* UPDATE

When third baseman-turned-pitcher Pedro Baez was placed on the disabled list on May 13 for a right pectoral strain, the Dodgers were leading the NL West Division by a full 5.0 games over the second place San Diego Padres – yes, the Padres. Baez would become the first of several Dodger relievers to be bitten by the injury bug – a list that would eventually include right-handers Joel Peralta (neck) and Chris Hatcher (oblique), and left-hander Paco Rodriguez (elbow). The trio joined right-hander and former closer Brandon League, who began the season on the 60-day DL (shoulder) and has yet to make an appearance with the Dodgers this season.

When Baez, who was signed by the Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent in 2007 as a third baseman, landed on the 15-day DL, he was 1-0 with a 1.76 ERA in 15.1 innings of work out of the Dodgers bullpen and hadn’t allowed a run in his last 8.1 innings. Additionally, the 27-year-old Bani, Dominican Republic native had struck out 22 batters while allowing only three walks. But perhaps more importantly, none of the 13 runners that Baez inherited came around to score.

On Friday evening after missing 41 games and pitching three scoreless rehab innings with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, the uber hard-throwing right-hander was reinstated from the DL. And although Baez was brought in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning in a low pressure 7-1 blowout of the Miami Marlins in South Florida, he absolutely overpowered the heart of the Marlins batting order – including slugger Giancarlo Stanton – by striking out the side on 14 pitches. Incredibly, of which those 14 total pitches only five were under 96 MPH and seven over, and only four were balls – and even a couple of those appeared to be borderline strikes.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly congratulates Pedro Baez after striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the Dodgers 7-1 win over the Marlins. Baez needed only 14 pitches to do so.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

The return of Baez, which was made possible by optioning left-hander Ian Thomas back to OKC, makes an already very good Dodgers bullpen even better. It also adds balance to what was a left-handed-heavy bullpen and gives Dodgers manager Don Mattingly more options in filling the bridge to closer Kenley Jansen. In fact, absent a lefty versus lefty match-up situation (aka: LOOGY), Dodger fans can probably expect to see Baez as the Dodgers primary eighth-inning set-up guy for Jansen. And while some may see Brandon League (who is only days away from returning from the DL) to fill this role, the general consensus is that League will be used primarily as a ground ball specialist brought in to (hopefully) induce double plays.

How does Mattingly feel about getting one of his key bullpen pieces back?

“It’s good to have him back for sure,” Mattingly told reporters before Friday’s three-game series opener against the Marlins. “He was a guy that was really giving us a number of different things. He was a guy that we could use late or a guy that we could bridge to get to the back end. We used him in a number of different roles and he did a good job in all of them.”

The biggest question, of course, is who will Paco Rodriguez and Brandon League replace in the Dodgers bullpen when they are ready to return from the DL- and both are very close? In all probability and because he still has options, Paco will most likely remain in Oklahoma City, but after that, it’s anyone’s guess. The only other relievers that still have options are left-hander Adam Liberatore and right-hander Yimi Garcia. Liberatore has, for the most part, been extremely effective out of the bullpen since his April 27 call-up. And although the hard-throwing Garcia went through a rough spell, he appears to be back on track of late – although a stint at Triple-A might prove beneficial for him in the long run.

Although there is no definitive roster move for a Dodgers bullpen that currently ranks third in the league with a 2.96 ERA behind only the Cardinals (2.07) and Pirates (2.41) and tied with the Mets, and second in the league in wins with 17 behind only the Cubs (18), League is in the final year of his three-year / $22.5 million contract and there is nothing to suggest that the Dodgers would eat the $7.5 million still owed to him by designating him for assignment – especially when he has allowed only one earned run through his first eight rehab appearances with two more schedule before his (probable) pending activation from the DL.

But regardless of who stays and who goes, it is an absolute godsend to have “Petey” (Pedro Baez) back in the Dodgers bullpen.

*UPDATE: Saturday, June 27, 2015 at 1120 am (PT)

LA Times Dodgers beat reporter Dylan Hernandez is reporting that Paco Rodriguez will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow to remove bone spurs. He is projected to be out for an additional eight to 10 weeks.