The Los Angeles Dodgers had to do a little bullpen shuffling on Wednesday with right-handed reliever Blake Hawksworth suffering a groin injury in Tuesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. From MLB.com:
Triple-A Albuquerque reliever Scott Elbert is on his way to join the Dodgers, according to a baseball source, an indication that he is being recalled to take the place of Blake Hawksworth."
That baseball source was actually True Blue LA's Eric Stephen, who also noted that Hawksworth will become the 11th Dodger to go on the disabled list this season.
Hawksworth came over from the Cardinals for shortstop Ryan Theriot in the offseason, and he had thrown 17-1/3 innings in 2011, with a K/BB ratio of 11/7 and an ERA of 3.12. Elbert was the Dodgers' first-round pick in the 2004 draft, and he's appeared in 30 MLB games since 2008. He's always had strikeout stuff, but as his career 5.0 BB/9 ratio in the minors would indicate, he's always had problems throwing strikes. He's walked nine in 14-1/3 innings in Triple-A this year, with a 5.02 ERA.