NL West Notes: Gonsolin, Profar, Senzatela, Cron, Cobb, D’backs

Tony Gonsolin suffered an ankle sprain earlier this month, and the injury is already set to place the right-hander on the 15-day injured list to begin the season.  The Dodgers have yet to share a more specific recovery timeline for Gonsolin, but The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya writes that late April probably represents the earliest we could see Gonsolin make his 2023 debut.  On Friday, Gonsolin did some mound work for the first time since his ankle injury.

Losing a pitcher of Gonsolin’s caliber for at least a month isn’t news for the Dodgers, but the team is better equipped than most to withstand such a significant loss to the rotation.  Los Angeles had a pair of promising young arms competing for the right to be Gonsolin’s replacement, with Ryan Pepiot getting the nod over Michael Grove.  Pepiot will get a chance to build on the 36 1/3 innings he threw in his MLB debut season, and establish himself as the team’s top depth option in the event of future injuries.

More from around the NL West…

• Jurickson Profar finally left the free agent market when he signed with the Rockies last week, but the outfielder has yet to actually join his new club due to visa issues, manager Bud Black told The Denver Gazette’s Danielle Allentuck and other reporters.  Profar is still in his native Curacao and slated to visit the consulate on Monday, with the hopes of being able to join the Rox in time for Opening Day.  It is possible Profar might still need some ramp-up time during extended Spring Training given that he only recently signed, but Profar is at least in game shape, after playing with the Netherlands during the World Baseball Classic.
• Sticking with the Rockies, Antonio Senzatela’s recovery from ACL surgery hit another key checkpoint yesterday, when the righty faced hitters for the first time.  Senzatela is expected to return to the Rockies sometime in May, and he told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding that after yesterday’s 20-pitch session, “I feel like I’m getting closer…My knee is feeling good, everything is feeling good.”  In more immediate injury news, Black told Harding and other reporters that C.J. Cron could return to the lineup as soon as today, as the first baseman has missed the last 10 days due to back spasms.
• Alex Cobb has been slowed by a knee contusion suffered after Miguel Vargas lined a ball off the Giants right-hander’s knee on March 11.  Cobb told Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle that the swelling has now also moved up into Cobb’s hamstring area, but the veteran righty got through a bullpen session with no issue yesterday.  Barring any setback, Cobb is still penciled in to start against the Yankees on April 1, with a simulated game planned as his last ramp-up outing prior to the regular season.
• From injury updates to roster battles, as the Diamondbacks still have to identify their fifth starter and the final two spots in their bullpen.  The two battles are somewhat intertwined, as Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic writes that with Ryne Nelson and Drey Jameson competing for the final rotation job, whomever isn’t used as a starter could take one of the two bullpen roles.  Carlos Vargas, Peter Solomon, and Ryan Hendrix are also competing for spots in the relief corps.