The Los Angeles Dodgers have absorbed several injuries to their pitching staff this season, including losing Corey Knebel for multiple months and Dustin May being out of the remainder of the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Elsewhere in the bullpen, the Dodgers are currently without Scott Alexander, Garrett Cleavinger and Brusdar Graterol. David Price recently missed multiple weeks as well but returned this past Monday from a Grade 2 right hamstring strain.
Alexander’s recovery from left shoulder inflammation has taken longer than anticipated, and the hope is Cleavinger and Graterol won’t be sidelined much longer. Graterol has been on the 10-day injured list since April 29 due to right forearm stiffness.
He was temporarily shut down and received treatment but recently began playing catch and on Friday threw a 30-pitch bullpen session before the Dodgers faced the San Francisco Giants. “He came out of it really well and he’ll throw another one on Tuesday in Houston,” manager Dave Roberts said.
After ramping up behind other pitchers during Spring Training and beginning the regular season on the IL, Graterol only managed to appear in three games before the forearm trouble. He allowed at least one run in two of those appearances.
Although the Dodgers have been without Graterol for three weeks, the club considered his injury a best-case scenario when taking into account forearm trouble is often indication of an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injury.
“There was no incident. It came up negative, which was great news. So now we’re just kind of treating it as such,” Roberts said of the MRI results.
Dodgers building up Gonsolin
At one point boasting a surplus of starting pitchers, the Dodgers now anxiously await the return of Tony Gonsolin so he can fill the void left by May undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Gonsolin has yet to pitch this season as he was placed on the 10-day IL during the first week because of right shoulder inflammation. After spending several weeks at Camelback Ranch, the 27-year-old is poised to begin a rehab assignment Sunday.
“He’ll go two innings for the OKC team, and then I think the plan is to get him on a five-day regimen,” Roberts said.
Roberts previously indicated the Dodgers want Gonsolin to be stretched out to four innings and 45 pitches prior to coming off the IL. Due to being transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to sign Albert Pujols, the earliest Gonsolin can be reinstated is May 31.
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