save against Tacoma.
Roster status
Brogdon has three years, 139 days of service time, and would have been eligible for salary arbitration this winter. But he’s also out of options, and the Dodgers sent him outright to the minors, off the 40-man roster on November 14. He elected free agency.