The Los Angeles Dodgers have dealt with the injury bug within their pitching staff early in the season, but they have been able to manage well and things are trending up.
Blake Treinen recently returned to the bullpen, and he has looked fully back to form as an elite, high-leverage reliever. Walker Buehler has also made three starts since returning from a second Tommy John surgery with mixed results, but his latest outing was highly impressive with six shutout innings.
As for some of the players still on the injured list, a few of those pitchers have been making notable progress.
Bobby Miller landed on the 15-day IL on April 13 due to right shoulder inflammation. His stint was backdated to April 10, and both Miller and the Dodgers anticipated his absence being on the short end due to an MRI of the troublesome shoulder not revealing any structural damage.
Miller is now set to throw a simulated game, and after that, should begin a rehab assignment, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times:
Bobby Miller, sidelined since April 14 because of shoulder inflammation, threw off the Dodger Stadium mound on Saturday. Roberts said the right-hander will throw a three-inning simulated game this week and, barring a setback, begin a minor league rehabilitation stint next week.
In addition to Miller throwing off the mound at Dodger Stadium, so too did Clayton Kershaw, who also mixed in breaking balls for the first time:
Clayton Kershaw, who hopes to return from shoulder surgery by late-July or early August, also threw off the stadium mound before Saturday night’s, spinning curveballs off a mound for the first time in his rehabilitation.
The southpaw previously advanced to throwing bullpen sessions, but was limited to fastballs.
Kershaw underwent surgery to repair the glenohumeral ligaments and capsule in his left shoulder during the offseason. The expectation is he will return sometime by August, but shoulders can be tricky.
Among their injured relievers, Evan Phillips seems to be the closest to returning, and threw a bullpen with positive results, but he is still roughly a week away from returning:
Closer Evan Phillips, who was placed on the 15-day injured list because of a right-hamstring strain on May 5, threw a full-effort 20-pitch bullpen workout on Saturday, and though the right-hander said he is “pain-free” and feeling “great,” Roberts said he is at least a week away from a return.
Phillips was previously placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain, retroactive to May 4. He sustained the injury during pregame warmups when one of the spikes on his cleat got stuck in the grass while playing catch.
The Dodgers hoped his IL stint would be a short one, but he was still dealing with fatigue in his leg as of a few days ago, so the latest update is definitely a positive.
As for Ryan Brasier, the Dodgers were less optimistic about him after he was plaed on the IL at the end of April with a right calf strain. The expectation was he could miss at least two months, if not longer.
But so far, things seems to be going well, and he could be an option sooner than anticipated, according to Doug Padilla of the Southern California News Group:
Brasier could be operating out of the bullpen again in as early as a week as he nears the end of his recovery from a right calf strain.
Brasier has been expected to throw off the mound soon. Even though he was on the IL, Brasier was still able to keep his arm active, which should allow for a quicker return.
Dodgers lose Emmet Sheehan for season
The Dodgers announced Emmet Sheehan underwent season-ending right elbow UCL surgery performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in L.A. It was later reported that he underwent a fully Tommy John surgery.
“Obviously, he’ll be down for this year, and we’ll know more as it progresses,” Roberts said. “But it’s something that is unfortunate to end this season, but expect a full recovery.”
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