The Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting rotation has been ravaged by injuries for much of the year, but reinforcements may soon be on the way as a handful of key pitchers are beginning to work their way back from the disabled list.
Kenta Maeda propelled the Dodgers to a victory in his return last Wednesday, logging five innings pitched of two-run ball against the Texas Rangers. Rich Hill is expected to rejoin the rotation on Tuesday and start against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field — his first in nearly a month.
Another left-hander in the midst of recovery is Hyun-Jin Ryu, who has been sidelined since May 3 with a left groin strain. He’s since resumed baseball-related activities and tossed an encouraging bullpen session last week.
That warranted more activity for Ryu over the weekend in what was his second bullpen session since landing on the DL in early May. However, the 31-year-old’s outing was cut short after his groin tightened up, per Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times:
“I wouldn’t say it’s a setback,” Roberts said. “He felt a little tightness. Not pain. Our advice to him, as with any player, is if you feel anything that’s a little bit uncomfortable as you’re coming back, let us know and we can shut it down and go from there. There’s no reason for him now to push through it.”
That Ryu endured pain in his latest bullpen session obviously isn’t a positive sign, but it’s also encouraging that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stopped short of calling it a setback for the left-hander.
Given his recent injury history, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Dodgers slow play Ryu’s recovery process from here.
Prior to landing on the disabled list, Ryu had compiled a perfect 3-0 record while sporting a superb 2.12 ERA, 3.09 FIP and 0.88 WHIP across 29.2 innings pitched.
As part of our efforts to help you understand how we handle the personal information you share with us, and in preparation for the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we’ve updated our Privacy & Cookies Policy. The updated Privacy & Cookies Policy will take effect on May 22, 2018. By using our services on or after that date, you’ll be agreeing to our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy. We recommend that you read our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy in full.
