On Wednesday, the Dodgers welcomed back Alex Vesia after he spent the minimum 15 days on the IL with an oblique strain. It was good news for a beleaguered, underperforming, unconfident bullpen, but it necessitated a roster move that took fans by surprise: the Dodgers optioned Ben Casparius, who’s been a bullpen fixture throughout the season.
The rookie, who’s been tabbed as a sneaky awards contender this season, has a 4.64 ERA over 77 2/3 innings pitched — the biggest workload of any Dodgers reliever this season. He was pretty steady through May and anywhere between 1-5 innings with a few turns at opening/starting duty through June.
However, after an abysmal July when he pitched 9 2/3 innings for a 10.24 ERA, he wasn’t entrusted with more than 1 1/3 innings throughout August. It’s pretty clear that he was overused in the first half, and it’s sort of just a wonder that he managed to stay healthy.
Dave Roberts said that the Dodgers had a “difficult” conversation with Casparius when explaining their thinking behind the demotion, and that they wanted him to go back to Triple-A to “regain his ability to shut down right-handed batters.”
Casparius had been pitching better in August in a shorter middle relief capacity, so blame kind of looks like it can be placed more on the Dodgers for wearing their pitcher out so intensely through the first half.
Ben Casparius demoted to Triple-A after Dodgers reactivate Alex Vesia from 15-day IL
Of his total 77 2/3 innings pitched this season, 62 2/3 were thrown before the All-Star break, so it’s not hard to believe that he was exhausted. It was admirable work from Casparius, who was asked to do a lot in the early months of the season because the Dodgers’ pitching staff could never escape injuries. He and fellow rookie Jack Dreyer had to step up as do-it-all relievers as veterans like Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Tanner Scott, and Vesia all went on and off the IL.
Dreyer has pitched 8 2/3 fewer innings than Casparius but has managed to stay more consistent throughout the season, Edgardo Henriquez has been solid since he was recalled, and Justin Wrobleski has slotted into the long relief role that the Dodgers forced Casparius to vacate in July.
Casparius being demoted was really the only move the Dodgers could make, and he does need a break. But we shouldn’t pretend that it wasn’t at least a little bit the Dodgers’ fault that he seemed to crash so quickly.
