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Eric Gagne making progress

Eric Gagne is making progress in his elbow surgery and could return to the Dodgers by June. From the LA Times:

Eric Gagne is expected to make two or three rehabilitation appearances at triple-A Las Vegas, the first on Friday. The Dodgers hope to activate him when their next homestand opens June 1. Manager Grady Little said he would ease Gagne back into the closer's role by not using him on successive days at first, but Gagne says he'll be ready for that workload.

"There's no babying," Gagne said. "There's no one-day-off thing. I'm coming back ready. I'm not coming back to get ready. That's why we're doing the rehab. I can come back and go three days in a row if I have to."

On the season, Danys Baez has posted a 2.95 ERA with nine saves in Gagne's absence, but he's been horribly inconsistent at times and already has five blown saves. The Dodgers will likely insert Gagne back into the closer role very soon after he returns.

What I would have liked to have seen was the Dodgers give rookie Jonathan Broxton a look in the ninth inning, but that hasn't happened. Broxton has put up some truly dominant numbers (0.82 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 14 strikeouts in 11 IP), and if he keeps it up, he could put himself next in line for saves should Gagne go down again with injury in the second half.

Team in a Policy Dispute [Los Angeles Times]