SAN DIEGO — Five times last season, right-hander Dylan Floro was promoted from Triple-A to the Chicago Cubs. And five times he was sent back to the minors.

He made only three appearances for the Cubs. And, at the end of July when they needed room on their 40-man roster for their trade-deadline pickups, Floro was designated for assignment and the roller coaster stopped. He was claimed on waivers by the Dodgers and finished the season in Triple-A.

A year like that can put a chip on a guy’s shoulder.

“Yeah, it does,” the former Cal State Fullerton reliever said. “Last year with the Cubs – nothing against them – but going up and down so much and getting DFA’d, that wasn’t much fun.”

A free agent after the season ended, Floro signed with the Cincinnati Reds and used his experience as fuel. Floro had tasted the big leagues with the Tampa Bay Rays and Cubs over the past two years and decided it was time he stayed there.

“When I came in this year, I wanted to prove a point, knowing I can pitch up here and just needed a chance,” Floro said. “I got that with the Reds. I’ve just been trusting my stuff more, throwing my two-seamer to both sides of the plate and attacking the zone as much as I can. I just wanted to prove to people that I belong up here.

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“I’m just a little more focused and trying to prove a point.”

His fastball has made the argument for him. Floro has gained almost 2 mph in velocity this year, averaging over 95 mph on his fastball. His slider has also jumped to 88 mph.

The Dodgers saw enough potential in Floro to try and re-sign him after last season, according to GM Farhan Zaidi who called Floro “the one that got away” among a group of minor-league free agents that included Max Muncy (who re-signed with the Dodgers). When Floro started fulfilling that potential with the Reds (he had a 2.72 ERA and 57 ground-ball rate in 25 appearances), the Dodgers re-acquired him in a trade last week. It was the first of two moves in the past week aimed at adding to the team’s bullpen options. Left-hander Zac Rosscup was claimed on waivers from the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday and will join the Dodgers this weekend.

“He (Floro) was a strong-performing starting pitcher in the Rays’ system actually, converted to the ’pen in ’16,” Zaidi said. “He was kind of 88-90 as a starter. When we had him last year he was 90-92, which was kind of an uptick but probably not where he needed to be at to make an impact at this level.

“He came in this year and I don’t know what mechanical changes he made. I think some of it is just that some guys take a little longer to get comfortable in the ’pen and get that mindset of letting it go because you’re only going to be throwing one or two innings.”

In his first three appearances for the Dodgers (including a 1-2-3 eighth Thursday in San Diego), Floro has retired all 10 batters he has faced – five on ground balls, four on strikeouts. The two outings confirmed the “steady increase in velocity and the action on the sinker” that attracted the Dodgers, Zaidi said.

“When I talked to him after the trade, I said, ‘Look, I know it was a disappointing experience for you, getting claimed by us and not getting up, getting outrighted,’” the GM said. “‘You wanted to find a better opportunity and you found it because you went to a new team, you made the team and you pitched well. And you’re a big leaguer now.’”

STILL HERE

Since making three starts for the Dodgers in the first half of June, rookie left-hander Caleb Ferguson has pitched a total of 11 innings in almost four weeks (six of them in two Clayton Kershaw starts when Kershaw’s availability was limited).

The Dodgers will have to make a roster move to add Rosscup this weekend but Manager Dave Roberts said he expects Ferguson to stay around “a little longer” rather than head back to Triple-A to continue his development as a starter.

“I think right now Caleb’s done a really nice job and part of his growth is being able to watch major-league players get ready each day,” Roberts said.

“I know he sees himself as a starter, and the organization does. But right now, we just see so much value in him for our big-league club in that (long relief) capacity. The role that Ross (Stripling) filled in ’16 helped him get acclimated to the big leagues, making some spot starts. Can I see that happening? Absolutely. Whether it plays out that way, I can’t speak to. Right now, I think he’s a good piece in our ’pen.”

ALSO

Roberts said Astros manager A.J. Hinch invited him to join him on a tour of the White House while the two are in Washington for the All-Star Game next week. The two managers and their families are going on Tuesday.

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