The Dodgers have signed Ben Casparius from Triple-A Oklahoma City to cover the bullpen against the Cardinals ahead of Sunday afternoon’s series finale in St. Louis.
Brent Honeywell, who is out of options, was designated for assignment to make room for Casparius on both the active roster and the 40-man roster.
For the Dodgers, it is the fifth pitcher squad swap in the last five days:
Honeywell allowed six runs, five earned, in 20⅓ innings, with 12 strikeouts and four walks, and posted a 2.21 ERA and a 4.80 FIP in 10 appearances. He was claimed off waivers on July 13 when the Dodgers desperately needed to fill innings for a bullpen game. Honeywell made most outs in his four weeks with the Dodgers and even saved one game.
He also started in by far the lowest leverage situations of the eight active relievers entering Sunday, averaging .535 leverage index when he entered a game. Michael Kopech (.940) and the recently returned IL Brasier (.932) were slightly below average in limited time. The other six relievers have average leverage indexes (over 1) or higher. Blake Treinen, with his team-leading 1.678 aLI, began a rehab assignment in Double-A on Saturday and could return as early as next week.
With roster flexibility limited in a bullpen filled with veterans, Honeywell was the underdog in terms of lineup selection, especially after pitching two innings on Saturday.
Casparius was out of his Triple-A start on Saturday to go to St. Louis. He last pitched Sunday in Oklahoma City, recording eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings.
In 18 starts in Triple-A and Double-A this season, Casparius has a 3.48 ERA in 77⅔ innings with 95 strikeouts and 40 walks.
