Michael Busch Injury News & Updates

The Dodgers optioned Busch to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Busch slashed .111/.167/.333 across 30 plate appearances during his latest two-week stay on the major-league roster. J.D. Martinez (groin) is returning from the injured list in a corresponding move ahead of Friday's series opener against the Nationals.

Busch went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday in a loss to Atlanta.

Busch hit one of four Dodgers long balls in the contest, swatting a solo shot to right field in the seventh inning. It was his second homer -- but just his third overall hit -- since being recalled from the minors Aug. 22. Busch has struggled since the promotion, slashing .130/.192/.391 with eight strikeouts over 26 plate appearances.

Busch went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader against Cleveland.

Busch smacked a 401-foot solo shot off Gavin Williams in the fourth inning for his first long ball as a major leaguer. He added a sacrifice fly in the fifth frame to finish with his first multi-RBI effort. Busch has gone 1-for-7 since being recalled from the minors Tuesday. He had been tearing up Triple-A prior to the promotion, slashing .379/.458/.777 with 11 home runs, 27 RBI and a stolen base across his last 25 games.

The Dodgers recalled Busch from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA reports.

Busch has struggled in limited action at the major-league level, but he boasts a .323/.432/.615 batting line with 24 homers and 82 RBI across 88 games this season at Triple-A. The 25-year-old should get some starts on the Los Angeles infield and in the DH role as J.D. Martinez (groin) heads to the 10-day injured list.

Busch is slashing .328/.429/.680 with 12 home runs, 31 RBI, 26 runs, one stolen base and a 19:28 BB:K over 29 games since returning to Triple-A Oklahoma City in late June.

Busch has had two stints with the big club this season but has mostly struggled with a .200/.294/.267 slash line and no homers over 51 plate appearances. He's putting together a second straight strong campaign in the minors, however, and may have little left to prove there. Among other things, Busch has improved his strikeout rate to 20.2 percent with Oklahoma City after fanning over 26 percent of the time in each of his previous two minor-league seasons. There's a good chance that the 25-year-old former first-round draft pick will get another opportunity to test his skills in the majors at some point in 2023.

The Dodgers optioned Busch to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

With Max Muncy (hamstring) returning from the injured list Tuesday, Busch will be pushed off the Dodgers' major-league roster. The 25-year-old infielder slashed .192/.250/.308 across 28 plate appearances after getting called up June 16, and he could very well find himself back in the majors later this season if he keeps performing in Triple-A the way he has.

Busch was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.

Busch is recalled to take the place of Max Muncy after Muncy was placed on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain. In 19 at-bats with the Dodgers earlier in the year, Busch slashed .211/.348/.211 with four walks and nine strikeouts over seven games. The 25-year-old is considered one of the best prospects in the Los Angeles system, but fantasy managers should take a wait-and-see approach before adding him to their respective rosters.

Busch was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City by the Dodgers on Thursday.

Busch didn't play a ton during his first stint in the big leagues, getting five starts over a two-and-a-half week period. He's clearing out to make room for J.D. Martinez's return from the injured list.

Busch went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs and a stolen base against the Phillies in a 13-4 win Monday.

Busch got the start at second base Monday after three consecutive days on the bench. He made the most of the opportunity, recording his first career multi-hit performance and stealing his first bag as a major-leaguer. Busch is still finding his way in the big leagues, as he's batting just .214 with seven strikeouts in 16 plate appearances.

Busch is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Dodgers in Monday's game versus the Phillies, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Busch started the first three games after being promoted before then sitting out the last three before this one. He's 1-for-10 with an RBI and a 5:1 K:BB in his first go-round in the big leagues.

Busch went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run and an RBI in Tuesday's 8-7 win against Pittsburgh.

Busch was called up from the minors prior to the contest and batted seventh while serving as Los Angeles' designated hitter in his first major-league game. The 25-year-old struck out during the second inning in his first at-bat and followed that with a groundout in the fourth before notching his first big-league hit and RBI with a single in the sixth. He walked in his final plate appearance and came around to score on a Chris Taylor home run. Busch's call-up coincided with Max Muncy going on the paternity list, so the rookie's current stay with the big club may not be long.

Busch will serve as the Dodgers' designated hitter and bat seventh in his MLB debut Tuesday night at Pittsburgh, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Busch was called up Monday with Max Muncy going on paternity leave and now the 25-year-old will get his first big-league close-up against the Pirates and right-hander Johan Oviedo. A consensus top-50 prospect, Busch has delivered encouraging offensive numbers throughout the upper minors, including a .337/.461/.506 batting line across 102 plate appearances this season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He's worth a shot in most standard fantasy leagues, even if this winds up being a brief stay.

