Ramon Troncoso Appears On His Way To The Dodger Bullpen

It looks like, for the fourth consecutive day, the Dodgers will be recalling a player from Triple A Albuquerque. The move hasn't been officially announced by the Dodgers yet, but Christopher Jackson of the Albuquerque Examiner reported after last night's Isotopes game that another reliever is on his way to San Francisco (hat tip to Mike Petriello for the heads up):

Reliever Ramon Troncoso (1-0, 3.86 ERA) was recalled by the Dodgers after the game. There was no word on a corresponding move to make room for Troncoso on Los Angeles' 25-man roster.

The bullpen hasn't been especially taxed over the last few days. Everyone but Lance Cormier was used in the suspended game on Friday/Saturday, but in the last three days the Dodger bullpen has pitched 7 2/3 innings, with everyone but Jonathan Broxton and Hong-Chih Kuo getting used. Only Kenley Jansen has pitched twice during that span.

With no immediate need in the bullpen, my initial thought is that someone is hurt, and that Troncoso will be replacing a potential seventh member of the Dodger disabled list. Or perhaps the club rethought its decision to have six bench players for the next two games, and instead have opted for eight relievers as they wait for Jon Garland's pending activation on Friday. Maybe it is both, and the person that is hurt is Casey Blake, who hasn't played since colliding with Chase Headley at the end of Saturday night's game in San Diego.

Who knows? We will find out the corresponding move in a few hours.

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In other (former) Dodger reliever news, Brent Leach left his Japanese League team, the Yokohama Bay Stars, last month, per The Daily Yomiuri:

Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato Friday said the Yokohama BayStars have invoked a rare rule, declaring hurler Brent Leach a restricted player.

This is the first time the restricted player rule, which allows the teams to maintain a player's rights without having to pay him, has been enacted since being adopted in 1998.

The 28-year-old was among five Yokohama foreign players who left the country in the wake of the nuclear crisis that arose following the March 11 quake and tsunami. Leach was expected to compete for a spot in the rotation, but while stateside, family members urged him to remain there and he has no plans to return to Japan. He signed a two-year deal with the club.

Thanks to @LetsGoNico for the link, via Twitter. Leach signed with Yokohama in December.