On the same day the Los Angeles Dodgers faced their all-too-familiar trouble against left-handed pitching, another recurring theme from 2016 reared its head. Rich Hill was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a blister on the middle finger of his left hand.
It’s the same issue that caused Hill to miss five weeks, which delayed his Dodgers debut, last season. However, Hill nor the Dodgers believe his latest bout with the blister is anywhere near as serious.
He noticed the heat and irritated skin in the fourth inning of his first regular-season start. Hill completed a fifth and final inning of work, throwing a total of 75 pitches.
Although the 37-year-old doesn’t consider the matter serious, Hill plans to adjust his throwing routine, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“I feel like I’m able to manage it a little smarter; cutting down throws before games and between starts absolutely will help the process,” he said. “I like to throw a lot, but it could be detrimental in the end, so I have to put something of a leash on. In the beginning stages of something last year, not realizing where it would end up, if I had known, I would have taken more time last year.”
Hill’s DL stint is retroactive to Thursday, April 6. That makes him eligible to return Sunday, April 16, which is when Hill would have made his third start of the season, assuming he remained healthy.
It’s nonetheless conceivable he’ll just miss a scheduled start Monday against the Chicago Cubs, and indeed take the ball on Easter Sunday. Hill offered to pitch out of the bullpen while the blister healed, but the organization didn’t deem that a sound approach.
The veteran left-hander was not bothered by the nagging issue during Spring Training, and believes it’s something he’ll overcome. Hill re-signed with the Dodgers during the winter on a three-year, $48 million contract.
