The Los Angeles Dodgers went four months this season awaiting the returns of Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu. The trio made a combined 11 starts, with eight coming from McCarthy, before each ended up back on the disabled list.
Anderson managed to make two starts but was removed from each due to injury. He suffered a mild left wrist sprain in the first inning of his 2016 debut, then was removed in the fourth inning of his second start due to a blister.
Anderson revealed the issue was something he dealt with since his final rehab start. He participated in a simulated game last week, then advanced to a rehab start.
The expectation was Anderson would piggyback Clayton Kershaw’s start for High-A Rancho Cucamonga and throw five innings or 75-80 pitches.
Anderson got up to 61 pitches in just two innings of work. “Brett had a little bit of issue with a blister resurfacing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the outing.
“It didn’t go as well for Brett, so he’ll be in here and we have to reassess what we’re going to do next as far as throwing.”
Anderson allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits. He was encouraged after getting through the simulated game without any issues.
The Dodgers put Anderson on the 15-day disabled list Aug. 23, retroactive to Aug. 21. He went 0-2 and allowed a combined 11 runs (24.75) over four-plus innings pitched.