Much has been made of injuries continually plaguing the Los Angeles Dodgers from Spring Training through three months into the regular season. The pitching staff in particular has been hit the hardest by the injury bug, and has forced Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to shuffle his rotation.
Adding insult to injury has been the delayed recovery of Hyun-Jin Ryu, who initially was expected to return by Opening Day, then within the first month of the season. Brandon McCarthy also suffered a small setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Further straining the Dodgers’ pitching depth was Alex Wood suffering from left triceps soreness that first forced him to push a scheduled start back, then landed the southpaw on the 15-day disabled list on May 31.
Wood was soon after diagnosed with a posterior impingement in his left elbow that required four weeks of rest. While it was recently reported he was recovering slightly ahead of schedule, the Dodgers transferred Wood to the 60-day DL when Brock Stewart was called up.
Along with news of Julio Urias’ remaining in the Dodgers’ rotation through the All-Star break, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com notes that Wood may return in early August:
Urias will stay in rotation for now. Wood might return in early August.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) June 29, 2016
Wood is eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day DL on July 30. In 10 starts this season, he was 1-4 with a 3.99 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. Wood was particularly effective at home, sporting a 1.37 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in four starts.
He reported to Spring Training widely viewed as the sixth starter and bound for the bullpen. Ryu’s trouble in returning opened the door for Wood, and Anderson’s back surgery cemented his spot in the rotation.
Since joining the Dodgers last season, Wood has gone 6-10 with a 4.19 ERA, 3.74 FIP and 1.29 WHIP in 22 starts.
