Friday, April 24, 2009

Injury updates on 3 pitchers

Here's the latest word on Cory Wade, Hiroki Kuroda, and Jason Schmidt.

Wade threw 20 pitches in an extended Spring Training game
in Arizona today and reported no problems at all. He's scheduled to throw again on Saturday. If all goes well, and so far that looks to be the case, then he will most likely skip a Minor League rehab assignment and get back to the big club.

That would be a huge lift for the Dodgers, who've had a difficult time in the bullpen getting the lead to Jonathan Broxton. A healthy Wade will help that all out.

Kuroda threw a bullpen session on Thursday and was described as "a little sore" afterwards. I've heard everything from end of the month to mid-May for his return, so take all reports with a grain of salt. I would think he'd need a couple rehab starts before starting in LA again, however.

Schmidt, the forgotten man in all of this, will try to get his first rehab start with Single-A Inland Empire (I have no idea where that even is) on Tuesday. We've all seen this before, so I'll believe it when I see it.

On a side note, Jeff Weaver's name has been tossed around as someone that can fill some innings in the bullpen or make a spot start. He's currently in Triple-A Albuquerque (I do know where that is... I think) getting his innings in. I think it's realistic to see him back in LA at some point.

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