Dodgers News: LA to Be Without Key Bullpen Arm for NLDS
The Dodgers bullpen won't be getting a big reinforcement for the NLDS. On Friday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave an update on RHP Yency Almonte, who's been out since August 11 with a knee injury.
Almonte threw 23 pitches in a simulated game, and will throw again sometime next week.
However, the "best-case scenario," per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, would be Almonte returning in the NLCS, should LA make it that far.
That means he won't be back in time for the NLDS, which starts on October 7.
Even if Almonte was able to return by October, it's unlikely the Dodgers would have put him on the roster.
Almonte won't have pitched in two months come the start of the NLDS, and hasn't exactly been reliable this season when he was healthy.
After bursting onto the scene in 2022 to the tune of a 1.02 ERA, Almonte regressed this year, sporting a 5.06 ERA in 49 appearances.
If he was able to return before the postseason, he would have had the opportunity to prove that he's in a good enough spot to pitch in the postseason. However, the injury unfortunately has taken too long to heal, which will have him on the sidelines likely for the duration of October barring an injury to someone else.
