Dodgers Make Another Call-Up, Add Rookie Pitcher To Roster

Maren Angus-Coombs | Aug 18, 2024

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Casparius is getting the call.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are calling up the 25-year-old right-hander to provide length out of the bullpen while they have designated reliever Brent Honeywell for assignment, the Athletic's Fabian Ardaya confirmed the news with a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Casparius began the season in Double-A, where he finished last season. He was promoted to Triple-A in May and has remained there for the rest of the season. In 13 starts, he is 3-3 with a 3.54 earned run average.

Before he was promoted to Oklahoma City, he appeared in five games for Tulsa. Across the two stops, Casparius is 5-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 18 starts. He's struck out 95 batters in 77.2 innings, boasts a 1.25 WHIP, and has held hitters to a .199 batting average.

Brent Honeywell no longer has a locker. https://t.co/vHMAuIVWtj

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 18, 2024

Honeywell appeared to be a solid arm for the Dodgers out of the bullpen as he resurrected a pitch from a former Dodgers legend.

Mike Marshall, who played 14 years (1967-81) in the big leagues, used a screwball heavily in 1974 when the Dodgers right-hander went 15-12 with a 2.42 ERA and 21 saves and threw 208.1 innings in a major league-record 106 relief appearances to win the NL Cy Young Award.

Marshall was the head coach at Saint Leo University, a Division II school in the Tampa Bay area, from 1984 to 1988. Brent Honeywell Sr. pitched for Saint Leo from 1985 to 1988 and learned how to throw the same pitch.

“Mike Marshall taught my dad the pitch, and then my dad taught me the pitch when I was in high school,” Honeywell said. “I’ve been throwing it my whole career.”

There was nothing fast about Honeywell’s screwball, which averaged 80.8 mph and, according to Baseball Savant, features an average drop of 45.1 inches and an average left-to-right break of 7.9 inches.

“Honeywell has been great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s very confident. I love the strike-throwing aspect. It’s a funky changeup-screwball. I think we’re getting him at the right time — you know, a guy who’s been kicked in the teeth and kind of on the outs and then he has a new start. As a 29-year-old player with not a lot of [major league] service, I think he’s just scratching the surface.”

Casparius will be the second pitcher out of the University of Connecticut to make his big league debut with the Dodgers, following in the footsteps of Emmet Sheehan.

Hopefully, Honeywell will catch on with another team for the remainder of the season.