The Dodgers shuffled their bullpen ahead of Wednesday’s game against the A’s, recalling Charlie Barnes and sending Wyatt Mills back to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Mills’ stay on the big-league roster lasted just one day. He had been added as a fresh bullpen arm, a move that came when Jonathan Hernández was designated for assignment.
In his lone appearance this time around, Mills struck out the side in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 9-3 win at Sutter Health Park. It was his fifth outing of the season for Los Angeles, and he has now kept opponents off the board in four of those games.
Across his work with the Comets this year, Mills has gone 4-4 with six saves, a 2.64 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 26 games. He first came into the Dodgers organization on a Minor League contract last August.
Barnes is back for a second stint with the club this season. The left-hander was previously recalled in May after Blake Snell went on the 15-day injured list, then made two appearances and logged two scoreless innings before being optioned again. Even in that short run, he was part of the Dodgers bullpen’s franchise-record scoreless innings streak.
Los Angeles picked up Barnes on May 9 by claiming him off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. The 30-year-old made his MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2021, when he went 0-3 with a 5.92 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in nine games, eight of them starts.
The Twins selected him in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB Draft. With Oklahoma City this season, Barnes has posted a 2-1 record with a 3.67 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in six appearances.
Barnes gives the Dodgers another fresh arm for what is expected to be a bullpen game in the series finale against the A’s. Shohei Ohtani had been lined up to start, but the team pushed that assignment back to Friday instead.
Dave Roberts said the extra rest between starts matters, especially with the Dodgers in the middle of 13 straight games. He also pointed out that the change lets Ohtani face two National League West opponents before the All-Star break, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, and keeps open the possibility of lining him up to start the first game after the break.
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