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Caleb Ferguson is making his major league debut on Wednesday against the Pirates, and to make room for him on the active roster the Dodgers optioned Pedro Baez to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Baez has a 3.25 ERA and 3.37 FIP in 28 relief appearances, with 35 strikeouts and 16 walks in 27⅔ innings. Opposing hitters were batting .262/.360/.411, the highest on-base percentage among active relievers.
Only Josh Fields has pitched in more games this season on the Dodgers than Baez, whose average leverage index was roughly average (0.965, where 1 is average and anything above signifies higher leverage), sixth on the team.
#Dodgers Dave Roberts clearly bothered by having to give Baez the news: "I’ve leaned on him a lot, counted on him. ... Pedro has done everything I’ve asked of him. He’s prepared. He’s worked hard. It’s not an easy decision for us."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 6, 2018
#Dodgers Dave Roberts: "Pedro will be back and he will help us win baseball games. ... I believe in him, the organization believes in him and he’s going to help us going forward this year."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 6, 2018
To make room on the 40-man roster for Ferguson, pitcher J.P. Conlon was claimed off waivers from the Mets. The Dodgers claimed Conlon from New York on Saturday, and he never got to pitch in the organization. He was scheduled to start this Saturday for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
— PJ Conlon (@pjconlon29) June 6, 2018
Ferguson will wear No. 64 with the Dodgers.
Game info
Time: 4:05 p.m. PT
TV: SportsNet LA