As expected, the Dodgers have activated Brian Wilson before Monday's game in Miami. For the fourth time this season, Scott Van Slyke has been sent down to make room.
The Beard did everything correctly in his rehab assignments, making four scoreless appearances. Don Mattingly has already said he expects Wilson to be one of the key setup men behind Kenley Jansen.
I guess the obvious question is if Wilson is ready to take on the setup role. The Dodgers must feel like he is, seeing that he's about 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery, which usually takes about a year before one can really commit to pitching again. Plus, as previously mentioned, he looked flawless in rehab.
Mattingly has to love his options out of the bullpen. Jansen is as shutdown a closer as there is, but behind him there's plenty of big arms in Paco Rodriguez and J.P. Howell on the left side, and Ronald Belisario and Chris Withrow on the right. There's also Brandon League and Carlos Marmol, two former All-Star closers who have performed much better of late.
It will still be very strange watching Wilson pitch in Dodger blue, but hopefully it won't take long to get used to. A few scoreless innings will take care of any lingering hatred from his Giants' days.
No comments:
Post a Comment