Dodgers Add Minor League Pitcher to Taxi Squad, Roster Move Likely To Follow
The Dodgers are coming off a 12-inning marathon on Monday night that saw them use seven pitchers and six relievers in a 9-8 win. It was expected that they would make a roster move ahead of Tuesday’s game to combat yesterday’s bullpen usage, however, that wasn’t exactly the case.
The Dodgers feel confident enough in Clayton Kershaw having a deep outing, and then LHP Victor Gonzalez and RHP Brusdar Graterol closing it out, two guys who didn’t pitch yesterday.
While they didn’t make an official move, though, they did add a pitcher to their taxi squad for a potential move tomorrow.
On Tuesday, RHP Dylan Covey made his way to Dodger Stadium on the taxi squad. There’s a chance Covey is activated tomorrow, but it sounds like it’ll depend on how tonight’s game goes.
Who is Dylan Covey?
I know what you’re wondering: Who the heck is Dylan Covey?
Covey is a 31-year-old right-handed starting pitcher. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of high school, and then again in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics.
Covey made his MLB debut in 2017 for the Chicago White Sox, and played three seasons there before spending the 2020 season with the Boston Red Sox. Since then, he hasn’t been in the major leagues.
Covey has a 6.57 career ERA at the MLB level, and a 4.22 ERA with Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. He’s made six starts and seven appearances, and has thrown 32.0 innings.
There are two interesting things about this move.
Firstly, it’s interesting that the Dodgers elected to call up Covey to the taxi squad instead of just bringing up RHP Andre Jackson, who struggled mightily at the major league level but has settled in nicely at Triple-A. In six appearances this season, Jackson has pitched 11.0 innings and has allowed just three runs, good for a 2.45 ERA. He’s also allowed zero home runs, after allowing five in 11.1 innings at the MLB level.
Secondly, it’s interesting that the Dodgers didn’t want the insurance for today’s game, and instead are electing to rely on Kershaw to get the job done.
Baseball is a very unpredictable sport, and the Dodgers could be in deep trouble if Kershaw isn’t able to give the team the length they need. However, they feel good about him getting it done, and will likely call up Covey tomorrow if they feel they need the help.
But for now, there’s no official move, and the Dodgers roster is exactly as it was yesterday. Let’s hope this plans works out.
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