When the Dodgers signed 36-year-old left-hander Erik Bedard on January 18, they did so for one reason and one reason only – to provide pitching depth in their starting rotation. The signing was to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league spring training camp which reunited the Ontario, Canada native with his former Tampa Bay Rays general manager Andrew Friedman, now the Dodgers President of Baseball Operations.

Bedard’s minor league deal includes an opt-out clause that would allow him to… well… opt out if he wasn’t on the Dodgers’ major league roster by May 1 – a clause that very early in spring training Bedard said that he would be more than willing to waive in order to remain with the Dodgers and his former GM.

“I know where I stand,” Bedard said. “The game is still fun, and I like playing baseball.”

Although Bedard was tentatively penciled in as a number six or number seven starter in the Dodgers rotation, we all know that “pitchers break” – as Dodgers owner Mark Walter so eloquently put it.

Bedard came into spring training camp knowing full well where he stood. But he also knows that pitchers break. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

On Friday morning it was widely reported that Dodgers left-handed number three starter Hyun-jin Ryu broke. He reported tightness in his left shoulder following Tuesday start against the Texas Rangers. On Wednesday he received an anti-inflammatory injection in his shoulder and has been shut down.

“We kind of know what this is,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters during his morning media briefing on Friday. “We’ve dealt with it before and he’s bounced back. Obviously, you’re still going to be concerned and make sure you’re cautious.”

As Dodger fans may recall, Ryu experienced shoulder discomfort last season which landed him on the disabled list from April 28 to May 21. But in spite of concerns, the soon-to-be 28-year-old (on Wednesday) Incheon, South Korea native said that the discomfort he is feeling now isn’t as bad as it was last time.

“On a scale of one to 10, maybe a four,” Ryu said through interpreter Adam Kim. “I’m not too worried about it this time. It’s a little thing, but I felt it.”

Ryu received a cortisone shot last September after experiencing shoulder discomfort. Although he avoided the DL, he had just come off of it after suffering a glute muscle strain one month earlier.
(Photo credit – Jason Getz)

But it’s clear that Mattingly’s take is a bit more serious than that of Ryu – so much so, in fact, that there is a very strong possibility that his hard-throwing lefty may start the season on the disabled list.

“It’s a safe assumption. With a setback we definitely want to be cautious,” Mattingly said. “Timing-wise, it’s pretty good for us … Obviously, we’re still concerned and cautious, and we’ll err on the side of caution.”

Although Mattingly wouldn’t commit or even hint as to who might replace Ryu should he land on the DL, it’s hard not to think of Bedard as the most likely candidate. In his two spring training appearances thus far (one start), Bedard has allowed only one run on two his with one walk and two strikeouts in four innings of work. And while this is certainly a small sample size, Bedard has shown excellent command and control thus far.

Because of a couple of early season days off, the Dodgers won’t need a fifth starter until their eighth game of the season on April 14 against the Seattle Mariners at Dodger Stadium. This gives Ryu 25 days in which to heal and rehab – a definite reach considering that he has thrown a grand total of only five innings thus far this spring.

The red flag warning that suggested that something wrong with Ryu was the absence of his 92-94 MPH fastball. And even though it is not all that unusual to see a slight reduction in velocity early in the spring, Ryu’s best fastball on Tuesday was clocked at only 90-MPH according to the Surprise Stadium radar gun.

With Ryu now on the shelf, Friedman’s signing of Bedard is proof once again of his foresight and is possibly yet another stroke of genius.