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By Jon Weisman
Left-handed pitcher Tyler Olson has been acquired by the Dodgers from Seattle in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later.
To make room for Olson on the 40-man roster, Los Angeles designated right-hander Daniel Reynolds for assignment. Reynolds was claimed by the Dodgers 11 days ago.
Olson made his Major League debut in 2015 with the Mariners, striking out eight while allowing 29 baserunners in 13 1/3 innings. His WHIP was 2.10, but that’s a bit deceptive. Rather remarkably, Olson had seven intentional walks to lead the entire American League, despite pitching his final MLB game of the year on May 2.
To put that in perspective, the Major League leaders in intentional walks, with eight, were Philadelphia’s Luis Garcia (66 2/3 innings) and Atlanta’s Shelby Miller (205 1/3 innings).
Only one pitcher in big-league history, Butch Metzger with the Giants in 1974, has ever had at least seven intentional walks with fewer innings pitched in a season than Olson.
On April 15, Olson intentionally walked Joc Pederson with two out in the fifth and Howie Kendrick with two out in the sixth. Neither scored. Overall, two of the seven players walked intentionally by Olson in 2015 eventually came across the plate.
Spending most of his 2015 season in Triple-A Tacoma, Olson had a 4.47 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings — with no intentional walks. He turned 25 in October.
