After essentially losing two full seasons to injury, Hyun-Jin Ryu reported to Spring Training this year confident he’d be able to claim one of the two available spots in the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation.
Ryu returned from labrum surgery last July, but only managed to make one start. Elbow tendinitis forced him to the disabled list, and though Ryu was hopeful to make a late-season return, he was done for the year after undergoing a left elbow debridement in September.
He arrived at Camelback Ranch this year with a successful offseason and rehab under his belt. Ryu faced live hitters and was under consideration to start Wednesday night against the San Francisco Giants.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave the nod to Scott Kazmir, and Ryu instead was slated to throw a bullpen session. Ryu will carry forward with that despite battling some discomfort in his left adductor muscle, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Ryu had left side adductor discomfort, but throws bullpen today and to hitters Saturday.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 1, 2017
Assuming Ryu is able to complete his bullpen session and throw another round of live BP, he presumably would then advance to making a start in Cactus League. Following Kazmir, the Dodgers have a rotation of Clayton Kershaw (Thursday), Rich Hill and Brandon McCarthy (Friday’s split-squad games), Kenta Maeda (Saturday) and Julio Urias (Sunday).
Ryu recently cited his improved health and confidence when compared to Spring Training in 2016. Ryu was a combined 28-15 with a 3.17 ERA, 2.97 FIP and 1.19 WHIP in 56 starts from 2013-14.
