Over recent weeks the Los Angeles Dodgers have dealt with what the club generally considers to be minor injuries. Corey Seager last played March 3 and has been out due to a back/oblique issue, Andre Ethier remains dogged by hip soreness/back spasms, and Pedro Baez is battling a thumb injury.
Prior to the aforementioned trio going down, Adrian Gonzalez reported to Spring Training with tendonitis in his right elbow. Gonzalez made a full recovery to join fellow Dodgers Sergio Romo and Alex Verdugo on the Team Mexico roster for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
With Mexico’s controversial elimination from pool play, the trio returned to Camelback Ranch this week. While Gonzalez is in good health and started Thursday against the Chicago Cubs, the same does not hold true for Romo.
According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the right-hander skipped workouts due to a stiff back:
Dodgers reliever Sergio Romo returned from the World Baseball Classic with a stiff back and was held out of workouts on Thursday. The Dodgers consider the issue minor, even though the season starts in 18 days.
Prior to departing for the WBC, Romo appeared in only two Cactus League games for the Dodgers. He was impressive, collecting five strikeouts over two scoreless innings. With Mexico, Romo allowed three runs in 1.1 innings across two relief appearances.
His recent workload also includes throwing 9.2 innings over nine games in the Mexican Winter League prior to signing with the Dodgers. Romo inked a one-year, $3 million contract in February. His deal includes $250,000 in performance bonuses, with $125,000 each for appearing in 50 and 60 games.
The 34-year-old appeared in at least 50 games each season six times in nine years with the San Francisco Giants. Included in that was a stretch from 2010-15 where Romo made a minimum of 64 appearances. He set a career high with 70 games pitched in 2015.
