Dodgers reliever Tommy Kahnle has missed the vast majority of the time he's been under contract with L.A., who signed him prior to the 2021 season knowing he was recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The idea for Los Angeles was to sign Kahnle to a two-year deal, locking him in for a full season in 2022 once he was fully recovered. That idea hasn't gone exactly according to plan, with Kahnle having two separate extended trips to the injured list this season. He didn't pitch for the Dodgers until May 1, and two weeks later he was back on the IL with forearm tightness.
Kahnle was essentially an afterthought in conversations about L.A.'s potential postseason pitching staff, always couched in terms of, "I guess, if he comes back and is effective, Kahnle might find his way onto the roster."
Kahnle returned in mid-September, and in seven appearances since then, he has allowed just four baserunners in 6.2 innings with nine strikeouts.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman talked with David Vassegh after L.A.'s extra-inning win on Wednesday night, a 1-0 win with the only run driven in by Freeman and the save earned by Kahnle. Vassegh asked Freeman about Kahnle's performance, and the former MVP was effusive in his praise.
"I faced him when he was with the Rockies and a couple of times with the Yankees and that change up is gross. It is really gross and you know it's coming and you still can't hit it.
"I'm just so happy for him. When you come back from injury and you work so hard, you come back and then you kind of get a setback. ... Just another huge arm."
We live in a day when gross, sick, and nasty are all extremely positive descriptors, especially when talking about a pitcher's changeup, so to get a double-gross from one of the best hitters in baseball is high praise, indeed. And it shows why, instead of being a postseason afterthought, people are now thinking about Kahnle throwing important October innings for the Boys in Blue.
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