Ryan Pepiot was among the players poised to be on the Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day roster for the first time in their respective careers, but he instead was placed on the 15-day injured list because of a left oblique strain.
Pepiot was in position to be part of the Opening Day rotation by beating out Michael Grove to fill the void created by Tony Gonsolin still being on the mend from a sprained left ankle. Now it’s Grove who is rounding out the Dodgers starting rotation.
“Past couple weeks it was kind of lingering,” Pepiot said of his oblique strain. “I tried to throw through it the other day and thought I was fine after the first inning. Just kind of felt it even more and tried to battle through it.
“Tried to overcompensate and woke up pretty sore [Wednesday]. Disappointing, bummed.”
Pepiot said he’s previously dealt with oblique trouble but noted the current injury is “different” because of it being near his ribs. The 25-year-old also said he did not come out of a Cactus League start against the Cubs because of discomfort in the oblique area, but rather lower back tightness.
The Dodgers plan to have the right-hander stop throwing for at least the next two days before re-evaluating Pepiot.
“I’m just kind of happy we caught it pretty early so hopefully it doesn’t mean I’m out for too long,” Pepiot said. “Once the symptoms are pretty much gone, then I’ll pick it back up. Hopefully it’ll only be a couple days until I can pick a ball up again.”
Michael Grove filling in for Ryan Pepiot
Following Urías on Opening Day, the Dodgers starting rotation order is Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw and Noah Syndergaard.
Pepiot was scheduled to start Monday in the series opener against the Colorado Rockies, which now will be made by Grove.
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