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PHOENIX — Four Dodgers could return from the World Baseball Classic as early as Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday morning.
Adrian Gonzalez, Sergio Romo and Alex Verdugo were all eliminated with Team Mexico on Sunday night — in controversial fashion — while Rob Segedin and Team Italy saw their run end on Monday night with a loss to Venezuela.
Roberts said he planned to reach out to the players on Tuesday, and that they could be in camp as early as Wednesday.
Another WBC alum was back in Dodgers camp on Tuesday, with special instructor Eric Gagne back after the 41-year-old pitched two games in relief in Pool C play in Miami.
Pitchers on the mend
There is still no timetable for Brock Stewart to resume his throwing program. The right-hander has a sore shoulder and hasn’t pitched in a game since March 4.
"He's doing the strength and conditioning exercises. He's getting stronger, but I don't know when he will pick up a baseball again,” Roberts said. “We're just happy we got ahead of it.”
Pedro Baez, out since taking a comebacker off his right hand in the first week of camp, has done some light throwing and could see action on a mound soon.
"He's getting closer,” Roberts said. “As he continues to ramp up a little bit with the throwing, there's not the pain that was there.”
Money matters
This is from Monday, but three salaries have been reported among Dodgers with 0-3 years service time. Corey Seager will earn $575,000 in 2017 while Joc Pederson will earn $555,000, both per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, and Julio Urias will earn $540,000 when in the majors this season, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group.
The major league minimum rose to $535,000 in the new collective bargaining agreement, up from $507,500 in 2016. Pederson earned $520,000 last year, while Seager earned $510,000. Urias was paid a pro-rated share of the minimum.
Pi day
Since March 14 (3/14) is Pi Day, the Dodgers pointed out that three pitchers in franchise history have a 3.14 career ERA with the club — Burt Hooton in 1,861⅓ innings, Bob Welch in 1,820⅔ innings, and Hoyt Wilhelm in 93 frames.
Upcoming rotation
Brandon McCarthy starts for the Dodgers on Wednesday in Peoria against the Mariners, and Julio Urias will follow at some point in that game. Hyun-jin Ryu starts Thursday against the Cubs at Camelback Ranch.
The Dodgers play split-squad night games on Friday night, in Peoria against the Padres and at home against the Mariners. Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood will start those games, though the matchups haven’t yet been revealed.