Dodgers get bad news about important reliever

Oct 11, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) reacts during game one of the NLDS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers defeated the Padres 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It continues to pour for the Los Angeles Dodgers after their playoff disaster.

Bill Plunkett of the OC Register reported Wednesday that Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen has more extensive damage in his throwing shoulder that will likely require surgery and keep him out for the entire 2023 season.

The 34-year-old Treinen was sidelined in April due to a shoulder capsule tear in his throwing arm. Treinen decided to go with a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment plan over surgery and returned in September, even making an appearance in Game 2 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres.

But Treinen’s shoulder still is not right, and now surgery on his rotator cuff and labrum is one of the options under consideration, Plunkett adds. That procedure would come with a ten-month recovery time, almost certainly preventing Treinen from pitching at all in 2023.

Treinen, an All-Star in 2018 who was also part of the Dodgers’ World Series team in 2020, has a pristine 2.45 ERA over three seasons with the team. But the 1-2 gut punch of losing Kenley Jansen to the rival Atlanta Braves in free agency and barely having Treinen available to pitch proved too much for the Dodgers in 2022. Newcomer Craig Kimbrel was ineffective (and ultimately left off the playoff roster) while relievers Alex Vesia and Evan Phillips were solid situational arms but hardly the rock-solid setup man that Treinen is.

Only under contract through 2023, it is anyone’s guess what Treinen’s MLB future looks like from here. As for the Dodgers, perhaps this gives them more urgency to target a big-name free agent reliever like this guy.