The Los Angeles Dodgers have dealt with their fair share of injuries this season, particularly on the pitching side, with the likes of Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and David Price all missing a significant amount of time.
May underwent successful Tommy John surgery, which ended his 2021 season, but Gonsolin and Price have continued making progress and are expected to rejoin the team sooner rather than later.
On the Minor League side, top pitching prospect Josiah Gray was scratched from his scheduled start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday with what appeared to be a potential injury.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided on an update and revealed the right-hander is dealing with shoulder trouble. “It was a right shoulder impingement,” Roberts said.
“I think right now we’re going to shut him down for a week to 10 days, not pick up a baseball, and then we’ll kind of see where he’s at at that point.”
Gray felt fine leading up to Tuesday evening and only first began to notice discomfort after beginning his warmup routine in the outfield. “Right before the game,” Roberts said of when the injury surfaced.
“Just felt a little discomfort. Just happy we and Josiah detected early and he didn’t try to push himself.”
Tuesday’s start was due to be Gray’s second of the season for OKC. He went five innings on Opening Day of the Triple-A campaign and set a career high with 10 strikeouts.
Gray focused on proving value
Prior to Gray sustaining his shoulder injury, Roberts hinted the Dodgers were contemplating calling him up for his MLB debut. During OKC media day last week, the 23-year-old revealed his biggest focus was staying ready for the possibility.
“I’ve heard a lot of what everyone else has said: ‘Just kind of stay ready, go out and prove you can be an asset for us at the big league level.’ That’s what I’m aiming to do,” Gray said.
“I haven’t heard much about what I have to do. I just know that being a pitcher, you have to pitch well. That’s kind of what my mentality is. I’ll kind of let the cards fall how they may, depending on how this year goes. Kind of just staying healthy, going out there and giving it my all.”
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