Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Caleb Ferguson Battles Nerves in His Long-Awaited Return from Injury

Just a little more than a month before the Dodgers would be crowned world champions in 2020, reliever Caleb Ferguson underwent the knife for the second Tommy John surgery of his life. The left-hander was in the midst of a dominant season in the LA bullpen, posting a 2.89 ERA over 21 appearances.

20 months later, he pitched a clean inning at Dodger Stadium, walking a batter and striking out a batter in a 5-4 win. Admittedly, there were nerves for the 25-year-old.



“First hitter, I had a lot of nerves there. Couldn’t really feel the ball in my hand. Kind of felt like I was making my debut again. I’m really happy to be back.”

For the Dodgers, Ferguson’s return may be a bit sooner than hoped. He’s struggled against Triple-A hitters, allowing 6 earned runs over 4.2 innings pitched (11.57 ERA), but of his 6 appearances thus far, 4 have been clean outings. After the game, manager Dave Roberts said that LA recalled Ferguson “out of need” for a beleaguered bullpen. Still, Doc likes what he saw on Monday.

“That’s the Caleb that we expect to see. Breaking ball for a strike. The fastball that he used to punch Perdomo, that’s as good a fastball as you’re going to see.”

With a day/night doubleheader scheduled for today, and Ferguson not yet pitching on back to back days, chances are high that he’s optioned back to AAA for a fresh arm. Additionally, the Dodgers are expected to recall rookie right-hander Ryan Pepiot to start or add length for game 1 of the twin billing.

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Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

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