Matt Sauer struck out four in two scoreless innings of relief\u00a0on Friday night against the Mariners in Peoria, and went back out for the ninth inning with a six-run lead and a three-inning save on the table.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Dodgers\u00a0non-roster right-hander did not get another out, allowing a single, home run, walk, and double to his four batters faced. That brought manager Dave Roberts to the mound with the hook, but also a smiling conversation. This wasn\u2019t quite like\u00a0the full-on hug of Yohan Ram\u00edrez last year, but the news was encouraging nonetheless.<\/p>\n
Friday we\u00a0chronicled the dwindling number of actually available pitchers for the Dodgers in the early going, especially for the Tokyo Series, and how it created an opportunity for a non-roster invitee to claim a spot. Sauer seized the chance.<\/p>\n
Roberts said after Friiday\u2019s game that he told Sauer he would be going with the team on the trip to Japan,\u00a0per the beat\u00a0reporters on\u00a0site in Arizona.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had a good spring, and he adds some length for our club,\u201d Roberts said,\u00a0per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.<\/p>\n
Per the collective bargaining agreement, players on the travel roster participating in regular season trips to Asia, Europe, or Australia receive a $70,000 bonus.<\/p>\n
All four of those runners Sauer allowed in the ninth inning scored, but that hasn\u2019t, well, soured what has been a positive spring.\u00a0Signed to a minor league contract in January, Sauer is now one of\u00a0four non-roster invitee pitchers\u00a0remaining in big league camp.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s pitched 7\u2154 innings in four Cactus League appearances, and has lasted at least two innings in each of his last three appearances, with eight strikeouts in total. Sauer\u2019s ninth-inning walk on Friday was his only free pass issued in 35 batters faced this spring.<\/p>\n
Sauer was a Rule 5 Draft pick of the Royals in December 2023 and pitched in the majors before he ever got to Triple-A. He allowed 14 runs in 16\u2153 innings with more walks than strikeouts before Kansas City sent him back to the\u00a0Yankees, where he spent the rest of the season in the minors.<\/p>\n
Prior to 2024, Sauer was a starter in the minors, but 40 of his 41 appearances between the majors and minors last year came in relief.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers still have a few pitchers they can place on the 60-day injured list to make room for 40-man roster additions,\u00a0including Emmet Sheehan\u00a0and\u00a0Brusdar Graterol\u00a0coming off surgeries. Potentially Clayton Kershaw, too,\u00a0after foot surgery. Roki Sasaski will be one of those additions, and it looks like Sauer will be another.<\/p>\n
Sauer has three option years remaining, giving him a flexibility that veteran NRI pitchers Giovanny Gallegos and Luis Garc\u00eda don\u2019t have. The limit of five options per season does not start until after domestic opening day on March 27, so even if Sauer is only active in Tokyo at first, sending him down to the minors before the home opener wouldn\u2019t count against the option limit.<\/p>\n
On Saturday morning, Sauer said he would take his mother on the trip to Japan.<\/p>\n