For as deep and talented as the Los Angeles Dodgers are, there are still some deficiencies on their current roster.

One of the bigger holes sits in the bullpen — namely with right-handed pitchers possessing swing-and-miss ability. Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, and Brusdar Graterol, all staples within the group, are out with varying degrees of injury.

Treinen could be the closest to returning if all things go according to plan with his rehabilitation process.

With those aforementioned names on the shelf, there’s seemingly an imbalance with lefty versus righty relievers. Ben Casparius has been forced to toggle back-and-forth between being a long reliever and a high-leverage arm given the Dodgers’ need for a right-handed pitcher.

As has been the case recently, Casparius appears to be overworked.

Another flame-throwing righty with the ability to strike people out is Michael Kopech. The Texas native recently went back on the IL after it was reported that he underwent surgery to correct a torn meniscus in his knee.

When speaking with the media, manager Dave Roberts offered this update on his talented right-handed reliever. Fortunately for the ballclub, it appears as if they dodged some seriously bad news given the hopeful prognosis.

“It was a minor cleanup,” Roberts said. “Don’t know a timetable. But it was just something that was bothering him. I think with the knee, if there’s certain things that trigger it then it’s just not sustainable to manage it. We got to that point. From what I understand, the surgery went well and he’ll be back this season.”

The news couldn’t have been better for the Dodgers. Since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox at last year’s trade deadline, Kopech has proven to be one of the most important arms in the bullpen. He began the year on the IL this season with a shoulder issue — though rejoined the club a little over a month into the season.

On the year in eight appearances, he’s yet to allow an earned run. Though it’s a somewhat small sample size, all of his analytics indicate that Kopech was on course to have a very good season.

As is always the case with Los Angeles, getting him (and others) healthy for the postseason run is the top priority.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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