The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation that was depleted by injuries at the beginning of the season is finally starting to get healthy, with Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda and Walker Buehler all back on the active roster.
The only starter that is still out with an injury is Hyun-Jin Ryu, who suffered a groin strain in April and has been sidelined since. The original timetable called for him to be out at least through the All-Star break, which is now just around the corner.
Ryu coming back that quickly may be unrealistic now, but it appears he is making strides in his rehab.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ryu recently threw his first bullpen session, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
Hyun-Jin Ryu (groin) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session. He’s expected to throw another bullpen in three to five days, Roberts said, “hopefully just continue to ramp up the intensity and the volume.”
Losing Ryu was early on in the season was tough as he was off to a strong showing. In his first six starts, Ryu was 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA, 3.13 FIP and 0.86 WHIP while striking out 36 and walking 10 in 29.2 innings.
Considering Ryu has been forced to miss so much time due to injury in recent years, him getting hurt during the best stretch of his Major League career was certainly a tough break.
The Dodgers currently have six healthy starters, so it will be interesting to see what they do with Ryu once he is able to return. He has not been able to pitch out of the bullpen in the past as his injury history requires him extra time to warm up.
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