Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke received an elbow injection on Thursday and will be shut down from throwing for a few days.
Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke is expected to be shut down from throwing for a few days after receiving an elbow injection on Thursday, according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. Gurnick called it a “precautionary measure to prevent annual spring dead arm”. Greinke has received the injection for the last three springs while playing for the Dodgers.
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Elbow issues are not a new thing for Greinke, and he has struggled with them somewhat in the last few seasons. He got a late start in 2013 due to elbow issues and had a platelet-rich injection during the MLB Spring Training. In August 2014, he had a start pushed back due to elbow discomfort.
Nevertheless, the club is calling this precautionary and simply part of Greinke’s planned preseason conditioning, according to a story by SBN’s True Blue LA. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said it was just a regular thing that has been happening every spring since they’ve had Greinke. Mattingly said that Greinke should be able to resume his normal routine in a few days. He’s already thrown five bullpen sessions before reporting to camp.
In other words, Dodgers fans shouldn’t feel the need to worry yet. Elbow issues with pitchers are never encouraging news, regardless of how benign they may start out. The bigger worry might be whether the Dodgers can hang onto him after this season.
Greinke is 31 and has a 2.68 ERA over 60 starts during his first two seasons with LA. He can opt out of his contract after 2015, though he’ll be walking away from $71 million between 2016 and 2018. It’s seen as very likely that he’ll do just that though, if he can stay healthy and produce in a similar fashion as his last few seasons.
The Dodgers are looking to return to the post-season again this year after an early exit against the St. Louis Cardinals last year. They handily beat their NL West Division rivals in the San Francisco Giants for the division, but never got a chance to face them in the post-season. The Giants obviously went on to win the World Series over the Royals.
H/T Hard Ball Talk
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