The 2018 season was a difficult one for Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani as he was limited to just 30 appearances due to a shoulder injury. Only two of those appearances came after June 6.
Cingrani was believed to be coming into Spring Training this year with the shoulder issues in the rearview mirror, and in four Cactus League innings so far this spring, he hasn’t allowed a run while striking out three, walking two and giving up three hits.
His velocity has been noticeably down from the 94-96 mph that it was when he was last healthy in 2018 though, and it appears there is a reason for that.
According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the shoulder soreness has returned for Cingrani and he is going to be shut down for a couple of weeks and begin the season on the injured list:
Dodgers reliever Tony Cingrani has been shut down with a recurrence of last year’s left shoulder soreness and won’t be ready by Opening Day. Cingrani received medication and will not throw for two weeks while undergoing treatment.
Without Cingrani, that will open up a spot on the Opening Day roster for a left-handed reliever, with Caleb Ferguson and Julio Urias being the obvious choices if they were not already included as locks to make the 25-man roster.
Considering shoulder troubles affected Cingrani for almost the entire 2018 season, this is obviously concerning that he is being shut down for the same reason now. Luckily, the Dodgers have a ton of bullpen depth to allow him plenty of time off to ensure that he can get healthy and contribute at some point during the 2019 season.
