Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin ready to reclaim his spot
MESA, Ariz. — It was closer than you think.
The Dodgers’ glaring lack of starting pitchers as they headed into the postseason last fall had them considering every possible option – even one who hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since August 2023 and was still in the final stages of recovering from Tommy John surgery.
“Yeah, I think we were pretty close,” said Tony Gonsolin, the TJ rehabber in question. “I had talks with (Brandon) Gomes (GM) and (President of Baseball Operations) Andrew (Friedman) about it. Everything played out. We were okay, and they didn’t have to use me.”
The Dodgers navigated their way to a World Series title with three traditional starters (Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler) and frequent ‘bullpen games,’ ultimately deciding that Gonsolin wasn’t ready after just 7⅔ innings over three rehab games in Triple-A.
“We weren’t close,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts insisted. “He was sort of there (at workouts), but he wasn’t. … We were really just hoping that we didn’t have to get to that point.”
Now that Gonsolin is ready to return, he finds himself the forgotten All-Star in a packed rotation.
Gonsolin was an All-Star in 2022, going 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP in his most recent healthy season. He pitched with an injured elbow in 2023, persevering for 20 starts in order to reach a contract bonus before undergoing Tommy John surgery. Since he threw his last pitch in August 2023, the Dodgers have added an entire rotation – Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani.
“Maybe a little bit,” Gonsolin said of being forgotten in a starting group that also includes Dustin May coming back from surgery, Bobby Miller trying to re-set after a disastrous sophomore season and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw returning for his 18th season. “(I’m) just trying to go out there and compete and see what happens.
“(I) try not to pay attention to that honestly. Just go out there and do my job.”
Gonsolin said the three rehab games in the minors last year plus throwing to Dodgers’ hitters in simulated games during their postseason workouts was enough to put an end to “rehab mode” and bring him to Camelback Ranch feeling “just like spring training.”
“It was cool to be back in, like, a real game,” Gonsolin said after throwing a one-hit, scoreless inning against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
“Overall, I felt pretty good. I thought the fastball execution could be a little bit better but I thought I threw a couple good splitties, couple good sliders, couple good curveballs. Overall, just good results.”
Even before Gonsolin took the mound against the Cubs, Roberts said the 30-year-old right-hander looks to be far advanced from last fall.
“Oh gosh, he looks much better than he did at that point,” Roberts said when asked to compare Gonsolin’s spring form to what he saw in October. “I think at that point in time, he was trying to give us whatever he had left, which he did, and go through the process of surgery.
“Where he’s at now, he looks really sharp. The ball is coming out good. The breaking stuff, command. Everything looks good. We just can’t forget how good Tony has been for us when he’s healthy. So I’m certainly not sleeping on Tony. I think he’s going to be good for us.”
MARRIED MAN
Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki announced through his Instagram account on Friday morning that he had recently been married. Like Shohei Ohtani last spring, Sasaki did not provide his wife’s name, only referring to her (as Ohtani did) as “an ordinary woman” – meaning not a fellow celebrity.
“It’s a new start both in my personal and professional life (this year) and I’m full of hope and anxiety,” the 23-year-old Sasaki posted in Japanese. “But we’ll work hard together as a couple so I hope you’ll continue to support us.”
Sasaki declined to provide any details when he spoke to the media on Friday morning, saying only that the marriage had happened during the offseason. His teammates – including fellow Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Ohtani – did not learn of the marriage until his Instagram post, Sasaki said.
“Roki? What? I didn’t know he had a girlfriend,” Roberts said, reacting with surprise when asked about Friday’s news. “Well, congratulations. The wedding gift will be on the way – after I meet his wife.”
Roberts said Sasaki is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut “sometime in the middle of the (next) week.”
MILLER UPDATE
Right-hander Bobby Miller was in camp Friday morning after being hit in the head by a line drive two batters into his spring debut on Thursday.
“He has a little bit of a headache, but there’s no fracture,” Roberts reported. “He slept fine, feels much better today than he did yesterday. Today, he’s just gonna lay low, but he feels very confident that he can kind of pick up his throwing program soon.
“He’s just got to keep going through the concussion protocol just to make sure that we stay on the right track.”
Roberts said Miller joked about having “a hard head.” But the line drive left the bat of the Cubs’ Michael Busch at 106 mph, creating a moment that was “terrifying and frightening” as third baseman Max Muncy put it after the game.
“He certainly escaped in a lot of ways,” Roberts said.
PHILLIPS PROGRESS
Right-hander Evan Phillips threw his first bullpen session of the spring during Friday’s workout. The reliever suffered a ligament tear in his shoulder during the postseason last year and was on a modified offseason program that didn’t include picking up a baseball until January.
Phillips said he has experienced no pain in the shoulder since increasing his throwing at spring camp. He said he understands “Opening Day is off the table” but he is optimistic he won’t be far behind schedule.