2025 Dodgers season review: Tony Gonsolin

When we last left off with Tony Gonsolin, he was continuing to rehab from his second Tommy John surgery. The original plan was for Gonsolin to fight for a rotation spot in the early part of the season; however, Gonsolin injured his back while lifting weights during Spring Training, which gave Dustin May the fifth slot in the rotation by default.

Accordingly, Gonsolin was not on the Tokyo Series roster and started the year on the injured list, rehabbing again with Triple-A Oklahoma City. The back injury was more of a detour than a serious setback as Gonsolin effectively had to restart spring training in the minors.

Gonsolin was generally effective in making rehab appearances throughout the first month of the season. In four appearances, Gonsolin had a 3.21 ERA and allowed six runs (five earned) on 11 hits and six walks in his 14 innings. He also struck out 16 of his 58 batters faced (27.6 percent).

In late April, the Dodgers pressed Gonsolin into service in the rotation due to early injuries to the rotation. On April 30, Gonsolin was recalled and set to start a Major League game for the first time in 20 months.

Against the Marlins, Gonsolin did not have a clean start, but it certainly was not a bad one. He went six innings, gave up three earned runs, and struck out nine over 77 pitches, effectively using his fastball, splitter, slider, and curveball.

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At the time and after two additional solid starts, there was hope that Gonsolin would provide stability, given the rotation’s state. Unfortunately, that hope was not meant to be, as the wheels started to come off Gonsolin’s season in rough, consecutive starts against the Anaheim Angels and the New York Mets.

The following start against the New York Yankees, Gonsolin allowed four home runs and generally looked shaky. Unlike his other earlier performances, the Dodgers were able to outslug the Yankees en route to victory. Gonsolin rebounded a bit in what turned out to be his final start with the Dodgers in 2025, throwing five innings of two-earned-run, three-hit, three-walk baseball.

There was no glaring red flag for Gonsolin’s uneven return. His 24.2-percent strikeout rate was higher than his 23.2-percent career rate, but his 11.5-percent walk rate was his highest since 2021 and considerably above his 8.9-percent career walk rate. Hitters had a slash line of .244/.346/.467 against him — not great, but certainly not terrible.

On June 7, Gonsolin was put on the injured list for right elbow discomfort. On June 19, Gonsolin was moved to the 60-day injured list. On August 13, the Dodgers announced that Gonsolin had undergone pronator repair surgery on his right elbow and would miss the rest of the year.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the surgery, and team president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman described the procedure as a Tommy John revision per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Plunkett also noted that the expected recovery time for this surgery was eight to 10 months, which would knock out most of Gonsolin’s 2026 season.

Since going 16-1 before his right forearm strain in 2022, over the past three seasons, Gonsolin has been a shadow of himself, pitching only 27 games over 139 innings of work. The record was solid at 11-7, but the peripheral and baseline statistics were going in the wrong direction with an ERA over this period of 4.99 and a FIP of 5.58.

Gonsolin had one final year of arbitration, as the team had previously bought up previous years of work at a consistent rate to his injuries. Considering that Gonsolin would be available late August/September at the very earliest, unsurprisingly, on November 6, the Dodgers designated Gonsolin for assignment.

Gonsolin passed through waivers and, on November 12, he elected to become a free agent.

The Dodgers without the tandem of Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin will feel different going into 2026. While the Dodgers jettisoned May at the trade deadline, there was a certain measure of comfort knowing that his rotation-mate of the same era of Gonsolin still being with the team.

I have made no secret of my affection and fondness for Tony Gonsolin over the years. If we have seen the last of the Catman, he departs into the unknown as a three-time champion, which is more than any active player who was not a Dodger during the last five years, except Mookie Betts (four).

Age: 31

Stats: 3-2, 7 G, 36 IP, 38 K, 18 BB, 5.00 ERA, 6.02 FIP, 5.33 xERA, 1.417 WHIP

Salary: $5.4 million

While Gonsolin’s 2025 debut was impressive, his best start of the year came on Mother’s Day, May 11 against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. On four days’ rest, Gonsolin had his only scoreless outing of the year, going five innings while striking out four.

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Gonsolin is a free agent.