Editorials

Dodgers News: McCarthy’s Replacement Will First Come From Within



The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the offseason in need of starting pitching and given their deep pockets, many expected them to pursuit any one of Jon Lester, Max Scherzer or James Shields.

However the Dodgers went in a different direction, signing Brett Anderson and Brandon McCarthy to fill out the rotation and a slew of other pitchers over a period of time to add depth throughout the organization. On Monday the Dodgers learned McCarthy, their four-year, $48 million investment, will miss the remainder of the season with a torn UCL in his right elbow.

At time he addressed members of the media, McCarthy said he hadn’t yet decided on Tommy John surgery, but allowed that likely would be the course of action. McCarthy was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 26 and the Dodgers recalled Adam Liberatore from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Losing McCarthy further strains a starting rotation that is still without Hyun-Jin Ryu, who continues to make progress in his recovery, but when he’ll return is still unknown. Based on comments from Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, the club isn’t jumping to replace McCarthy externally.

“Historically, April and May trades are pretty uncommon,” Friedman said. “For the most part, we’re going to look inside. We’ve got a number of really interesting candidates. Obviously [Mike] Bolsinger came up and pitched really well. Scott Baker pitched really well yesterday [Sunday].

“Carlos Frias, Joe Wieland and Zach Lee are all pitching really well,” Friedman continued. “We’ll take some time and focus internally right now and see what we have. Then we’ll wake up in June and have scouted other organizations throughout the next four to six weeks and figure out where to go from there.”

Frias is currently with the Dodgers on his second stint up from the Minors this season and he’s 1-0 in two relief appearances, throwing a combined 2.1 scoreless innings with one walk and two strikeouts. Frias is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA and has 15 strikeouts in three games (12.2 innings; two starts) with Oklahoma City.

Baker allowed three runs over seven innings in his Dodgers debut and said Monday he expects to make at least one more start with the club, which could come either Friday or Saturday. His comments came prior to McCarthy’s injury officially being announced.

While not named by Friedman, David Huff also figures to receive some consideration. The left-hander started the Dodgers’ Spring Training opener and got the call when the club needed to fill Ryu’s spot in the rotation.

One pitcher who won’t be joining the Dodgers? Julio Urias, who Friedman said he’s happy with the young left-hander’s progress in Double-A Tulsa.

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Brandon McCarthy Out For Season With Torn UCL

Staff Writer

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4 Comments

  1. No need to panic yet. Baker, Bolsinger and Huff all have major league experience.

    1. Michael I agree Baker, Bolsinger and Huff all pitching well in Minors and the mechanical changes in Lee’s delivery so far have helped him.He is undefeated and has around a 1.0 ERA. They would probably wait until Sept for Lee but anyone else gets injured it will be all hands on deck.

  2. Give Urias a shot! Management keeps using these guys who can’t pitch 7 innings, and then the bullpen get’s worn out. We as fans are losing out on the best years from these pitchers because they get burnt out in the minors, or they get traded and become stars at other clubs. Honeycutt is really doing something wrong if all these pitchers have frequent injuries. Best rule to coach by, if you earn your spot, you can play, regardless of time spent in the minors. Let them play! Let them play!

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