Dodgers Designate Yohan Ramírez For Assignment

The Dodgers announced that they have reinstated Clayton Kershaw from the 60-day injured list, a move that manager Dave Roberts announced last week. To open a 40-man roster spot for him, right-hander Yohan Ramírez has been designated for assignment.

Ramírez, 29, came to the Dodgers from the Mets two months ago in a cash deal. He has since tossed 29 1/3 innings for the Dodgers with a 5.52 earned run average. He probably deserved a bit better than the ERA would indicate, as his .337 batting average on balls in play and 63.3% strand rate are both on the unlucky side. His 20.1% strikeout rate is a bit below par but his 8.2% walk rate and 45.3% ground ball rate are close to average. His 4.47 FIP and 3.95 SIERA each point to him actually being a bit better than his ERA would suggest.

Since the righty is out of options, he has bounced around the league this year, as he also spent time with the Orioles and Mets. Between the three clubs, he has 43 2/3 innings with a 22.1% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate, 44.4% ground ball rate, 5.98 ERA, 4.17 FIP and 3.76 SIERA.

It’s now possible that he will end up on his fourth team of the year. The Dodgers will have a week to work out a trade or pass him through waivers, but the waiver process takes 48 hours. That means they have just five days to explore trade talks and the trade deadline is also just five days away at this point.

There figures to be plenty of roster turnover in the coming days thanks to the deadline, with plenty of relievers sure to change hands. It’s possible that some rebuilding clubs will wind up with holes in their bullpens soon and may be interested in grabbing Ramírez to help fill things in for the final few months of the season. Though he is out of options, he can be controlled via arbitration for three seasons beyond this one.