While things were relatively quiet in Arizona for a few days, the Dodgers had three noteworthy injury-related updates today.
The Dodgers have had terrible injury luck for the last couple years, and while they have much more depth coming into 2016, that depth is being tested early on. It started with the news that Hyun-jin Ryu would probably not be ready to go until May. Then, Brett Anderson underwent a back procedure and will miss 3-5 months.
Alex Wood figured to be a lock for the rotation, but was scratched from his Spring Training start today with “elbow tightness”. Elbow tightness is usually a precursor to Tommy John surgery, which would have been the second for Wood, but it appears he dodged a bullet with his arm. He was scratched as a precaution, and this is generally a good sign.
Friedman is saying that Wood would have gone today if it were the regular season, but they have the time to be careful on it.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) March 13, 2016
No use in pushing a guy if he’s not feeling 100 percent in March. Would much rather Wood skip a start in Spring Training than in a regular season game.
Things were calm for a bit, until it was announced that Corey Seager would not play in either of the split-squad games today. He was removed from yesterday’s game as a precaution with a bum knee, and underwent an MRI. While everyone was fearing the worst, his MRI came back relatively clean.
Andrew Friedman: "All looks good" re Seager, 1-2 weeks out with sprained knee
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) March 13, 2016
Knee injuries can be so devastating, so 1-2 weeks should be considered a win. I would be thrilled with this diagnosis if I wasn’t going to be at spring training for the next week, so it’s selfishly terrible news. As long as he’s good to go when the calendar turns and the Dodgers open the season in San Diego, everything is fine.
Seager is probably the last player the Dodgers could afford to lose, as they don’t really have a backup shortstop. Enrique Hernandez would probably be the likely candidate unless Charlie Culberson continues to dominate Spring Training. Much like with Wood, it’s better to lose a player in a few exhibition games than to lose them in the regular season.
Next: Yimi Garcia Season Preview
The final piece of injury news involves Alex Guerrero, who hasn’t played since March 4th with a bum knee. Guerrero was set to return in one of the split-squad games tonight, but was scratched from the lineup. He was set to DH in the original lineup, but Shawn Zarraga will take his place.