Preliminary Fallout from the Hyun-Jin Ryu Injury

Published on by Dennis Schlossman

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When fans of the Dodgers learned that Hyun-Jin Ryu‘s early exit from Monday’s opener against the Cardinals was due to a groin injury, many of them flashed back to last spring when the lefty missed more than three months of the season.

Obviously, it’s still unknown the severity of the injury. Ryu himself said after the game that it’s nowhere near as bad as last season, but until test results come in, there’s still plenty of concern.

“It was different from the pain I felt last year,” Ryu told Bill Plunkett of the OC Register. “It was more of a precautionary measure to come out of the game. Compared to the groin injury I had last year, I feel much better.”

Some fans hypothesized that the team would conceivably forego Clayton Kershaw‘s second rehab start on Tuesday at Tulsa, instead jettisoning the ace to St. Louis where he could fill the rotation gap. However, manager Dave Roberts quickly put those notions to rest.

Nevertheless, Roberts said that Ryu will indeed be placed on the injured list. The skipper added that it will likely be a reliever who takes Ryu’s spot on the 25-man roster.

In theory, it could be Brock Stewart, who under normal circumstances couldn’t rejoin the team until the mandatory 10 days passes, but because of Ryu’s injury, that window is void. Still, with righty Dennis Santana entrenched as the club’s long man, the club could opt to add a more dependable arm like JT Chargois, Jaime Schultz or Adam McCreery.

The corresponding roster move will likely occur in the hours before the second game of the St. Louis series on Tuesday.

Perhaps more importantly, Ryu’s injury basically assures that Julio Urias will remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Initially, it was believed that Urias would be the odd man out once Kershaw returned, but Urias will stay cemented in the starting five, at least until veteran southpaw Rich Hill is ready to return to the big league squad.

Ryu’s next turn in the rotation would have been Saturday in Milwaukee, but it’s unclear how the team will approach that particular game from a starting pitching perspective. Over the years, the management team of the Dodgers has shown they’re not afraid to employ a bullpen game in such circumstances.

More information regarding all the injury fallout will certainly follow on Tuesday afternoon.

In the meantime, if the Dodgers decide to set up a series of relievers for Saturday’s game against the Brewers, their offense might be able to keep them in the game, so long as Roberts doesn’t call on righty Joe Kelly to throw multiple innings.

 

16 thoughts on “Preliminary Fallout from the Hyun-Jin Ryu Injury”

  1. We are paying Kelly about 500 thou per blown lead! Can’t see how we would throw a bullpen game when our bullpen has been has been so overused already. If our bats cool off this could be an ugly series with Cards!

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    1. It’s not if the bats cool off, it’s when. I figured after opening at home against two of the weaker West teams the real test would come on the road. We pounded Colorado pitching but didn’t face their ace. St Louis has better pitching, and today we face Wainwright. The difference yesterday in a tight game was Machine Done No Spin Kelly. He got the BS AND the L and in the process lowered his ERA. That’s Epic Stink. (new stat, ES) Maybe he’s close, but there’s a reason Boston let him walk and we’re seeing it.

      Maybe Ryu’s injury is not as bad as last year’s, but the fact it’s the same muscle there is an obvious uh-oh there. Personally I think maybe losing a few of his 260 pounds might help. Whatever, he may only be out a few weeks but the risk of re-injury is high. The same is true with all our other starters. None of them are 30 start 200 innings guys. What am I saying, none of them are 180 innings guys. Friedman knows this. He’s got Plan B ready to go. It’s early April. Plans C & D are being drawn up as we type. If it’s Stripling and Stewart the pen and the bats better get ready.

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    2. If I were being paid 500 thou every time a blew a save, I’d try to blow as many saves as possible. How much are we paying him when he actually gets a save, a lot less? 🙂
      Have faith guys, Kelly will get straightened out at some point. I think he’s just trying too hard because of the size of his contract and being home in L.A. And he’s not the only reliever not performing the way he should. Andrew Miller has been just as bad but he got 25 mil for 2 years instead of 3.

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  2. Eating crow a little since Maximus Muncius has heated up some. BP is the big ??? right now. Corey has shown some good signs. But he is not Corey Seager quite yet. Sitting all those games really screwed up Pederson. The way Verdugo is playing he may lose some playing time. Turner has reversed his early struggles, but still has yet to homer leaving him and Freese as the only position players without a dinger. Bellinger is playing like an MVP. Kike has made 2 real boners the last two games. Very un Kike like. Pollock so far has been very good out in CF and contributing with the stick also. All in all not a bad 1st 11 games. Let’s just hope they get some length out of ol Chicken Strip tonight and give the BP a blow. Baez looks a lot better….Most likely a reliever will get the call up today with Ryu headed to the IL.

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  4. Roberts says they’ll need a starter for Saturday. Don’t want to make it a bullpen game since the pen has been overused already. I think May is due to start tomorrow. If he does, we can eliminate him. If not, he might be the one. Gonsolin would also be a possibility. Other than that, they could also go with Santana but he really hasn’t been stretched out, which would just lead to a bullpen game. Or they could tab somebody we haven’t even thought of.

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  5. That loud thud we just heard is the Dodger offense crashing back to Earth. If Buehler doesn’t throw a gem on Thursday, we’re getting swept! Crash, bam, boom!

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  6. This is the Dodgers we know and love. More strikeouts than hits, 2 for 11 WRISP. You knew it was coming again.

    This is why we won’t win 110 games.

    Stripling gets the loss, and he deserves it. But this was a team L. It happens.

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      1. That won’t do anything. The hitting coach is Van Scoyoc

        I kid Dennis. We just need to make contact with the better pitching in the league. Not every team plays in the West. We have to beat St Louis, Milwaukee, Washington, Atlanta, the Cubs. I think we will. Eventually.

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      2. What about the Phillies Scoop? Don’t we have to be the Phillies? I think we have to beat the Phillies also. And it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to beat the Pirates and the Reds and ………………………. oh never mind. For the next two days they should just concentrate on beating the Cards.

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  7. Anyone have any word on Kersh’s performance last night in Tulsa. I know he threw 6 innings and gave up 2 solo hr’s but what was his fastball sitting at?

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    1. I read the box score Rich. Looks like his fastball was sitting over the middle of the plate in the 6th. 2 home runs were in that inning. Apparently he ran out of gas then. 81 pitches total. He’s not quite ready but he might be ok to get 5 against the Reds.

      Yeah Jefe. We will have to beat the Phillies too.

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