In part due to injuries and an aggressive use of the 10-day disabled list, the Los Angeles Dodgers have successfully juggled their abundance of starting pitchers. But they’re now in the stretch of arguably facing their biggest hurdle yet.
Brandon McCarthy was activated to start the series opener Monday night against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Rich Hill is in line to come off the DL and start Tuesday. Brett Eibner was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room for McCarthy; a corresponding move is needed to reinstate Hill.
The Dodgers currently have Kenta Maeda on the 10-day DL, though left hamstring tightness is only expected to have him miss one start.
“You look at the roster, and you have seven guys who are legitimate Major League starters,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said.
“Do we expect them to all be healthy at one time? No. But if they are, these are tough conversations. There’s got to be some unselfishness. We’re not going to a six-man rotation.”
One plausible option, placing Hyun-Jin Ryu on the disabled list for a second time this season, was essentially ruled out. Roberts said the southpaw is aligned to start Thursday. Ryu struggled last week in his first start since returning from what the team officially called a left hip contusion.
Further complicating matters for the Dodgers is the emergence of Alex Wood. Behind Clayton Kershaw, he’s far and away been the team’s next-best starter. Wood’s opportunity was only created because of Hill’s recurring blister trouble.
Roberts recently said Wood will remain in the rotation even when Hill and McCarthy and return. The 26-year-old was named National League Player of the Week on Monday.
“There’s only so many starting positions,” Roberts said. “I’ve said it, I’ve joked about it, it’s a high-class problem.”
