Dodgers Team News

Dodgers Injury Roundup: Kershaw’s Recovery, Ethier’s Return, and More!

As fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers know, for the past few seasons the injury bug has been more akin to that of a plague for the team. This season, unfortunately, has been no different. The Dodgers have been nowhere near a full compliment of players since the earliest days of Spring Training. While this is nothing new for big league clubs, the Dodgers seem to have had it especially hard.

With expected contributors such as Andre Ethier, Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy, and Hyun-Jin Ryu all spending most or all of the season injured, its really put the Dodgers roster depth to the test. Thankfully though, some of the reinforcements have been trickling back into the fold. McCarthy debuted to great success last week and Ryu is scheduled to make his first start of the season on Thursday against the San Diego Padres.



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However, things are not all good injury-wise in Dodgerland, as recently, rotation ace and superstar Clayton Kershaw went down with a back injury that landed him on the 15-day DL. But, to the surprise of exactly no one, it would appear that the injury couldn’t keep Kersh down for long as it was reported on Wednesday that the southpaw is slightly ahead of schedule.

This is amazing news for Dodgers fans as the sooner the team can get a healthy Kershaw back, a solid start from Bud Norris aside, the better. If the team can get him fully healthy, or close to it, before the All-Star break, that extra few days off due to the festivities down in San Diego will hopefully ensure he’ll be back to his dominant self soon.

Young slugger Joc Pederson was also placed on the DL last week after picking a fight with the center field wall in Milwaukee.

He may have made the catch, but he lost the battle as shortly thereafter, he made his way to the 15-day DL along with Kershaw. While having enough outfielders has never been an issue for the Dodgers, with Joc going down, and veteran Andre Ethier already on the DL, things were getting a little for the team in that department. However, there was some good news for the team regarding Ethier, who has been on the DL since Spring Training after fouling a ball off his leg and fracturing it as a result.

However, slotting Ethier right back into the lineup wont be easy with the emergence of Trayce Thompson, as well as Howie Kendrick taking kindly to his adopted home in left field. Factor in Yasiel Puig and the fact that Pederson is only on the 15-day DL, not to mention Scott Van Slyke, and it would appear the Dodgers will soon again have a glut of outfielders and not enough room for all of them. But these are the types of problems that aren’t really problems, as having too many capable players is a nice issue to have.

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The same can’t quite be said about the Dodgers rotation, as up to very recently, outside of Kershaw, its largely been a crapshoot. Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir haven’t been able to decide if they want to be good or not, 19-year-old Julio Urias got an extended run (which despite his skill and potential says a lot), and the fifth starter all season has been a mystery. Luckily, with McCarthy and Ryu coming back, as well as the signing of Bud Norris, things may been looking up and some stability may soon be obtainable.

In addition to this, Brett Anderson, who was very solid for the Dodgers last season appears to be coming back in the near-ish future as well.

The roster all season has been depleted with injuries, and while it is looking marginally better, some key players still remain out, I’m looking at you Alex Wood and Frankie Montas. Getting McCarthy and Ryu back is a very solid start, and if Kershaw can soon follow suit, the worst very well may be over for the boys in blue. Everyones fingers will be crossed that in the 2nd half of the season, the team will return to full health and have all hands on deck for a playoff push.

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Trip Westmoreland

20 year old with an almost unhealthy obsession with all things pertaining to LA Sports (Except the Clippers). Hip-hop head and gamer in my spare time. You can follow me on Twitter @Twest208

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