Dodgers Place Justin Wrobleski On Injured List

The Dodgers announced this afternoon that they are placing left-hander Justin Wrobleski on the injured list with left forearm inflammation. Right-hander Kyle Hurt is being recalled in a corresponding active roster move.

Wrobleski threw six innings of four-run ball against the Brewers last night. He struck out six hitters while surrendering four hits, one walk, and hitting one batter in a 107-pitch effort. There was no indication that Wrobleski suffered an injury during the game, though the team may reveal more details as he undergoes tests.

In any case, the IL stint will give Wrobleski the opportunity to rest for a few turns through the rotation. The 26-year-old lefty is at 126 1/3 innings on the season, easily his highest total in the Majors and not far off his career high in 2024, when he combined for 132 innings between the Majors and minors. Perhaps due to the increasing workload, Wrobleski has been off his usual game lately. In 19 2/3 innings since July 28th, he has allowed 19 earned runs on 24 hits, including a staggering 11 home runs.

That’s far off from the standards Wrobleski established early in the season. In his first 15 starts, he posted a 2.69 ERA in 100 1/3 innings while generally keeping the ball in the park. He limited walks to an exceptional 5.0% clip, which helped to compensate for a below-average 18.3% strikeout rate. Wrobleski’s efforts earned him his first career All-Star nomination and cemented his place in the Dodgers’ rotation for at least the regular season.

That will still be the case when he returns, but the Dodgers, more than any other team in the league, can afford to slow-play his IL stint thanks to their stockpile of rotation arms. They landed the top prize of the trade deadline by acquiring Tarik Skubal from the Tigers for a package of three young players. In Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and the recently-activated Blake Snell, the front of the rotation is one of the most dominant in baseball.

Eric Lauer has been surprisingly effective since coming over from the Blue Jays in May, and Roki Sasaki has been dominant in five second-half starts. That’s not even counting the injured Tyler Glasnow or Shohei Ohtani, who continues to hit and whom the team hopes will get back on a mound by the end of the year. With a comfortable lead in the NL West and a playoff spot a virtual certainty, the Dodgers have the space to manage Wrobleski’s workload and make sure he’s fresh for October.

In the meantime, Hurt comes up to reinforce the big league bullpen. The 28-year-old righty has been shuffled between Triple-A Oklahoma City and the Majors several times this season. Working around those optional assignments, he has pitched to a 4.46 ERA in 38 1/3 innings for the Dodgers, coming in above average by strikeout (27.7%) and ground ball rate (44.3%). Though he’s given up his share of hard contact, Hurt has nonetheless done his job as a low-leverage reliever. He figures to take that role again alongside fellow righties Evan Phillips and Edgardo Henriquez.