by Megan Garcia
Tony Gonsolin didn’t have a rush of nerves as he took the mound to face big league hitters for the first time in over a year. For him, it was just like any other Spring Training game — and it felt good.
The right-hander tossed a scoreless inning in his Cactus League debut against the Cubs on Friday at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. He worked around a leadoff single to Ian Happ and retired the following three batters in order — the last two being back-to-back strikeouts.
“Overall felt pretty good,” Gonsolin said. “I thought the fastball execution could be a little bit better, but I threw a couple of good splitters, a couple of sliders, a couple of good curveballs, and overall, just good results.”
He threw 18 pitches and landed 11 for strikes.
“It was my first time against big league competition — outside of a rehab outing or a stay-hot group, so it was cool to be back in a real game.” Gonsolin said.
The 30-year-old last faced Major League hitters on Aug. 18, 2023. He underwent Tommy John surgery nearly two weeks later, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season and the majority of 2024.
Gonsolin started to make his way back to a Major League mound in September of last season. He started three games for Triple-A Oklahoma City as part of his rehab program. Gonsolin gave up two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings, struck out 12 hitters and walked two.
“I thought the command was good,” said manager Dave Roberts. “We got him back out there to do an up in the bullpen. He looks sharp right now. I think he’s in a really good spot given what he’s been through the last calendar year. I just think he’s going to have a really good season.”
Gonsolin will throw a side session before his next Spring Training outing. He is expected to throw two innings in that start.
“Right now, he looks strong,” Roberts said. “Delivery looks consistent. His secondary pitches are crisp, and I’m looking forward to building him up.”
The Dodgers lost to the Cubs 7–3 in their second game of Spring Training. They host the Royals on Saturday at Camelback Ranch.
Sasaki surprises teammates with marriage
As part of a busy offseason, Roki Sasaki also got married. He announced it today on Instagram.
“There’s a lot that I can’t do on my own. This environment where I can focus on baseball is created by all the people around me,” Sasaki said. “I’m happy to have someone with me and it’s very important to me.”
The news surprised his teammates and coaches as they didn’t have an inkling of the well-kept secret.
“The wedding gift will be on the way after I meet his wife,” Roberts said of the surprise announcement.
Bobby Miller concussion update
Roberts shared that right-hander Bobby Miller did not sustain a fracture after he was hit on the forehead by a line drive during Wednesday’s Cactus League opener.
“He slept fine. He feels much better today than he did yesterday,” Roberts said. “Today he’s just going to lay low, but he feels very confident that he can pick up his throwing program.”
Miller will continue to go through the concussion protocol. He will need to sit out at least seven days before resuming his program to ramp up for the regular season.
“He certainly escaped in a lot of ways.” Roberts added.
Spring Training 2025: Tony Gonsolin returns to Major League competition was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.