Two more accolades were added to members of the Dodgers organization today. Announced earlier on MLB Network, starter Alex Wood was named NL Pitcher of the Month, and Cody Bellinger was named NL Rookie of the Month.
Another day, another injury to a player on the Dodgers. Or at least it seems that way, especially to the pitching staff. The latest to incur an injury is starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy. He left Thursday’s game after four innings with a blister on his right index finger.
The Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday recalled left-handed pitcher Grant Dayton from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placed lefty reliever Adam Liberatore on the 10-day disabled list with left forearm tightness. Liberatore’s stay on the DL may be retroactive to May 31, if needed.
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There’s very little doubt that the Dodgers have among the deepest pools of pitchers to choose from when building their everyday starting rotation, if there is such a thing these days. Yet, with all the depth at almost every single level of the organization, many who follow the team closely wonder if the quality of starting pitching is good enough to perform successfully through the entire regular season and into the playoffs.
Up until recently, many media outlets have been emphasizing how the starting rotation and the relief corps of the Dodgers have been the backbone of the club over the course of the season’s first quarter. While this is certainly true, it can also be said that the team’s offense is quickly building momentum, and if the lumber can maintain any kind of steady reliability, the Dodgers may be controlling the National League West in the blink of an eye.
The Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday selected the contract of right-hander Brandon Morrow and placed left-handed pitcher Alex Wood on the 10-day disabled list with left SC joint inflammation in his neck/upper-back area. Wood’s stay on the disabled list can be retroactive to May 27, if needed.
In last Friday’s column, I talked about the unpredictability of baseball. This series with the Chicago Cubs was no different. It made me think of the intro to ESPN’s 30 for 30: “What if I told you the Dodgers would host the Cubs for three games, and the only pitcher Chicago would score runs off of would be Clayton Kershaw?”
(Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson/USA TODAY Sports)
All season long, it seems as if many folks, including ourselves, were seemingly trying to stir a bit a controversy each time the management crew of the Dodgers was faced with making a difficult decision regarding the club’s 25-man roster. Yet, in reality, despite all the frequent entries on the disabled list so far, the subsequent roster moves have paid huge dividends. What’s more, if only because of the increasing sample sizes of production, many of the impending personnel decisions may even start to become easier as the season progresses.
There’s plenty of good news heading into this weekend’s injury report, with the possible return of third baseman Justin Turner sometime next week capturing the headlines of many Dodgers outlets across the baseball blogosphere. What’s more, the current injury count on the disabled list has finally dwindled down to the single digits, a trend that many hope continues into the summer months.