The Los Angeles Dodgers originally acquired Danny Duffy at the trade deadline last year while he was on the 10-day injured list, with the hope a full recovery would come in time to pitch again during the 2021 season.
Although that never came to be, L.A. re-signed Duffy during the offseason despite knowing he would be out the first part of the season after undergoing surgery to repair his left flexor tendon.
One day after re-signing the veteran pitcher, the Dodgers transferred Duffy to the 60-day injured list, which was mostly a paper move to create space on the 40-man roster to sign Freddie Freeman.
Duffy remains hopeful that he will be able to return in June and has been throwing without any pain, per Rownan Kavnar of Dodger Insider:
“This is the first time in a long time that I haven’t really felt pain,” Duffy said. “My mobility is back all the way, and I’m getting into strengthening it, and I think we’re just taking it day by day. Last year I was kind of in a mode where I emptied the tank no matter what and that one day I was playing catch, I just felt it go and that was a tough day.
Duffy is expected to pitch out of the bullpen when he returns, but the veteran has spent most of his career as a quality starting pitcher.
Last season, the 33-year-old was limited to just 61 innings but still managed to post a 2.51 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 25.8% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 1.6 WAR.
In his career, Duffy has made 204 starts in 234 games while throwing 1,172.1 innings with a career 3.95 ERA, 4.17 FIP and 16.3 WAR.
Danny Duffy contract details
While Duffy may not be healthy until the second half of the season, he could remain with the Dodgers into 2023 as his contract includes a $7 million team option and incentives.
The left-hander recently reunited with the Dodgers during their visit to Chase Field.
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