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.
Treinen has since been transferred to the 60-day IL, but it was a procedural move that didn’t necessarily change his timeline. The Dodgers are hopeful they will get their best reliever back at some point after the All-Star break, and the right-hander has maintained that optimism.
After a period of being shut down, Treinen began a throwing program earlier this month. He stretched it out to 120 feet last Sunday, which Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said went well and was another step forward in the recovery process.
“I’m feeling good,” Treinen said. “There’s been some obvious times when you’re going to push the threshold, be sore. Try to make that soreness level become normal, where you don’t feel anything, push the threshold.
“So we’re getting some strength training so there’s resilience in the arm and there’s been some ups and downs, but for the most part, no setbacks. So that’s good. Things feel good.”
Roberts said there is a chance Treinen will throw a bullpen session in the coming weeks, but the 33-year-old doesn’t want to put a timeline on his potential return. “I mean, here’s the deal,” Treinen began.
“Like, I know you guys are asking questions, and it’s fair, right. But honestly, we’re just not trying to set a timetable on like, ‘Hey, let’s get to here, let’s get to here, let’s get to here.’
“It’s more or less like, ‘Hey, today feels good? Cool, let’s move onto the next step, let’s move onto the next step.’ You know, in a perfect world if things continue to trend and there’s like no, ‘Hey throw the rest of your day, let’s take a break for a couple days, and then run back into it.’
“Probably in a few weeks, there could be a bullpen possibility, but I haven’t really looked into that. I know that they have a schedule, it’s a loose schedule. And even with as loose as it is, there’s optimism that sooner than later, I’ll have a chance to be back with the team.
“So the big thing is just I’ve got to stay healthy, I’ve got to build the resilience, it’s like starting all over again from scratch in Spring Training. So I mean, think about how many weeks guys put in before they even get on the mound in spring and then how much time they spend in spring.
“Obviously, being a bullpen guy is different than being a starter. I don’t have to be able to go like five innings. So just trying to get myself ready to where I can compete.
“And then when I can compete, trying to get built up to a couple of back-to-backs, or two out of threes, I’m assuming. It’s just sort of a Spring Training thing, and then back with the team, whenever that is. Optimistic it’ll be sooner than later.”
Treinen wants to build arm strength before throwing off mound
Treinen wants to check off a few boxes before throwing off a mound, including building back strength in his right shoulder. “You’ve got to show arm strength, you’ve got to get rid of most of the discomfort,” Treinen said of what he’s looking to accomplish.
“Like right now, it’s building strength and planning through some of the healing process. Your tissues have to start to strengthen, or I guess stretch and lengthen and gain some integrity through full range of motion.
“That’s really just where I’m at right now. It’s just trying to get myself back into throwing shape.”
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