Ben Casparius News: Headed back to bullpen

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Casparius will probably be returning to the bullpen Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

Casparius has been working either as a primary pitcher behind an opener or as a traditional starter since mid-June, but he's struggled of late, posting a 9.77 ERA with a 1.79 WHIP over his past four outings spanning 15.2 frames. He yielded six runs over three innings against the Astros on Friday, which may have been the tipping point in terms of the Dodgers' decision to move him back to the bullpen. However, that transition may have been coming regardless of Casparius' results, as the team's decimated rotation is beginning to get healthy -- Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) is expected to return next week, and Blake Snell (shoulder) is nearing a rehab assignment. Los Angeles also has Emmet Sheehan as starting pitching depth in the minors, and he could be called up to start against the Astros on Sunday.