The Dodgers activated Brock Stewart in Houston on Wednesday before their series finale against the Astros at Daikin Park, bringing the right-hander back after he missed the first five weeks of the season and 36 games. To make room, Los Angeles optioned Jake Eder to Triple-A.
Stewart’s return came after a slow spring following right shoulder debridement surgery late last September. He did not pitch in spring training and built up over a three-week span in Ontario and Oklahoma City, where he made eight rehab appearances, including two with Class-A Ontario and six with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The rehab numbers pointed to a pitcher ready to rejoin the staff. Stewart struck out 13 of 27 batters faced in 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, three walks and one hit batter while throwing 112 pitches. He generated 23 swinging strikes, averaged 95.5 mph on his four-seam fastball and 94.8 mph on his sinker in six games for the Comets, and finished by pitching on back-to-back days Wednesday and Thursday in the final week before his activation. He also entered in the middle of an inning on Sunday at Round Rock.
Eder’s move was the cost of bringing Stewart back. The left-hander was acquired from the Washington Nationals for cash consideration on April 1 and was recalled on April 20 when Edwin Díaz was placed on the injured list. He had worked out of the bullpen after originally being a starter in the minors, and last Tuesday said, “As a starter, you’ve got your day that you’re pitching, and you’ve got four or five days in between, and have it scheduled out, have a program,” and, “I’m still getting used to [relief] but I’m basically just doing whatever I can before the game to be ready every night.”
Eder allowed one run in four innings with the Dodgers, struck out one batter and walked one. He appeared in four of the 15 games for which he was active and earned his first major league win Monday against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium. Stewart’s return restores one more arm to a pitching staff that opened the season with 10 players on the injured list, and it gives the Dodgers another reliever whose health, for now, finally matches his stuff.
