The Los Angeles Dodgers have made a surprise roster move on Friday, claiming RHP Zack Burdi from the Tampa Bay Rays. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, they placed RHP Tyler Cyr on the 60-day injured list.
The Dodgers have claimed RHP Zack Burdi from the Tampa Bay Rays and placed RHP Tyler Cyr on the 60-day injured list.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 26, 2023
The Dodgers and Rays are getting set for a three-game series in Tampa Bay starting tonight, which makes the timing of the move kind of funny.
Burdi was designated for assignment by the Rays on Wednesday, after he was torched for five earned runs on five hits in one inning during the Rays’ 20-1 loss to the Blue Jays earlier this week.
Burdi, a former first-round pick in the 2016 draft, has bounced around the league over the last three seasons, spending time with the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and, most recently, the Rays.
He has a career 8.44 ERA in 21.1 innings pitched, with 23 strikeouts in that time.
Burdi played college baseball at Louisville, and was teammates there with current Dodgers catcher Will Smith.
He was off to a strong start this season, throwing three scoreless innings before getting roughed up in his final outing.
The Dodgers obviously think there’s something that can be worked on with Burdi, who’s still just 28 years old.
In the three scoreless innings he threw at the end of April, Burdi allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out four.
The Dodgers have had a revolving door of relievers all season long, so Burdi could come up and make an impact sooner rather than later.
As for the corresponding move, Cyr was placed on the 15-day injured list earlier this week with what the team called “shoulder impingement.”
It was suspected that it was somewhat of a phantom IL to create room for rookie RHP Bobby Miller on the active roster, but now that he’s on the 60-day, maybe the Dodgers just didn’t plan on him pitching for the team any longer this season.
It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for Burdi to make his way to the active roster, but he could end up being an interesting bullpen option moving forward — especially after spending some time with the Dodgers pitching coaches.
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