Key Dodgers reliever showing up in Seoul hints he’s recovered from scary injury

During the Dodgers game against the Rangers on Saturady, Blake Treinen took a brutal line drive to the ribs and collapsed on the mound. Thankfully, he was able to walk off the field under his own power, and scans revealed a "lung contusion" but nothing broken. Still, it was a scary moment, especially for a pitcher who missed the entirety of last season and is supposed to be ramping up toward a comeback.

In a series of unfortunate events that same weekend, the team announced that Brusdar Graterol would not be ready for the Seoul Series and might not even be ready for Opening Day at Dodger Stadium, and that Emmet Sheehan would start the season the IL with shoulder issues.

Treinen's prognosis didn't look quite as bleak, and the team announced on Wednesday that he would be flying to Seoul with the team and could be available to pitch out of the bullpen. The Dodgers touched down in Seoul Friday morning and are slated to play the first of two exhibition games against the KBO's Kiwoom Heroes on March 16 at 8:00 PM PST.

After scary injury, Blake Treinen could be available out of the bullpen for Dodgers during Seoul Series

Treinen was an absolutely essential piece of the Dodgers' bullpen in 2021, when he pitched 72 innings for a 1.99 ERA, recalling the All-Star year he had with the Athletics in 2018, when he pitched 80 innings for an almost impossible 0.78 ERA. He only managed to pitch five innings in 2022 before a sore shoulder took him out for the majority of the season and he underwent rotator cuff surgery at the end of the year.

In his first spring training back with the Dodgers, he's looked similarly dominant over 3 2/3 innings; he's only given up two hits, no walks, and has struck out two. Last weekend's injury looked nasty, but we're lucky that Treinen has seemed to bounce back from it quickly, especially with the loss of Graterol for a while.