The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Adam Liberatore will undergo arthroscopic left elbow debridement on Tuesday. The procedure will be done by Dr. ElAttrache, and Liberatore is expected to be ready for the 2017 season.
Liberatore joins Hyun-Jin Ryu and Alex Wood as pitchers on the Dodgers roster who underwent the debridement in their throwing elbow. Wood had the operation in July, and returned two months later.
Like Liberatore, Ryu is projected to recover in time for next season. Liberatore was put on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 3 (retroactive to July 30) with left elbow inflammation. It was revealed soon after that he pitched with left elbow trouble since June.
Despite the ailment, Liberatore set a Dodgers franchise record with 28 consecutive scoreless appearances all the more impressive. However, upon returning from the DL on Aug. 19, the 29-year-old failed to replicate his first-half success.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in the middle of September he intended to lean on Liberatore after strategically providing him with time off to continue recovering from elbow and knee injuries. Appearing in a career-high 58 games, Liberatore owned a 3.38 ERA, 2.89 FIP and 1.19 WHIP.
While the surgery removes him from postseason consideration, it was plausible the Dodgers were going to go in a different route for the National League Division Series. Grant Dayton presumably becomes a lock for the postseason roster, and Luis Avilan’s odds also figure to have increased.
