Just when it appeared that the Dodgers finally had another potential top-of-the-rotation guy, recently acquired Dodgers left-hander Andrew Heaney has been bitten by the injury bug.
Early Wednesday afternoon, the Dodgers posted this on Twitter:
“He just had shoulder soreness,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the 30-year-old Oklahoma City, OK native and first-round draft pick in 2012 by the Miami Marlins out of Oklahoma State University. “He didn’t get an imaging, he feels a little bit better today, but to have him make that start, we just felt that IL him, take it out of his hands, give him some rest, he’ll miss a start and we’ll just see kind of how it goes. Don’t expect it to be long-term, but right now, it was a pretty easy decision.
“He tried to play catch today and it didn’t feel great, which led us to ultimately make that decision, so when he’ll pick up a baseball again, I’m not sure,” Roberts added.
The Dodgers skipper said that Heaney felt good after his last start against the Cincinnati Reds on April 17, but noticed the soreness the next day.
Through his first two starts, Heaney is 2-0 without having allowed a run over his combined 10.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 12 while surrendering only three walks and four hits. Needless to say, he will definitely be missed while on the IL, which is retroactive to April 18.
So who will fill in for Heaney in the Dodgers starting rotation?
“Right now, Tyler Anderson‘s going to pitch on Saturday (against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park), so Julio (Urías) will go Friday, Tyler will go on Saturday,” Roberts said.
Anderson is 1-0 on the young season with an impressive 2.25 ERA over his combined 8.0 innings pitched in his two four-inning relief appearances. He has struck out eight while walking none and allowing only four hits. He has also started 113 games over his seven Major League seasons.
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