Who knew?

Who knew that it would take an irritated Achilles tendon and a child birth to finally lead to Dodgers 2010 first-round draft pick Zach Lee making his MLB debut?

Although there has been no official word from the team yet that the 23-year-old Plano, Texas native has officially been named as Saturday’s starter, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly more or less confirmed it last Tuesday night when left-hander Brett Anderson had to exit the game in Atlanta after irritating his left Achilles tendon while fielding a ground ball – this only hours after the Dodgers optioned struggling two-time Tommy John surgery recipient Brandon Beachy back to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

“We look at every possibility. There could be a trade,” said the always evasive Mattingly when asked if Lee would be called up to fill Beachy’s spot in the rotation and with Anderson possibly looking at his annual trip to the disabled list.

It appears that Zach Lee will finally get to use some of the advice given to him by Hall of Famer and Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

And then just hours before Thursday’s series opener against the Mets at Citi Field, it was reported that Dodgers co-ace Zack Greinke, who was scheduled to pitch game-2 of the series on Friday night, had flown back to Los Angeles for the birth of he and wife Emily’s first child, thereby forcing Mattingly and the Dodgers hand even further to call up Lee.

Lee last pitched for OKC on Monday night, which makes Saturday night his normal rotation spot. And while Mattingly hasn’t confirmed the move yet, he hasn’t denied it either when asked about it (often) over the past two days.

If Lee does, in fact, get the nod on Saturday, he will become the 14th different starting pitcher used by the Dodgers this season – one night after left-hander Ian Thomas became the 13th. If Lee does get the start, he will be hard-pressed to outperform the outstanding five innings that Thomas put in, during which he allowed only one run on three hits while striking out five and walking none in the Dodgers eventual 7-2 pounding of the Mets.

As for Zack Greinke, wife Emily gave birth to their son Bode Nicholas on Friday night. It has been widely reported – even by Mattingly – that the leading 2015 NL Cy Young award candidate will return to New York to pitch the series finale on Sunday. It has also been reported that Anderson’s Achilles injury is far less serious than initially believed and that at he could possibly pitch as early as Tuesday at Dodger Stadium after Monday’s off day.

Bode Nicholas Greinke
(Photo courtesy of Emily Greinke @Wilsysmommy)

And under the “that’s weird” category, former Dodger fan favorite Juan Uribe, who was traded to the Atlanta Braves on May 27 while the Braves were in town and whom the Dodgers just faced in Atlanta during this current 10-game road trip, was traded to the Mets on Friday night and could very well face his former teammates again on the same road trip.

Who knew?

*  *  *  UPDATE – July 25, 2015 10:00 am (PT) – The Dodgers have announced that Lee will, in fact, be  starting on Saturday night. A corresponding roster mover has not been announced yet.