The Los Angeles Dodgers have been without Blake Treinen since April 22, when he was placed on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder discomfort, but all signs point to him returning to the mound this season.
After a period of being shut down, Treinen began a throwing program last month. He played catch over the All-Star break and has advanced to throwing bullpen sessions. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Treinen will soon face batters, but a return remains weeks away.
“There’s no setback, but I think it’s more of in the vein of making sure we just take our time,” Roberts said. “I still think maybe more late August kind of situation. But again, if he keep passing these markers, then it could be sooner.”
Treinen and the Dodgers training staff have been flexible in navigating his rehab process. The right-hander dealt with some soreness after the All-Star break, which briefly delayed a bullpen session.
“There’s a lot of conversations that go on every day,” Roberts explained. “So I think the thing we’re very conscious of is not having a setback and we can kind of push things to make sure.
“So I think our training staff does a fantastic job and then obviously you have to listen to the player.”
The Dodgers consider there is only one attempt at having Treinen return this season, which has been instrumental in the conservative approach.
Treinen recovered from shoulder injury
While Treinen has not provided specifics of his shoulder injury, he previously alluded to not being able to pitch or throw with “conviction,” which required the IL stint. Now months removed from that, the veteran deemed his shoulder healthy.
“You’ve got to let it heal and let it build back up like Spring Training to see if there’s integrity,” Treinen said last week. “I went through some of that and you can see it with four of my five bullpens have been really, really good. I think it’s healed.
“It’s just a matter of building strength so I don’t get re-injured.”
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