Dodgers’ Biggest Achilles Heel Is Unfixable

It’s hard to find any cracks on the 2017 Dodgers, but their biggest one may be something they can’t do anything about.

With news of Alex Wood’s injury, the Dodgers’ biggest weakness has become that much brighter. There isn’t much on the field to complain about other than the need of a good lefty out of the bullpen, but even that can be fixed.

Health, though, cannot. And that should be LA’s biggest worry because it can ultimately be the downfall to a historic season. They have put 24 different players on the disabled list this season, a year after setting the record for 28 players on the shelf. Alex Wood will most likely make it 25.

Talent has never been disputed for the Dodgers, just the health of the talent. Remember, your best ability is your availability.

The starting rotation was supposed to be the backbone and biggest strength of this ballclub heading into October because they were expected to roll out a rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Yu Darvish, Alex Wood and Rich Hill.

Well, three of those guys are currently hurt, and the fourth (Hill) has an injury history as long as a Thanksgiving grocery list.

To be fair, Kershaw is expected to be back towards the end of the month, and Darvish is scheduled to make his next start this weekend. However, both are dealing with back problems, and the back is never a sure thing.

Kershaw missed ten weeks last year because of a back problem and this season, while not the same injury, has lost a month (and counting) because of it. And because of the location of the pain, you can never be too sure.

Also, since 2014, Kershaw has missed extended time every season except 2015, so you cannot guarantee the Dodger ace will be at 100% come October.

In the case of Darvish, some have speculated that the Dodgers are using the “Phantom DL,” for lack of a better term. However, it is due to back tightness, so who knows what can happen from here. Kershaw’s injury this year was initially ruled back tightness and look how that turned out. As stated before, though, Darvish is supposed to make his start this weekend.

But we should not forget that this is his first full season after missing 2015 due to Tommy John Surgery either. That is something to keep in mind.

Alex Wood is dealing with inflammation in his SC joint of his shoulder. It’s the same issue that he dealt with earlier in the season when he was placed on the 10-day disabled list. And Wood also missed most of 2016 with an elbow injury and has dealt with injuries since his college days so you can argue that he is injury-prone.

Writer Mike Petriello pointed out another scary trend about Wood this season.

Fatigue is a big reason but hopefully nothing else more severe than the shoulder inflammation. Even with his fatigue, the Dodgers decided to keep running him out, which is a little shocking because they have treated every other pitcher on the team super cautiously.

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They have given Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill and Kenta Maeda multiple DL stints with the ulterior motive of giving them extra rest. Even Kershaw has had his starts rescheduled to give him extra rest. Why they did not do this with Wood, despite significant velocity drop, is beyond me.

If Wood is going to miss an extended period, he may not be able to come back in time to build up the strength to become a starter, so the Dodgers might have to use him in middle relief. But that isn’s all too bad because he can serve as the lockdown lefty LA lacks in the pen.

And speaking of Hill, he is speculated to be the Game Four starter, but you never know with him. If you want a poster child….or man..for injury-prone, Hill is your guy. His injury history is well-documented but as of right now, is the only healthy guy from the top four, which isn’t a good thing.

There is no fix for preventing injury, especially with pitchers. Pitching is the most valuable yet volatile commodity in baseball because how important yet risky it is.

Now, this is all speculation. For all we know, the top four will be healthy come October and carry the team. But at the same time, the season can come crashing down if even one of these guys isn’t 100%.

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And this is just the pitching that we have to worry about. The Dodgers have also had their fair share of injuries with position players such as Cody Bellinger, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner and Corey Seager. It would be tough to win if LA had to play without one or two of their big bats. Health is unpredictable so all the franchise and fans can do is cross their fingers and pray because they have not control.