The Dodgers have claimed the right-handed player Brent Honeywell Jr. from waivers from the Pirates, as noted by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. LA will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move, though none has been announced yet.
Honeywell, 29, is best known for his time in the Rays system as a top prospect. A string of injuries, including Tommy John surgery and multiple elbow fractures, limited Honeywell to just 103 1/3 innings of professional play from 2018-2022. Still, the righty made it to the majors with the Padres last year. He posted a respectable 4.05 ERA in 46 2/3 innings of work with San Diego before being cut last summer and joining the White Sox. He was relieved for seven runs in just 5 2/3 innings of work during his brief stint with the South Siders before leaving for free agency over the winter.
In February, Honeywell signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh and began the season with the club in Triple-A. He threw to a 4.85 ERA in 39 innings with a 19.6% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate during his time in the minors. That somewhat lackluster performance still earned him a brief call-up to the majors, however, and Honeywell excelled in that limited showing, posting a 2.70 ERA in 3 1/3 frames, though he did walk one more batter than he struck out in that cup of coffee. Honeywell was designated for assignment yesterday after only a few days in the majors, but he clearly will get another shot at the big league level with the Dodgers.
With Los Angeles, Honeywell will look to continue to unleash the talent that made him a top prospect during his time in Tampa. In 2017, the right-handed pitcher was one of the game’s top pitching prospects after posting a 3.64 ERA and 2.84 FIP in 24 starts at Triple-A, striking out 29.1 percent of the batters he faced against a walk rate of just 5.9 percent. He’s a few years removed from those sensational numbers at this point, but his time with the Padres last year showed that even with his current diminished strikeout (20.6 percent in San Diego) and walk (9.8 percent) rates, he can still be an effective middle relief arm.
While the Dodgers’ bullpen has been one of the best in baseball this year, they’ve struggled somewhat in recent weeks. Since the calendar turned to June, the club’s 3.46 relief ERA has remained solid, but their 4.18 FIP is bottom-ten in the majors and suggests they could be in for some regression as the season progresses. The introduction of Honeywell, who could at least provide the club with another arm in the final weeks before the trade deadline, should allow the Dodgers to keep their relief options fresh as the club likely considers other additions in the coming weeks.