The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation suffered an unfortunate blow on Friday with the news that Rich Hill will be sidelined for the start of the regular season while treating an MCL strain in his left knee .
Prior to Hill’s injury, he had been in the running to start for the Dodgers on Opening Day. That honor will now go to Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is looking forward to taking the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks next week.
Hill sustained the knee injury at the end of his most recent Cactus League start against the Milwaukee Brewers. He couldn’t get through a bullpen session on Tuesday without experiencing pain, which prompted an MRI that revealed a Grade 1 strain.
Hill revealed that he opted to treat his knee injury now rather than pitch through it and risk the need for surgery later in the season and is generally optimistic, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“Right now, it’s more optimistic than anything,” Hill said. “Two weeks will save you three months of rehab and recovery. I don’t want to go down the road of surgery. This is just the smart way to approach it and not derail the season.”
With both Hill and Clayton Kershaw expected to miss the beginning of April with respective injuries, the Dodgers will depend on their starting pitching depth to weather the storm until they’re able to return.
Similar to Ross Stripling filling the void of Kershaw, Hill’s injury has additionally created an opportunity for left-hander Julio Urias to now begin the regular season in the Dodgers starting rotation.
