While plenty of attention was given to the Los Angeles Dodgers placing Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill on the 10-day injured list, and deservedly so, the team also was without Tony Cingrani when they set their 25-man Opening Day roster.
The left-handed relief pitcher appeared in just four Cactus League before he was shut down due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder resurfacing. It was an unfortunate turn of events for Cingrani, who Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believed was showing signs of being healthy.
Cingrani was not only placed on the 10-day injured list — officially with a left shoulder impingement — when the Dodgers set their Opening Day roster, but he also remained at Camelback Ranch when the club broke camp.
Despite Dodgers Injury News: Tony Cingrani Left In Arizona, Likely Facing Lengthy Recovery to recovery, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said he’s nearing the start of a throwing program, as seen on SportsNet LA
“Tony has really progressed well. We’re going to start getting him into a throwing program soon. Just by virtue of the fact that he’s a reliever, it should be a little bit quicker in terms of doing that and getting back to what he was in 2017. Obviously, we’d have a significant boon to our bullpen.”
The injury to Cingrani created an opportunity in the bullpen that seemingly went to Caleb Ferguson. Though, Ferguson also benefitted from Hill beginning the season on the 10-day IL as it required Julio Urias to be moved into the starting rotation.
Whenever Cingrani returns, it will mean Roberts has one of his more trusted relievers back in the fold. Despite shoulder trouble limiting Cingrani to just 31 games last season, he was tendered a contract and later agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration.
