While the Los Angeles Dodgers recently welcomed Clayton Kershaw back from the 15-day injured list, they continue to wait on the returns of Walker Buehler, Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen, among others.
Yency Almonte and Joe Kelly were both recently placed on the IL, but appear more likely to return sooner than the aforementioned three other relief pitchers.
Treinen has been out all season since undergoing right shoulder surgery last November to repair his labrum and rotator cuff. Soon after the operation, he expressed confidence in pitching during the 2023 season.
Treinen’s long road to joining the Dodgers bullpen this year took a notable step forward with the start of a rehab assignment. He started for the Arizona Complex League (ACL) Dodgers on Tuesday afternoon and pitched a scoreless inning against the Chicago Cubs’ affiliate.
Treinen struck out the first two batters faced and finished off his 10-pitch appearance with a flyout.
The game action was Treinen’s first since Game 2 of the 2022 National League Division Series. That was his lone appearance against the San Diego Padres, and just one of six games Treinen pitched in overall throughout 2022 because of a partial tear in the capsule of his right shoulder.
Prior to joining the ACL Dodgers team on their final day of the regular season, Treinen twice faced batters in simulated games. His velocity saw an unexpected increase, which left Dodgers manager Dave Roberts more optimistic over the possibility of Treinen coming off the 60-day IL this season.
Over parts of three seasons with the Dodgers, Treinen is 10-9 with eight saves, a 2.45 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 1.01 WHIP and 9.9 strikeouts per nine across 103 innings pitched in 104 relief appearances.
When can Blake Treinen return?
Treinen is already eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day IL, which leaves his return contingent upon health and building some sort of foundation through a rehab assignment.
He presumably will need to join Triple-A Oklahoma City at some point and pitch in multiple games before possibly joining the Dodgers bullpen in September.
As Treinen was facing uncertainty last year with his future because of the right shoulder injury, the Dodgers signed him to a contract extension that includes a team option for the 2024 season.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
