MINNEAPOLIS — Brock Stewart knows he’s still an unfamiliar face to Dodgers fans even after spending the past 11 months with the team. But he’s hoping to change that quickly.
The Dodgers activated Stewart from the IL on Monday after he spent nearly six weeks on the shelf with a bone spur in his left foot. He also began the season on the IL recovering from surgery on a troublesome shoulder that limited him to just four appearances after he was acquired in a deadline trade with the Minnesota Twins last year.
“It never gets any easier, never gets less frustrating,” he said of his multiple IL stints. “But all I can control is the work I put in every day, and I’m damn proud of that. So that’s my mindset: Come to the park ready to put the work in and put yourself in a good position to help out.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to help out much this year, but you know what? There’s a lot of season left, so hopefully I can be able to help out a lot more.”
Stewart made two appearances after his post-surgery trip to the IL, pitching a scoreless inning against the Houston Astros on May 6 and the Atlanta Braves on May 8. But then his toe flared up, forcing him to the sidelines once again. But at least this time it wasn’t his arm giving him trouble.
“Fortunately, the whole time I was able to keep my arm in shape and keep throwing,” he said. “So I’ve been able to keep my arm going through this whole process, which has been great. My arm feels good. Just needed the foot to come around.”
As for how that foot came around? He said it was an interesting journey.
“Improve grip strength with my toes, get everything in the ankle much stronger, get more range of motion and dorsal flexion and a bunch of big words that I’m not really totally familiar with,” Stewart said.
Stewart joins a bullpen that is hovering in the middle of the pack, with a 3.84 ERA that ranks seventh in the National League. He’s expected to join Edgardo Henriquez and Kyle Hurt among Manager Dave Roberts’ top right-handed setup options.
“He checked all the boxes that we can potentially check, so it’s more of just treating him like a regular baseball player and hope that it’s sustainable,” Roberts said. “When he’s on the field, he’s as good as any right-hander out there. So for me, honestly, I’m not going to overthink it and just kind of have him have his normal usage.”
TUCKER EXITS WITH BACK SPASMS
Right fielder Kyle Tucker was removed from Monday’s game in the second inning with low back spasms.
Tucker drew a walk with one out in the second and ran lightly to second base on Tommy Edman’s single to right field. Then, Tucker was replaced by pinch-runner Alex Call. Tucker stayed in the dugout, standing up next to the dugout fence before heading into the clubhouse after the inning was over.
After signing a four-year, $240 million contract with the team in January, Tucker has played in 75 of the Dodgers’ 79 games this season. But he’s hitting just .234 with six home runs and four RBIs. The .234 average is his lowest since hitting .141 in 28 games as a rookie in Houston in 2018. He’s hit at least 22 homers in each of the past five seasons.
The Dodgers also pulled catcher Dalton Rushing in the bottom of the third to rule out a concussion. The team was already without All-Star catcher Will Smith, who is on the 10-day IL with neck inflammation.
BANDA GETS RING
Left-handed reliever Anthony Banda won two World Series championship rings in his two seasons with the Dodgers. But he didn’t receive his second ring until Monday, when the Dodgers visited Target Field to face Banda’s new team.
A crowd of roughly 15 former teammates greeted Banda with hugs near the third base dugout before Monday’s game. Eventually, they gave Banda a box featuring the ring that commemorates their 2025 championship.
“There’s a ring inside the ring. Fancy, right?” Banda said. “I will wear that one. Probably on a chain or maybe if I just want to wear it. But I don’t even wear the ’24 one, so I don’t think I would ever wear that. … I just don’t want to mess it up. It’s beautiful.”
Banda has a 2-0 record with a 4.22 ERA this season for the Twins. After a slow start, he’s allowed just one earned run in 18 innings since May 2.
UP NEXT
Dodgers (LHP Justin Wrobleski, 8-2, 2.72 ERA) at Twins (LHP Kendry Rojas, 1-0, 1.26 ERA), Tuesday, 4:40 p.m. PT, SNLA, TBS, 570 AM