Dodgers To Select Ben Casparius

The Dodgers will promote right-hander Ben Casparius before tomorrow’s game against the Cardinals, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The team will be able to open a 40-man spot for Casparius by transferring River Ryan to the 60-day IL, but it is not yet clear how they will find room for him on the 26-man roster.

Casparius, 25, joined the Dodgers organization as a fifth-round selection in the 2021 draft. He has been promoted mid-season all four years of his career thus far, going from the Complex League to Single-A in 2021, Single-A to High-A in ’22, High-A to Double-A in ’23, and finally, Double-A to Triple-A in ’24.

In 2022 and ’23, Casparius struggled to adjust following his promotions, but this year, he hit the ground running with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Baseball Club. After putting up a 3.32 ERA and 3.15 FIP in five starts at Double-A, he has a 3.54 ERA and 4.34 FIP in 13 starts at Triple-A. His strikeout rate briefly plummeted in Oklahoma City, but after a month-long stint on the IL, he came back firing on all cylinders. Casparius has a 3.44 ERA, 2.56 FIP, and 35.5% strikeout rate over his last five starts. He was especially dominant in his latest outing against the Round Rock Express on Sunday, tossing six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and no walks.

Baseball America ranks Casparius as the No. 20 prospect in the Dodgers system, while MLB Pipeline has him at No. 23. FanGraphs isn’t quite as high on the righty, ranking him at No. 39. While he is currently working as a starting pitcher, all three sources agree his future most likely lies in the bullpen, presumably as a multi-inning, middle reliever. To that point, Casparius will join the Dodgers bullpen – not the rotation – during his first stint with the big league club (per Ardaya).

There is no word yet on who Casparius will replace on the active roster. One might have thought the Dodgers would option Bobby Miller back to Triple-A following his rough outing tonight (4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 HR, 1 K), but Dave Roberts suggested otherwise after the game. The manager told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register), “I thought [Miller] finished much better than he started and look forward to the next [start] being even better.” Indeed, Plunkett notes in no uncertain words that Miller will continue to fill Tyler Glasnow’s spot in the rotation for the time being.

Aside from Miller, the Dodgers’ only pitchers with options are starter Gavin Stone and relievers Alex Vesia and Michael Kopech. Simply put, it’s extremely hard to imagine the team would send any of those arms to Triple-A. Therefore, unless the Dodgers are planning to place a pitcher on the IL, their only other choice would be to DFA someone like Brent Honeywell Jr. or Joe Kelly. Kelly has struggled since returning from a shoulder injury in July (5.59 ERA in 12 G) but he is a proven veteran on an $8MM contract. Honeywell, on the other hand, has a 1.96 ERA in 18 1/3 innings with L.A., but neither his underlying numbers nor his track record are nearly as impressive.