Dodgers Activate Axford, Cingrani, and Garcia Ahead of Series

The Dodgers made a series of moves prior to Monday night’s game, mainly in the bullpen. Los Angeles recalled Yimi Garcia, John Axford, and Tony Cingrani from the minor leagues in preperation for the series against Colorado.

#dodgers activated John Axford, Yimi Garcia and Tony Cingrani to the MLB roster

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— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) September 17, 2018

Tony Cingrani

The left-handed reliever was a big part of the Dodgers plans for 2018, but that has not worked out. Cingrani struggled with all sorts of shoulder and elbow impingements this year, which is why he has been out since early June. Even when he was healthy, he wasn’t very effective. He tossed 22.1 innings of work and allowed a 4.84 earned run average in his 28 appearances. He was also somehow less effective against left-handed hitting this year than righties.

John Axford

Axford was acquired late in the season as a hopeful playoff bullpen candidate. He doesn’t look to be that guy though, as his time in Los Angeles has been forgettable. He has thrown 3.1 innings, allowed six earned runs, and broke part of his shin on a line drive. The upside? He has been ridiculously effective against left-handed hitting in 2018, holding them to a 139 average.

Yimi Garcia

Garcia may be the most effective of these guys down the stretch out of the bullpen. He has appeared in 22 games and put in 21 innings of work. In that time, he has allowed 13 runs, but he’s managed to keep his walk totals down. Not great numbers, but likely the best of the bunch at this point.

In all likelihood, none of these guys are going to be complete game changers this year. But when you think of how Dave Roberts loves to utilize matchup based relief situations, they could potentially do very well. Using these guys for one or two batters could really help to bridge the gap from starters to back-end relievers in September.