Paul Gervase is back with the Los Angeles Dodgers again, and this time the move comes with the club opening a three-game home series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It’s the fourth call-up of the season for the 26-year-old right-hander, who has given the Dodgers exactly what they’ve wanted in limited looks. Across his first three stints with the big-league club this year, Gervase has worked 7.2 innings and allowed just two runs for a 2.35 ERA. He’s also posted a 1.57 WHIP with eight strikeouts, using his 6-foot-10 frame to help drive a 92.7-mph fastball.
This is Gervase’s first full season in the Dodgers organization after he came over with Ben Rortvedt in the three-team trade that sent Hunter Feduccia to the Tampa Bay Rays at the 2025 deadline. In a bit of a twist, Feduccia and Rortvedt are both back with the Dodgers now after being re-acquired at the 2026 trade deadline earlier this month.
At Triple-A Oklahoma City, Gervase has logged 31 appearances and gone 2-1 with a 4.86 ERA. He has 46 strikeouts in 37 innings, but the walks have been an issue, with 31 free passes.
The move to make room for him is a surprise: right-hander Emmet Sheehan was optioned to Triple-A. Sheehan had been called up at the start of the week as a possible multi-inning bullpen arm after Edwin Diaz landed on the injured list, but he never got into a game.
Before that, Sheehan spent the first four-plus months of the season in the rotation. He went 4-8 with a 5.29 ERA over 95.1 innings before being optioned. The Dodgers brought him up to possibly help out in Colorado, but the bullpen never needed him.
Gervase is expected to work in shorter outings, while Sheehan had the ability to cover multiple innings. At Triple-A Oklahoma City, Gervase picked up three saves, and he also had one save for the Dodgers’ top minor league affiliate after last season’s trade.
In 10 major league games between the Dodgers and Rays, Gervase has thrown 16 innings and allowed 15 hits, 11 walks and six earned runs for a 3.38 ERA.
The Dodgers will play the Pirates, then turn around for three important games against the Atlanta Braves before getting a day off on Thursday. They already had this past Thursday off, which leaves their bullpen rested for a stretch of six games in six days.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Turn To Former Dodgers Fill-In As Infield Trouble Grows
Arizona has dipped into familiar territory for help in the infield, bringing in Santiago Espinal on a minor-league deal as the Diamondbacks try to steady a roster hit by injuries. The move comes after a rough run for Espinal in his brief initial stint with the Dodgers in early 2026, when his bat never got going and he was designated for assignment twice.
The fit is obvious enough from the Dodgers perspective, since they know exactly what the veteran utility type can and cannot provide. Arizona needs coverage with Ketel Marte on the 10-day injured list after knee inflammation, following a stretch on the restricted list, and Espinal gives them another option while they sort through the rest of the infield picture. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Fans Got An Eye-Catching First Look At Cam Leiter
The Dodgers farm system delivered a little bit of everything on the mound and at the plate, but the most eye-catching debut came from Cam Leiter, who wasted no time making an impression for Great Lakes. In his first High-A start, Leiter carved through hitters for seven strikeouts across 3 1/3 scoreless innings, the kind of opening line that tends to get attention quickly in an organization always watching for pitching depth.
Elsewhere, Jackson Ferris turned in a solid five-inning outing while allowing one run in Oklahoma Citys Triple-A win, and Chris Newell provided the biggest swing of the night with a grand slam in Tulsas one-run loss. There were other notable contributions across the Dodgers minor league clubs, but Leiters debut stood out as the sort of performance that makes a player worth tracking the next time the farm system scoreboard lights up. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Just Got A Kobe Release That Feels Pure Los Angeles
Nikes new Kobe Collection has already found its way into the Dodgers clubhouse, giving the team a very Los Angeles kind of off-field moment. The brand gifted players merchandise tied to the line, including the Kobe 5 Protro and Air Force 1 Protro shoes, and the club shared video of the unboxing as guys like Blake Snell and Tucker took it in. The timing fits, too, since the collection was released Aug. 15 with early access at the Mamba League Invitational, blending Kobe Bryants legacy with the city he still symbolizes.
For the Dodgers, it was less about a simple apparel drop and more about a piece of local culture arriving in the middle of the season. The collections design language is built around Bryant and Los Angeles, which is why the reaction inside the room mattered, even in a short clip. It is the kind of crossover that resonates in this market, where basketball and baseball are always brushing up against each other, and where anything connected to Kobe tends to carry a little extra weight. [Read more 🡒]