The Los Angeles Dodgers have replaced relief pitcher Michael Grove on the National League Division Series roster with Ben Casparius, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Manager Dave Roberts said that Grove has a “shoulder thing he’s been dealing with for quite some time,” and the right-hander is not recovering as fast as the Dodgers had hoped. The right-hander will get further testing to see the extent of the inflammation.
Dodgers roster move: They’ve removed Michael Grove from the NLDS roster due to an apparent injury. Ben Casparius is on in his place.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) October 8, 2024
Michael Grove Replaced by Ben Casparius on Dodgers NLDS Roster
Promising, But Not Effective
In his lone postseason appearance this year against the San Diego Padres, Grove went 1/3 of an inning, giving up one run on a home run, with one strikeout. The Dodgers were hoping that the right-hander would provide them with innings in a long relief role, but it was not to be. Grove has a 5.12 ERA in 51 innings this year. His repertoire has shown promise this year. However, he is prone to giving up the home run, as his last outing indicates.
MLB rules state that a player replaced on a postseason roster cannot play in the next series. This means that the right-hander will not be eligible for the National League Championship Series, should the Dodgers make it there.
The Replacement
Ben Casparius has had limited time in the majors, spending most of the season at Double-A and Triple-A. However, in his three appearances, he has a 2.16 ERA in 8 1/3 innings. In addition, he has a 32.4 % strikeout rate. This has led many to wonder why he wasn’t chosen as the long-relief man on the Dodgers’ NLDS roster in the first place.
Some Good News
The Dodgers also announced that All-Star first-baseman Freddie Freeman will be in the starting line-up for the pivotal game three in San Diego. Freeman, who injured his ankle in the division-clinching regular season finale, left game two of the division series early. Freeman tweaked his ankle again against San Diego starter Yu Darvish. “It’s a go…, as of now,” according to Roberts.
The Dodgers hope that even a hobbled Freeman can help them get a win tonight.
Photo Credit: © Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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