The Los Angeles Dodgers are primed to open Spring Training with a plethora of starting pitchers, with the group including Alex Wood, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed on Saturday at the team’s FanFest event.
Wood was squeezed out of the rotation last May when he was scratched from a scheduled start due to left triceps soreness. He made the start on eight days’ rest but was placed on the 15-day disabled list with left posterior elbow soreness the following afternoon.
An MRI revealed a posterior impingement in Wood’s left elbow that required approximately four weeks of rest. He was said to be recovering ahead of schedule by the middle of June and projected to return in August.
However, that was ruled out when the Dodgers announced on July 20 that Wood was set to undergo an arthroscopic debridement of his left elbow, sidelining him for eight weeks.
Wood was reinstated from the 60-day DL on Sept. 20 but was limited to a relief role. “As soon as I started to turn that corner and feeling good in the offseason, I was starting to get that itch to go,” Wood said, adding there aren’t any concerns in relation to his elbow over stretching back out to a starter’s workload.
“It was one of those things where I didn’t have enough time to build back up last year at the end. I was ecstatic that I was able to make it back and be part of our run, and now I’m excited to go to Spring Training and build back up.”
Assuming full health, the Dodgers’ rotation, in theory, could feature any combination of Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda, Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Ross Stripling, Brock Stewart or Wood.
The club was in a similar position last spring, though it quickly became evident McCarthy and Ryu were not going to be available come Opening Day of the 2016 season. “We have a great team with a lot of great players. Obviously, last year was a very telling year,” Wood said.
“You don’t really know how anything is ever going to turn out with injuries. A lot of things can happen. I’m going in as a starter, and that’s where I plan to stay. It’ll be fun. I think that’s where I belong.”
Prior to suffering his injury, Wood pitched to a 25.6 percent strikeout rate, which would have been a career-best mark.
The 26-year-old only recently began throwing off a mound, having done so twice to this point. He estimated that would grow to seven or eight times prior to reporting to camp.
