The injury bug has certainly nailed the Dodgers lately, so here's an update on what's going on.
Chad Billingsley - From unbeatable to possibly lost for the season, it's been a big turn for Bills in the second half. Stan Kasten has stated that he fears Bills will be gone for the season. An MRI confirmed more elbow inflammation. Right now they are waiting for the inflammation to subside before doing another MRI later this week.
Obviously the acquisition of Josh Beckett takes on even more added significance, as reading between the lines, the Dodgers don't look like they are planning on Bills making another start this season. Nothing is official yet, so we will all wait and see.
Matt Kemp - After running face first into the center field wall on Tuesday, Kemp is lucky that he didn't break any bones. Rather, CT scans and MRIs show only a bone bruise in his left knee and no fractures to his jaw. Not surprisingly, he's still pretty sore, but wants to get back into the lineup on Thursday. Whether or not Don Mattingly agrees with that remains to be seen, but expect him back soon. And also expect all Dodger fans to exhale a huge sigh of relief.
Kenley Jansen - The news isn't so good for the Dodgers' closer, as Jansen is out indefinitely with an irregular heartbeat. This is same problem he faced last season that forced him to miss four weeks. And when you're talking about missing a month or so this time of year, you're facing the real possibility of being out for the season.
The issue with Jansen coming back is related to the blood thinners he may be required to take. If he does take them, he will have to rest because of the bleeding related to playing baseball. Anytime you're dealing with heart issues, every precaution would, and should, be taken. Hopefully more news will come soon on this, as the Dodgers will have a serious hole at the end of their bullpen if he is lost for the year.
Scott Elbert - The news for Elbert isn't good either, as he's back on the 15-day DL with a sore elbow. It's bad enough that he'll probably need offseason surgery. The Dodgers only have one other lefty in the bullpen (Randy Choate), so this is obviously pretty tough to take. He had a 2.20 ERA in 43 games, so it won't be easy to replace those numbers.
No comments:
Post a Comment