The Los Angeles Dodgers followed through with the expected roster move Wednesday as they placed Kenta Maeda on the 10-day disabled list due to a right hip strain. Maeda became the club’s fourth starting pitcher to be sidelined by injury this season.
He was removed in the second inning of Tuesday’s game after twice being checked on by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and trainer Neil Rampe. While Maeda managed to convince Roberts to remain in the game after the first mound visit, his attempt to wave them off a second time proved futile.
The right-hander underwent an MRI that confirmed the strain. Maeda revealed he’d initially felt the discomfort at the tail end of his outing against the Colorado Rockies on May 23. He nonetheless recorded 12 strikeouts against 6.2 scoreless innings.
There’s optimism Maeda’s stint on the disabled list won’t be lengthy, but Roberts acknowledged that’s not a certainty, via Rowan Kavner of Dodger Insider:
“Our hope is it’s one start, but one thing we do want to make a point is we are putting him on the disabled list, so to make sure we get this behind us is really important,” Roberts said. “Kenta’s a guy that doesn’t want to miss any starts, he never wants to come out of a game, so we’ve got to make sure that he understands this is for his best interest for the rest of the year going forward.”
Maeda also hopes for a quick return but not to the point where he would rush one:
“Seems like it’s not that bad, pretty mild,” Maeda said through a translator. “I’m looking forward to recovering and getting back quickly.”
“At the same time, I want to make sure it is completely healed so it doesn’t affect the rest of my season,” Maeda said.
While he was healthy, Maeda said injuries to Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu led to him being cognizant of answering the bell for the Dodgers. He’s largely done so, going 4-4 with a 3.61 ERA, 2.84 FIP and 1.28 WHIP in 11 games (10 starts).
One of his marquee performances was eight shutout innings against the Miami Marlins to help the Dodgers avoid being swept in a three-game series. The win marked the start of a four-game winning streak and 10-3 record since May 17.
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