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Good morning! Take care of your elbow today.
Arms: What’s behind Dodgers’ awful pitcher health?
The Dodgers, with their nearly $400 million roster, may soon need to pull a kid out of the stands, Henry Rowengartner-style, and put him on the mound.
At one point this month, the defending champs had 14 pitchers on the injured list. That didn’t even count Shohei Ohtani, who this week made his first mound appearance in almost two years. With Ohtani and the now-oft-injured Clayton Kershaw back in action, the Dodgers have seven starters and six relievers on the IL this weekend.
Some of this could have been expected. L.A. seemed to have gone out of its way to acquire talented arms with durability questions. Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell were hurt a lot long before they donned Dodger Blue. Even Ohtani, a unique case, was coming off Tommy John surgery when the Dodgers signed him. But the quantity is jarring even in an injury-laden game.
So I had to ask Fabian Ardaya, The Athletic’s Dodgers reporter, what’s going on. It’s not like the Dodgers are the only team telling pitchers to throw hard and spin the ball, so what gives? Fabian gives us some great intel:
- “They have absolutely gone out and targeted talented arms with checkered injury histories,” he tells me. “Part of how they rationalized acquiring Glasnow was the ability to lock down a premium-level talent at a less-than-premium cost.”
- The Dodgers have been fine with that in part because “they’re very good at developing intriguing arms that either can capably handle a few big-league innings or be interesting enough to other teams to flip in trades for more pitching.” See: 26-year-old Ben Casparius and his 3.02 ERA in 23 games (two starts).
- “They aren’t the only team prioritizing velo and spin, but they seemingly go closest to the red line. They had the hardest-throwing rotation in the sport at Double-A Tulsa in 2023. All of those guys have since either gotten hurt or hit a bump in the road. Some of that is an occupational hazard. Another part of it is that the stuff it took to get those guys to the big leagues is what caused them to break down.”
Whew. It feels like the Dodgers are a microcosm of pitching development in general with everything dialed up to 11, doesn’t it?
💬 Losing pitchers at this kind of rate isn’t sustainable, but then again, the incentives are all there for the status quo. For some of these arms, it’s maximizing their potential and getting them into the big leagues in the first place while understanding the hazards behind it. The team, the same thing.
To Fabian’s last point on incentives: L.A. is 47-30 and leading the NL West by four and a half games.
News to Know
Wisconsin lawsuit accuses Miami of tampering
In the latest legal dispute amid the changing landscape of college sports, the University of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami yesterday for allegedly tampering with a football player. Former Badgers cornerback Xavier Lucas had signed a revenue-sharing agreement with Wisconsin before leaving in January to play for Miami despite never entering the transfer portal. Wisconsin is seeking unspecified damages and an admission of tampering from Miami in the lawsuit, which is also being backed by the Big Ten. Oh boy. Plenty more details from the unprecedented lawsuit here.
Dodgers commit $1M to immigrant families
One day after the Dodgers said they denied federal immigration officials access to parking lots around their stadium, the team announced it is committing $1 million in assistance to families impacted by recent immigrant raids. The decision came shortly after a group of Los Angeles community leaders sent a letter to Dodgers ownership to take a public stand against the ICE raids. More on the Dodgers’ pledge here. (This and all links below are free to read.)
More news:
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The Senegal women’s national basketball team canceled a 10-day training camp in the U.S. later this month after players and staff were denied visas. More here.
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Jonathan Toews signed a one-year deal with his hometown Winnipeg Jets to complete his NHL comeback. The 37-year-old longtime Blackhawks captain hasn’t played since April 2023.
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Former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in 21 years yesterday. Patrick Mooney has more on Sosa’s return to Wrigleyville.
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Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh broke Johnny Bench’s record for the most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, thanks to his sixth multi-homer game of the year yesterday. He’s on a torrid offensive pace.
Watch Guide
📺 WNBA: Mercury at Sky
1 p.m. ET on ABC
The Sky are off to a dreadful 3-8 start. Last year’s two promising rookies, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, have yet to take sophomore steps forward. Other than that, all is well.
📺 MCWS: Coastal Carolina vs. LSU
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series, capping what’s been a real humdinger of a College World Series for both the men and women.
Pulse Picks
The Athletic’s weekly sports news quiz.
I played the board game Wingspan for the first time this week. The first hour of learning how to play had me ready to quit, but the second hour was pretty enjoyable. It’s a really cool game when it clicks, with an even cooler backstory. — Sam Settleman
A helpful piece from our Collectibles desk: As the value disparity between PSA 10s and PSA 9s widens, an opportunity could be emerging in ungraded cards.
I hate to sound like peak dad, but I received some nice steaks as a Father’s Day gift and it’s unreal how much better a quality cut is than what I normally buy at the store. Go find your local butcher or a good subscription service and enjoy. — Chris Branch
Try Kinder’s Thai (BBQ) glaze on leftover steak, chicken, or veggies over some sticky rice. Yummm. — Chris Sprow
This is a fun conversation between Dan Shanoff and Richard Deitsch, who broke down the dynamics, pressure, pitfalls and opportunity for ESPN and the NBA heading into tomorrow’s Game 7.
I’d been dreading finding new running shoes, but I’m here to say I actually prefer the Brooks Ghost 17s (super original, I know) to my old faves. — Torrey Hart
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our newser on the Dodgers denying immigration officials access to their stadium.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Takeaways from the Pacers’ rout of the Thunder in Game 6.
Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Top photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
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