Under the category of ‘Who didn’t see this one coming,’ the Dodgers placed 34-year-old right-handed reliever Sergio Romo on the 10-day disabled list on Friday afternoon for what is being called “a left ankle sprain,” retroactive to June 8.

If the date June 8 is rattling around in your head somewhere it’s probably because it was this past Thursday, when the Dodgers were on a scheduled day off and holding their prestigious Blue Diamond Gala charity fundraising event (hosted by the LA Dodgers Foundation) at Dodger Stadium; an event that Romo attended and, in fact, walked down the Blue Carpet at without any noticeable limp.

Unless he did it during or after Thursday evening’s Blue Diamond Gala event at Dodger Stadium, there wasn’t even a hint that Dodgers reliever Sergio Romo had a sprained left ankle.
(Video capture courtesy of LA Dodgers)

Now this certainly isn’t to suggest that the popular Brawley, California native and lifelong Dodgers fan (in spite of his nine seasons with the hated Giants) is faking his injury, it’s merely that it’s timing is a bit unusual, with (former) right-handed starter Kenta Maeda and left-handed reliever Luis Avilan both landing in the Dodgers bullpen on Friday afternoon at the same time it was announced that Romo was going on the DL. Maeda’s bullpen chair is the result of having struggled so badly in his starting role this season (4-3, 4.95 ERA) and Avilan’s the result of being reinstated from the 10-day DL for left triceps soreness.

It’s no secret that Romo has been… well, less that effective lately with his 1-1 record and team-high 6.41 ERA. But where he has really hurt the team is with the five home runs he has allowed, which is tied with fellow right-handed reliever Chris Hatcher for the most among all Dodger relievers. The difference is that even though Hatcher has also had his struggles of late, his ERA is a little better – albeit only slightly – at 4.25. Hatcher has also struck out 34 batters as compared to Romo’s 23.

With the Dodgers bullpen owning the best ERA in all of baseball and with Romo’s recent struggles, there’s probably more to his “injury” than we are being told.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

It’s also no secret that the Dodgers have been using MLB’s new 10-day disabled list like no other team in all of baseball. It’s not that they are violating the new rule, it’s that they appear to be pushing its guidelines to the edge of the envelope. In fact, Romo becomes the 22nd player to land on the disabled list thus far this season, with the All-Star break still a month away.

There is little doubt that Romo landing on the DL has Dodger fans saying “Huh.” But there is also little doubt that they probably aren’t too terribly surprised or disappointed by it either. But regardless, we certainly wish El Mechon a speedy recovery.

…and stay off that dangerous Blue Carpet, would you?