Dodgers Andre Ethier Suffers Fractured Tibia

Another Dodger suffered an injury, as a CT scan showed a fracture in Andre Ethier‘s tibia.

For years now, the Dodgers have had the issue of having too many outfielders. The issue was partially resolved when Matt Kemp was traded, but Joc Pederson came up and basically took his spot. Injuries have usually kept the Dodgers from having to make any real decisions in their outfield, and today another one popped up.

Ethier fouled a ball off his leg Friday in the Dodgers’ spring training game at Salt River Fields in Arizona. He finished the at bat and drew a walk, but was pinch ran for. He left the field on a cart and was on crutches, but initial X-Rays didn’t show a fracture. After a few days of pain, Ethier had a follow up CT scan, which showed the fracture of the right tibia.

I’ve long wanted Ethier traded, but this stings. He’s coming off a revival last year and is a perfect platoon player in left. He was swinging the bat so well in the spring and the Dodgers were even experimenting with him in the leadoff role. Ethier’s speed is not great, but he gets on base against righties and works the count pretty well. He was the Dodgers’ most consistent outfielder last season and was the surest thing entering this season, as we don’t know if Joc Pederson is going to bounce back from his abysmal second half or if Yasiel Puig will stay healthy and be the force he was in 2014.

Ethier’s injury could open the door for Carl Crawford to start, which would give the Dodgers some speed in their lineup. Despite what many believe, Crawford is still a very solid offensive player when he’s healthy, his problem is that he’s never really healthy. I would imagine Crawford gets a lot of playing time, but Scott Van Slyke, Trayce Thompson, Enrique Hernandez and maybe even a dark horse like Rico Noel can sneak into the competition.

This injury stinks and hopefully Ethier comes back strong in closer to 10 weeks, but if there’s one position the Dodgers can handle an injury at, it’s in left field. Between Crawford, Van Slyke, Thompson, Hernandez and maybe even Noel or (bold) Cody Bellinger, the Dodgers should be able to cope with losing Ethier for the first couple months of the season.

Next: Remember that Dodgers pitching depth?

In other bad news, Andrew Friedman told reporters that Mike Bolsinger would not be ready for opening day. The Dodgers tried to give us all heart attacks by scratching Puig from today’s lineup right after the Ethier announcement happened, but according to True Blue LA, that was just for rest and not injury-related.

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