Dodgers minor leaguers get major league experience

Mar 27, 2023 - 1:33 PM

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LOS ANGELES — Nearly all the lockers in the Dodgers clubhouse were in use on Sunday, with a number of players up from minor league camp for the Freeway Series. There was even a temporary setup with two extra lockers in one section of the room.

The players at Dodger Stadium Sunday were pitchers Ben Harris, Kyle Hurt, Juan Morillo, and Jake Pilarski, catcher Yeiner Fernandez, infielder Kyle Nevin, and outfielder Damon Keith.

Also here are Yonny Hernández, Eddys Leonard, Jorbit Vivas, and Nick Robertson, who were already optioned or reassigned earlier in spring training, as well as still-active non-roster invitees Tayler Scott, Hunter Feduccia, Luke Williams, and Drew Avans.

Nevin, Keith, Feduccia, Leonard, and Vivas all played in the game, as did Williams and Avans. This was still a spring training game after all, and none of the Dodgers starters played the entire game.

Dave Roberts said this having so many minor leaguers around for the series was driven by the player development department. For many of the players, this was their first time in a major league game at a major league stadium, even if they didn’t play.

“They kind of wanted to get some guys here on the pitching side, and some positional player guys here to get to experience this,” he said.

Number change

James Outman wore number 77 during his major league debut in 2022, and continued wearing the number this spring. He plans to switch to number 33, the outfielder told Dodger Talk’s David Vassegh on Sunday.

David Price wore number 33 the last three seasons for the Dodgers, and this spring training pitcher Dylan Covey, a non-roster invitee, was issued the number. Covey was reassigned to minor league camp on March 6.

Among the previous Dodgers to wear number 33 was Garey Ingram, who like Outman hit a home run in his first major league at-bat. Ingram’s blast came in 1994 at Mile High Stadium, the same city (but not the same stadium) Outman hit his first home run.

Back-to-back

Relievers Yency Almonte, Brusdar Graterol, and Phil Bickford, who pitched Sunday night, are slated to pitch in Monday’s game in Anaheim. It will be the first back-to-back outings this spring by Dodgers pitchers.