The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ pitching depth suffered a hit this week.
Starter Tony Gonsolin suffered a left ankle injury while performing defensive drills on Monday, and hasn’t progressed as hoped through the week.
As of Thursday, the right-hander still wasn’t able to put much weight on the damaged ankle.
That’s obviously not ideal at this time of the year, just 20 days away from Opening Day.
On Friday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts all but closed the door for his pitcher to be ready for the start of the season.
“Dave Roberts said ‘it’s gonna be a slow process’ for Tony Gonsolin coming off a sprained left ankle. Didn’t want to go into further detail. Safe to assume Ryan Pepiot and Michael Grove are the first options if the Dodgers need spot starts in Gonsolin’s slot to open the year,” Dodgers insider Fabian Ardaya tweeted.
Dave Roberts said “it’s gonna be a slow process” for Tony Gonsolin coming off a sprained left ankle. Didn’t want to go into further detail.
Safe to assume Ryan Pepiot and Michael Grove are the first options if the Dodgers need spot starts in Gonsolin’s slot to open the year.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 10, 2023
Gonsolin’s absence will be hard to swallow for the team in the early going.
He went 16-1 last year, with a 2.14 ERA in 130.1 frames.
He was a true revelation in 2022 for Los Angeles, and his role was expected to grow even more this season.
The ankle injury, however, got in the way, and nobody knows when he will be ready to restart his throwing program.
The Dodgers tried to treat his injury on a day-to-day basis but it appears to be a week-to-week thing.
It appears that top prospect Bobby Miller is still not an option to fill one of the rotation spots for the Dodgers.
Pepiot, who already has major league experience under his belt, is the most likely candidate to take over Gonsolin for as long as he is out.
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