Dodgers News: Chad Gaudin To Remain In Arizona To Rehab Nerve

The Los Angeles Dodgers front office made it a focus of the offseason to add starting and relief pitching depth. As Spring Training comes to a close and Opening Day inches closer, that depth is proving necessary as some of those pitchers will not be ready for Opening Day due to injuries suffered this spring.

One of those pitchers is right-hander Chad Gaudin, who suffered a right bicep injury of March 21st. According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, he will not return to Los Angeles on Wednesday with the rest of the team:

Chad Gaudin will remain in Arizona rehabbing nerve. Rest has been prescribed.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 31, 2015

The Dodgers signed Gaudin to a Minor-League contract at the end of February with an invitation to Spring Training. He became one of many offseason signees with an injury history that the Dodgers took a chance on. He last pitched with the San Francisco Giants in 2013, when he appeared in 30 games, starting 12 of them, yielding a 3.06 ERA in 97 innings. He missed all of 2014 with a nerve injury in his neck.

With starter Hyun-Jin Ryu likely to start the season on the disabled list, Gaudin was one of the guys battling to replace him in the starting rotation. In six innings pitched this spring (one start), he gave up three hits and two earned runs while striking out nine and walking none.

The 11-year veteran made his Major League debut in 2003 with the Tampa Bay Rays. He has a lifetime ERA of 4.44 in 344 games (87 starts). His strikeout-to-walk ratio is around 7.3.

With the injuries to Ryu, Erik Bedard, Kenley Jansen and Brandon League, Gaudin still has a good chance to see Major League action early this season either as a starter or long reliever if he can get his arm back to 100 percent.

Dodgers 2015 Spring Training – Paco Rodriguez