Prior to the series finale against the San Diego Padres on Sunday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers recalled Andre Jackson from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placed Yency Almonte on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow tightness.
Almonte last pitched on Wednesday, throwing a scoreless inning out of the bullpen. He’s enjoyed a career year and emerged as a valuable late-inning option for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
That success has helped the bullpen push ahead despite losing Victor González, Brusdar Graterol, Daniel Hudson, Tommy Kahnle and Blake Treinen to injury since Opening Day of the season. Hudson is missing the remainder of the year after undergoing surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.
Danny Duffy, González, Graterol, Kahnle and Treinen are all candidates to return at some point in September.
Almonte has one save and pitched to a 1.15 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 29 games for the Dodgers this season. He was among a handful of players to sign a Minor League contract with the team during Spring Training. Some of that was due to advice from Jake McGee.
With Jackson, this marks his second opportunity with the Dodgers this season. The right-hander made his MLB debut last year but only appeared in three games.
Jackson is 1-6 with a 5.20 ERA over 16 starts for Oklahoma City this season. After struggling into June, Jackson was placed on the developmental list and has fared better in his last four starts, sporting a 2.65 ERA over that stretch.
Included in that was five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts against the Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels affiliate) on Tuesday. Jackson was scheduled to pitch Sunday as a piggyback to Robbie Erlin.
Andre Jackson made history in MLB debut
Last year, Jackson became the first player in the modern era (since 1901) with at least five strikeouts and four walks but zero runs allowed in a relief appearance in his MLB debut.
Are you following Dodger Blue on Instagram? It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!