The Los Angeles Dodgers began the 2017 season with six players on the disabled list; all but one were on the 10-day DL, with Yimi Garcia on the 60-day because of Tommy John surgery. During the season, Los Angeles has put 12 players on the DL.
The latest of which came Thursday, when left hamstring tightness sidelined Kenta Maeda. The roster decision was made one afternoon removed from Maeda throwing a career 8.1 innings. His performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates was arguably Maeda’s best start of his career.
Maeda was put on the DL as a corresponding move to the Dodgers activating Hyun-Jin Ryu, who started Thursday’s series opener against the Colorado Rockies.
While the decision struck some as curious, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed Maeda initially felt the hamstring tightness a few weeks back, but he felt capable of pitching through it. Roberts went on to reiterate the club’s stance on utilizing the disabled list, via SportsNet LA:
“We’ve talked about our starting pitching depth in general for a long time. For us to act on it, to be prudent, and that’s kind of what made that ultimate decision. We have talked about it, it’s a long season. The days of starters making, in a vacuum, 32 starts, it’s hard to do these days. If we as an organization see a potential injury, whether it be a shoulder, a glute or a hamstring, and we can get ahead of it and potentially shorten the season, and also get them back to 100 percent as much as possible, then we’ve shown we’re going to do that.”
Roberts had previously cast doubt on any of the team’s starters — other than Clayton Kershaw — throwing 200 innings this season. While the Dodgers were dogged by injuries last season, Maeda was the lone member of the rotation to avoid the disabled list.
Through Thursday, the Dodgers have put starting pitchers Rich Hill (twice), Scott Kazmir, Maeda, Brandon McCarthy, Ryu and Brock Stewart on the DL either prior to or during the 2017 season. The Dodgers’ willingness to use the DL at will is of course tied to the organization’s pitching depth.
While the aforementioned group has missed time, the team has largely pressed ahead by calling on Julio Urias and Alex Wood. With stints shortened to 10 days, pitchers have often only missed one turn.
Last season the Dodgers set an MLB record by putting 28 different players on the disabled list and tied a franchise record by using 15 starting pitchers. Those numbers are currently 18 and seven, respectively.
