Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers activated Landon Knack off the 60-day injured list and optioned Kyle Hurt to Triple-A Oklahoma City ahead of Saturday’s matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Charlie Barnes was designated for assignment
The move comes one day after the Dodgers had a bullpen game following Shohei Ohtani being scratched from his scheduled start. After the loss, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the club would discuss a potential roster move to add a fresh pitcher.
“Obviously, it’s nice that we got (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto going, but I think we’ve done a very good job this year of protecting downside, and there’s certainly a good group of guys that are going to be down tomorrow and potentially this weekend,” Roberts said. “So we’re going to have that conversation, yeah.”
Hurt returns to Triple-A given that he has options available, and also because he has been struggling recently. Through May, Hurt held a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings, but he posted an 8.38 ERA in June and has a 14.73 ERA so far in July.
That has caused his season ERA to skyrocket to 4.88 over 31.1 innings with a 1.40 WHIP.
“Yeah, that’s kind of been an issue for me lately,” Hurt began about his struggles. “I’m kind of doing the hard part, getting 0-2, 1-2 on guys, and just not executing and getting pitches where I need to get them. I’m just kind of leaving things over the plate, getting into deep counts.
“Those deep counts can lead to walks, and I just got to be better at finishing guys. Just put them away when I’m ahead.”
Landon Knack ready for 2026 debut
Knack started the season on the 15-day injured list for an unspecified reason. He was transferred to the 60-day IL in late April in order to make room on the 40-man roster for the Dodgers acquiring Tyler Fitzgerald in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Knack started a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on June 24, and pitched to a 3.34 ERA over three starts.
Barnes had been part of the Dodgers organization since getting claimed off waivers May 9. The left-hander made four appearances for L.A., including throwing seven innings against the Athletics on July 1 to help preserve the Dodgers’ bullpen.
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