Dodgers Need Ryu, Greinke On Track For Opening Day
- Updated: March 12, 2015
Ryu needs to be healthy for the Dodgers this summer (Image via Twitter)
Hyun-jin Ryu, nursing a back injury all spring, has yet to throw a pitch for the Dodgers this year. He’s now healthy enough to start Thursday night, though, so his track back to the mound will begin in earnest against the Padres. But with less than four weeks until Opening Day, that doesn’t leave much wiggle room in case he has a flare-up or subsequent issue with his back or something else.
Zack Greinke, of course, received a lubricating injection in his right elbow immediately prior to Spring Training, which is customary for him. He’s on track to debut next week against the Indians and be in line for Opening Day as normal, though his timetable, as with Ryu’s, is shortened.
While neither Greinke nor Ryu’s delayed debuts should cause much concern, their (minor) injury issues speak to the fact that the Dodgers have very little margin of error in their starting rotation should a serious injury strike.
Already relying on Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson to remain healthy is a dicey gamble, and the talent level behind McCarthy and Anderson falls off precipitously. When Erik Bedard, not-even-healthy Brandon Beachy, or maybe failed-starter Juan Nicasio (who ought to be used exclusively a reliever in Los Angeles) appear to be the next few in line to start games for the Dodgers, it could go very wrong, very quickly in Chavez Ravine.
Obviously, no team could stomach the loss of a pitcher the quality of Kershaw or Greinke, and slightly less so of Ryu. If one of them were set down for the bulk of a season, that’s a huge loss for any club to absorb. But those final two spots, depending on health, could quickly turn into a black hole for the Dodgers and should have been addressed by now with better options behind McCarthy and Anderson, who are no sure things to start 30 games themselves.
Ryu’s injury is minor, Greinke’s elbow injection is a non-story, and maybe this whole rotation depth problem won’t be a problem. As I’ve written before, perhaps Ryu, Greinke, and Kershaw will start 30-35 games apiece this year for Mattingly, give the Dodgers a cushion to absorb a murky fourth and fifth rotation slot, and this will all be a moot point.
But remember, Kershaw’s injury hurt the Dodgers early last season, and Ryu’s shoulder faded by the end of the year. They started 27 and 26 games, respectively, which is the bulk of the season and more than enough considering their effectiveness. But that was a team with Dan Haren and Josh Beckett filling out the rotation, not McCarthy and Anderson.
Gambling on pitching is never, ever a sure thing and depth is critical no matter how much money you’ve got to spend. I’ve written about Bedard before (who’s pitching well this spring!), but now seeing Spring Training take shape for a few weeks and watching Ryu and Greinke get going late has to make Dodger fans hesitant about the uninspiring arms that lurk behind their best starters.
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