Ben

Casparius

Casparius struck out five after replacing Jack Dreyer in the second inning. He got up to 70 pitches tonight, so the Dodgers might give him a start next time through the rotation, though he’s probably more valuable for fantasy purposes in the bulk role, which increases the chances of him getting a win. He’s worth a roster spot in mixed leagues.

Dreyer will likely go an inning or two. He also opened in front of Matt Sauer against the Marlins last week, and the Dodgers won that game 15-2. Casparius is being stretched out to handle a starter’s workload and could turn out to be an interesting pickup in mixed leagues once he’s ready to throw 90 pitches an outing.

Glasnow officially hits the shelf following an early exit from Sunday’s start against the Pirates with shoulder discomfort. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters he doesn’t believe Glasnow is dealing with any structural damage, which is encouraging, but fantasy managers should anticipate him missing at least a couple weeks. The 31-year-old righty told reporters following Sunday’s abbreviated outing that he’s been experiencing on-and-off discomfort in his shoulder, which he attributes to mechanical changes he had made to his delivery before the season to avoid elbow issues. It’ll likely be some combination of Tony Gonsolin, who is expected to return this week from the injured list, and Ben Casparius filling the void in Los Angeles’ rotation.

Roberts added that the club hasn’t made a final decision prior to Monday’s series opener against the Marlins. He also noted that Glasnow is currently being evaluated for general body soreness in addition to the shoulder discomfort that cut short Sunday’s start against the Pirates. He expressed confidence that Glasnow isn’t dealing with any structural issues in his right shoulder, which is encouraging. It seems like a virtual lock that Glasnow will land on the shelf at some point this week. It’ll likely be some combination of Tony Gonsolin, who is expected to return this week from the injured list, and Ben Casparius filling the void.

Casparius was credited with the win, making him 3-0 with a 2.91 ERA in 21 1/3 innings. He was expected to start Wednesday’s game, though if that happens now, it’d probably be a shorter outing, given that he’d be on two days’ rest after throwing 54 pitches. If he winds up getting a real look as a starter in Glasnow’s place, he’d be intriguing.

There are two prevailing schools of thought when watching an outing like this from Casparius: he is not a starting pitcher and he is legitimately nasty. He was pulled with two outs in the third inning, exactly when the Cubs’ lineup was about to turn over for the second time. That being said, he mixed four pitches and forced multiple swings-and-misses with three of them. He’s worthy of a spot on a watch list, since there’s a chance he’s trusted to stay in games a bit longer at some point given all the injuries to the Dodgers’ rotation.

It’ll be a bullpen game on Wednesday night for the Dodgers following Tuesday’s wild back-and-forth affair at Wrigley Field. The 26-year-old righty is capable of going multiple innings, but we’re not anticipating more than three frames from Casparius at the outset of the contest, which limits his fantasy appeal.

Casparius struck out two over 1 1/3 scoreless frames on Wednesday in his latest Cactus League appearance against the Reds. The unheralded 26-year-old righty was a revelation last postseason during Los Angeles’ World Series title run, allowing one run over 6 1/3 frames in four playoff appearances. He figures to play a prominent role early on with Edgardo Henriquez (foot), Evan Phillips (shoulder) and Michael Kopech (forearm) likely to miss time at the outset of the regular season.

The Dodgers are opening with Casparius as part of a bullpen game. Los Angeles has used the bullpen for an entire game in each round of the playoffs. The Dodgers lineup: Shohei Ohtani DH, Mookie Betts RF, Freddie Freeman 1B, Teoscar Hernández LF, Max Muncy 3B, Enrique Hernández CF, Gavin Lux 2B, Will Smith C, and Tommy Edman SS.

Casparius has replaced Michael Grove, who suffered an apparent injury. The Dodgers are still carrying 13 pitchers for the rest of the NLDS.