"Obviously, we're still concerned and cautious, and we'll err on the side of caution," - Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (MLB.com)
The Los Angeles Dodgers are closely monitoring the shoulder health of starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu. According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Ryu will be sidelined for three days due to shoulder discomfort.
After receiving a shot on Wednesday, the team decided to reevaluate their lefty early next week to see how his shoulder responds and determine if the injury might be require a longer hiatus from the mound.
Ryu would be penciled in as the Dodgers' #3 starter if healthy, having won 14 games with a strong 3.38 ERA in 2014. Because of the way the Dodgers' schedule sets up, Ryu could slide to the #5 starter spot because the Dodgers would not need him to pitch until April 13 or 14 (according to Burnick/MLB.com).
This schedule could even enable the team to put Ryu on the disabled list to open up a roster spot for the first week or two of the season until that point. For now, the team will wait and see. Anytime a pitcher has shoulder issues this early, the team has to be concerned about his ability to take the ball every fifth day for the duration of a long, grueling MLB season.
The soon-to-be 28-year old Ryu is in the third year of a relatively affordable six-year, $36-million deal he signed when he came to Major League Baseball from South Korea. The Dodgers are expected to compete with the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres in what is expected to be a very competitive National League West division, a division the Dodgers won in 2014. Without Ryu, though, they could be playing without all their weapons to start 2015 -- and maybe longer.