Dodgers Must Proceed Cautiously with Greinke

Fans with Dodgers tickets received a little bit of a scare last week, as pitcher Zack Greinke was flown home to Los Angeles to have his elbow examined. Greinke, who signed a six-year, $147 million deal in the offseason, was diagnosed with inflammation in the back of his elbow, and received an injection of platelet-enriched plasma, as well as anti-inflammatory medication. While Greinke has since pitched bullpen sessions and experienced no pain, it appears as if his timetable to start the season has been pushed back, and is no longer slated to start the Dodgers second game of the season on April 2.

Greinke’s injury certainly leaves Los Angeles in a precarious situation. As tempting as it may be to try and get their multi-million dollar investment out on the field as quickly as possible, they are right to be cautious with Greinke’s health, especially because it is an elbow injury. Tommy John surgery would be a devastating blow for both Greinke and the franchise at this point, and the Dodgers should do everything in their power to prevent this minor issue from developing into something more serious. Los Angeles is fortunate to have a surplus of starting pitching available, with both Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang able to step into the rotation should Greinke miss a start or more as expected.

On the other hand, ownership has made it very clear that the Dodgers are expected to contend for a playoff spot and World Series this season, and Greinke is obviously a big piece of that puzzle. The NL West appears to be one of the most competitive divisions in all of baseball, and keeping pace with the Giants and Diamondbacks is not going to be easy. Sitting Greinke, even if it is only for the first couple weeks for the season, could potentially leave the Dodgers fighting an uphill all season long. While Capuano and Harang are serviceable replacements, neither is nearly the player that Greinke is, and the Dodgers cannot expect either of the two to provide a perfect facsimile to their star pitcher, even for a short period of time. No matter what happens with Greinke for the rest of the season, the health of his right elbow is going to be one of the key issues for both him and the Dodgers to sort out going forward.

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