Over the last two months of the regular season, no team had a more productive bullpen than the Dodgers.
And come the start of their postseason trek on Saturday, the team might be adding another key arm back to the group.
General manager Brandon Gomes announced on Tuesday that the club expects to have hard-throwing right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez available for its National League Division Series, an encouraging development after Henriquez missed the final couple weeks of the regular season with a strain in his back.
Prior to getting hurt, Henriquez was emerging as one of the top arms in the Dodgers’ resurgent relief corps (which led all MLB bullpens in August and September with 4.3 combined wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs, and ranked fourth in that stretch in combined ERA at 3.20).
A 24-year-old former prospect who has started to routinely eclipse 103 mph with his fastball, Henriquez ranked fourth among the team’s relievers (minimum 20 appearances) with a 2.85 ERA this season. He also struck out 70 batters in 60 total innings and converted each of the ninth-inning save opportunities he received.
Henriquez had hit his stride in August and early September, allowing just one run in a 17-game stretch that featured 25 strikeouts and only two walks and seven hits allowed.
However, after giving up two runs in a Sept. 13 appearance in Miami against the Marlins, he went on the IL with his back injury –– one that initially cast doubt on his postseason availability.
Luckily for the Dodgers, Henriquez’s status has improved since then. He resumed a throwing during the team’s final regular-season homestand. He recently completed a session of live batting practice without feeling any lingering discomfort. And while Gomes said “we still got a few steps to go” before Henriquez gets the green light to return, every indication is that he should be available for the club’s best-of-five NLDS.
“If that all goes well, then yeah, the expectation is he’ll be on the roster,” Gomes said.
“Given the body of work, what he’s done, the unique skill set, that could be huge for us,” manager Dave Roberts added, before correcting himself: “Will be huge for us.”
Indeed, Henriquez would figure to occupy a high-leverage spot in the Dodgers’ postseason bullpen. He gives them not only a trustworthy right-hander option –– along with Roki Sasaki, Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart and the recently resurgent Edwin Díaz –– but also one of the biggest fastballs in the game.
Henriquez’s 100.7 mph average fastball velocity ranked second among MLB pitchers this season, behind only star Padres closer Mason Miller. The team’s next-hardest thrower is Sasaki, whose heater averaged only 97.9 mph this year (though could increase in the playoffs as he shifts to a bullpen role).
Last October, Henriquez was a mixed bag in the playoffs. In two of his appearances (Game 1 of the wild card series and Game 5 of the World Series), he failed to record an out while allowing a hit and two walks in both outings. But in the other (Game 3 of the World Series), he pitched two scoreless frames in the team’s marathon 18-inning win, becoming an unsung hero in their Fall Classic triumph.
This time, Henriquez is set for a prominent role, assuming he gets through one more session of live batting practice OK.
“[He would make a] huge impact,” Roberts said. “I think he’s one of those guys that getting the bye has really benefited.”
