Shortly before Friday afternoon’s 10-2 shellacking of the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, the Dodgers issued a press release stating that soon-to-be (on June 15) 31-year-old right-hander Joe Kelly had been placed on bereavement leave and 27-year-old outfielder Kyle Garlick recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City as a temporary extra right-handed bat off the bench.

Kelly’s absence, coupled with the unavailability of right-hander Pedro Baez who was struck on the right knee by a 103-mph comebacker last Tuesday, left the Dodgers with a short bullpen. And even though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Baez had made a “miraculous recovery” and would be available out of the bullpen if needed (he was not), the Dodgers skipper wasn’t concerned in the least.

“I think that with Julio [Urias], with Ross [Stripling], we have depth now,” Roberts said. “So to have that extra bat, I think that Garlick’s been playing really well [in OKC] and to get him up here for a few days just adds to that position-player depth.”

As for the 31-year-old Baez, Roberts said that he is continuing to work his way back from Tuesday’s terrifying incident.

“He’s going to play catch today, and the goal today is to hopefully get on the mound and see how it is going down the slope.”

Roberts added that Kelly is expected to rejoin the team on Monday when the Dodgers open a seven-game homestand against the New York Mets (May 27-30) and Philadelphia Phillies (May 31-June 2).

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