The Los Angeles Dodgers officially added Kody Hoese, Terrance Gore and Devin Mann to their player pool, bringing its total to 62. The maximum permitted is 60 players, though those who are on the injured list for coronavirus (COVID-19) related issues do not count against the pool.
The Dodgers have not specified which players that may apply to, but currently have Zach Reks, Cody Thomas and Edwin Uceta listed on the 10-day injured list. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reiterated Sunday he was not at liberty to discuss their conditions/injuries.
“I know they’re not present as we speak,” Roberts offered. He also could not state whether or not the three would remain part of the player pool upon returning from the IL. Pedro Baez and Keibert Ruiz both recently returned from the IL.
This would make for 63 players in the Dodgers’ 60-man player pool, but they also previously listed 3 non-roster players (Uceta, Thomas, Reks) on the injured list for unspecified reasons.
Roberts had previously suggested Gore’s arrival was forthcoming and welcomed the veteran outfielder re-joining the club. “It’s good to get him back because obviously he serves a nice role for a ballclub as a defensive outfielder who can play all three and obviously a base stealer,” Roberts said.
“To be able to plug him into situations where he could impact the game, is a nice piece. He’s here and we’re going to evaluate him for the next week.”
Hoese, the Dodgers’ first-round pick from the 2019 MLB Draft, joins others in the player pool who were taken in the same class. L.A. also included a handful of selections from the 2020 MLB Draft as well.
Mann’s addition was first reported earlier this month. He was taken in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft and essentially spent all of last season with High-A Rancho Cucamonga. Mann was among seven Quakes players selected to the California League All-Star Game.
Mann appeared in 98 games for the Quakes, batting .278/.358/.496 with 19 doubles, 19 home runs and 63 RBI.
Ruiz’s potential role in 2020
With MLB permitting teams to include with them a taxi squad of three players when embarking on a road trip, the league stipulated one of those must be a catcher. Austin Barnes and Will Smith will be part of the active roster, suggesting Rocky Gale is likely to be the taxi squad catcher.
Theoretically, the Dodgers could instead elect to have Ruiz fill that position, so as to allow him to be around the club on a regular basis. It’s an approach the Dodgers considered with Gavin Lux last season.
However, the odds don’t appear to be in Ruiz’s favor. “We haven’t made that decision,” Roberts said. “I think right now Keibert’s got to ramp up and we’ll see where that leads him. But on the outset, that’s hard to imagine.”
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