Tony Gonsolin to injured list: What latest hit to Dodgers’ rotation means

By Rowan Kavner
FOX Sports MLB Writer

The Dodgers already lost Walker Buehler for the season and await the return of Clayton Kershaw from the injured list. Now, they must absorb another significant late-season absence in their league-leading rotation.

All-Star Tony Gonsolin, who leads the majors with 16 wins and paces the National League with a 2.10 ERA and 0.87 WHIP, has been placed on the injured list due to a right forearm strain. The Dodgers recalled right-handed pitcher Michael Grove to start Monday.

“It just felt kind of tight coming out of last outing,” Gonsolin told reporters Monday. “I had dealt with a little bit of the forearm tightness earlier this year, thought it was going to go away in a couple days. It just kind of lingered this time, so we’re going to push it back, miss a couple starts, which is OK.”

Gonsolin said he expects to return once his 15 days on the injured list are up. The IL stint is retroactive to Aug. 26, so the Dodgers expect him back weeks before the playoffs begin.

Still, it’s more than just a harmless respite for the 28-year-old right-hander, who has already thrown 72.2 more regular-season innings than he has in any other season in his major-league career. He said he’s not sure if the workload contributed to the issue.

Gonsolin said he hasn’t undergone an MRI, but manual tests on his arm didn’t indicate any ligament issues. There seems to be considerably less concern with him than there was two months ago, when Buehler went to the injured list due to the same ailment. Scans later revealed a flexor strain on Buehler, who ultimately needed Tommy John surgery and a flexor tendon repair.

Gonsolin, meanwhile, won’t throw the next two days and will be reevaluated Wednesday in New York. 

The Dodgers weren’t aware that anything was wrong with the NL Cy Young candidate until Sunday, when Gonsolin informed pitching coach Mark Prior of the tightness he was feeling two days after his most recent bullpen session. Manager Dave Roberts explained that the Dodgers wanted to exercise caution.

“He’s gone so hard all year,” Roberts said. “To make that IL move, to skip two starts, it just didn’t seem like a whole lot of cost. Hopefully kind of reset him and get him ready for the postseason.”

The Dodgers still have starting pitching depth to account for the injuries. 

Kershaw is expected to rejoin healthy starters Julio Urías, Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney and Dustin May in the rotation either Thursday in New York or Friday in Los Angeles. The Dodgers were planning to move forward with a six-man rotation to give the starters extra rest. That could change with Gonsolin out, though Roberts said Monday that a decision hasn’t been made. If the team wanted to stick to the plan, rookies Grove or Ryan Pepiot could serve as a sixth starter.

Gonsolin doesn’t expect the break to impact his buildup or readiness for the postseason, either. But with only 35 games left, any obstacle or setback to the rotation is magnified.

A back injury has limited Kershaw to just three second-half starts. May has made only two starts so far in his return from Tommy John surgery. Buehler is out the rest of this year and possibly next. Urías, Anderson and Gonsolin have served as steadying forces in a rotation that still leads the majors in ERA (2.67), WHIP (1.04), opponents’ batting average (.210) and wins (60), despite a litany of injuries throughout the year, with Gonsolin’s forearm strain the latest. 

Gonsolin has thrown 128.1 innings so far this year — one out more than his previous professional career high, set when he tossed 128 innings between Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa in 2018 — but he didn’t look to be wearing down. He allowed just two runs in four August starts before going on the IL.

“Obviously, this is uncharted territory for him,” Roberts said. “I think the one part of it is, yeah, you do lose a little bit of momentum of the season that you’re having. But I think the most important part is we’ve got to do what we can to keep him healthy. If he’s healthy, then we’ll bet on the performance.”

Gonsolin expects to pick up where he left off when he’s eligible to return Sept. 10. The Dodgers are counting on that, too.

“It does suck, the time, coming into September,” Gonsolin said. “But I do think it’s also a blessing a little bit, give me a little break and then playoffs.”

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. He previously was the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.