The Dodgers made a bullpen shuffle ahead of Saturday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, activating Landon Knack from the 60-day injured list, optioning Kyle Hurt to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and designating Charlie Barnes for assignment.
The move comes after Los Angeles had to piece together a bullpen game Friday, a day after Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his scheduled start. Following the loss, manager Dave Roberts said the club would talk through whether it needed to bring in a fresh arm.
“Obviously, it’s nice that we got (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto going, but I think we’ve done a very good job this year of protecting downside, and there’s certainly a good group of guys that are going to be down tomorrow and potentially this weekend,” Roberts said. “So we’re going to have that conversation, yeah.”
Hurt heads back to Oklahoma City because he still has options left, and the recent results have also pushed the Dodgers in that direction. He opened the year strong, posting a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings through May, but things have gone sideways since then. He logged an 8.38 ERA in June and has a 14.73 ERA in July.
That slump has driven his season numbers up to a 4.88 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP across 31.1 innings.
“Yeah, that’s kind of been an issue for me lately,” Hurt began about his struggles. “I’m kind of doing the hard part, getting 0-2, 1-2 on guys, and just not executing and getting pitches where I need to get them. I’m just kind of leaving things over the plate, getting into deep counts.
“Those deep counts can lead to walks, and I just got to be better at finishing guys. Just put them away when I’m ahead.”
Knack is back after beginning the season on the 15-day injured list for an unspecified reason. He was later moved to the 60-day IL in late April to clear a spot on the 40-man roster when the Dodgers acquired Tyler Fitzgerald in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.
He began a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on June 24 and posted a 3.34 ERA in three starts.
Barnes’ time with the Dodgers was short. He joined the organization when he was claimed off waivers on May 9, then made four appearances for Los Angeles. One of those outings was a seven-inning effort against the Athletics on July 1 that helped save the Dodgers’ bullpen.
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