Busch was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City by the Dodgers on Monday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

He's taking the roster spot of Max Muncy, who is going on paternity leave. Busch has posted a .967 OPS with two homers with Oklahoma City this season after boasting an .881 OPS with 32 dingers between Double-A Tulsa and Oklahoma City in 2022. He'll be making his major-league debut when he gets into a game, although it could be a short stay if he goes back to the minors when Muncy returns.

Busch went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in a Cactus League contest against the Royals on Saturday.

Busch was optioned to minor-league camp nearly two weeks ago, but he's shown that he can hold his own against major-league pitching this spring. The 25-year-old has posted a .937 OPS over 36 plate appearances while driving in four runs. Busch will begin the campaign with Triple-A Oklahoma City but is likely to make his big-league debut at some point this season.

Busch was optioned Monday to minor-league camp by the Dodgers.

Busch has struggled in his brief Cactus League sample, with a slash of .150/.320/.300 with 1 homer in 25 plate appearances. Those struggles have very little to do with why he's opening the season in the minors, however, and the 25-year-old could be an option for the Dodgers at some point this summer as one of the clubs best hitting prospects.

Busch was added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster Tuesday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Busch opened 2022 at Double-A Tulsa and posted a 1.112 OPS in 31 games to earn a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 25-year-old clubbed 32 homers and 38 doubles between the two levels in 2022, though he may need to cut down on his 26 percent strikeout rate before he receives an extended look in the majors.

Busch has a .240/.298/.474 line with 10 homers, two steals and a 13:65 BB:K in 42 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City.

He started off ice cold after being promoted (.203 over 16 games), but Busch has hit much better over his last 26 contests, putting up a .262/.308/.542 line with eight of his Triple-A home runs. Even over the course of this relatively hot streak, though, he's been striking out at an alarming rate -- an even 35 percent -- while not drawing many walks (6.8 percent; 7.1 percent overall since being promoted). The new level has not been kind to him in that regard, as Busch had a spectacular 17.6 percent walk rate in Double-A alongside a more manageable 26.3 percent strikeout rate. With that in mind, the Dodgers will likely let Busch bide his time in the minors for most (if not all) of 2022 so that he can improve his plate discipline against higher-grade pitching.

The Dodgers promoted Busch from Double-A Tulsa to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.

Busch spent the entire 2021 campaign at Tulsa, but he earned the call-up to Oklahoma City after raising his performance at the plate just over five weeks into his second tour of Double-A. Over 137 plate appearances at Tulsa, Busch submitted a 1.112 OPS -- a 242-point jump from his 2021 mark. Even though Busch is 24 years old and likely won't benefit much from further development time on the farm, his lack of a 40-man roster spot along with the Dodgers' impressive depth in both the infield and outfield could hurt his chances of receiving a late-season call-up to the majors.

Busch made his first professional start in left field for Double-A Tulsa on Wednesday.

Busch has played primarily at second base during his minor-league career, though he has also seen time at first base and at DH. If he is able to handle the new position well, it could open a door to a big-league debut later this season, as outfield depth is arguably the Dodgers' biggest non-pitching need. Busch has certainly shown that he is capable at the plate -- he is slashing .305/.468/.746 with eight home runs, 19 RBI and a 17:19 BB:K in 79 plate appearances this season.

Busch is hitting .223/.373/.415 with nine homers, two steals, 30 RBI and 34 runs in 51 games for Double-A Tulsa.

Thus far in his minor-league career, Busch has shown that his greatest skill is drawing walks, which he's done 37 times this season -- good for a stellar 15.9 percent walk rate. Unfortunately, that's the only particularly promising part of his batting line, as he's striking out at a 29.6 percent clip and isn't showing enough power to offset the swing-and-miss in his game. The No. 31 overall pick in 2019, Busch has plenty of talent, but he needs to do a better job tapping into his power in game action. Fortunately, he went into the All-Star break doing just that, having smashed three homers and a double over Tulsa's last six games. If he can keep it up, he could move up to Triple-A this season, but Busch isn't likely to see any MLB action in 2021.

Busch was invited to the Dodgers' major-league camp Tuesday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Busch will get the benefit of working with the team's big-league coaching staff for a few weeks, though he's not particularly close to joining them on a permanent basis. He has quite a promising bat and could eventually hit for both power and average, but he's played a grand total of 10 professional games and hasn't advanced beyond Low-A.