Los Angeles Dodgers Pitching Injuries May Force Moves

With Zack Greinke, Chad Billingsley and Chris Capuano on the disabled list – and Aaron Harang recently traded to Colorado – the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting pitching depth has been zapped. On Wednesday, veteran left-hander Ted Lilly will become the eighth starting pitcher that the club has used in the young 2013 season.

The 37-year-old Lilly underwent surgery to repair his left labrum on September 21, 2012. He opened the season on the DL and last pitched on April 16, when he allowed four runs for advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

The Dodgers are desperate for reliable starting pitching now that Billingsley is out of the season and will have Tommy John surgery and Greinke is expected to be sidelined until mid to late June with a broken collarbone. Capuano is on the DL with a calf injury.

Clayton Kershaw anchors the rotation, but beyond him the Dodgers have Korean rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 4.01 ERA in four starts), Josh Beckett (0-3, 4.68 ERA in four starts) and 26-year-old right-hander Stephen Fife (who surrendered four runs and seven hits over 4.2 innings in his first start of the season on April 21).

Since they traded Harang earlier in the month – and dealt top prospects Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster to the Red Sox – the Dodgers’ pitching depth is minimal. They have highly regarded right-hander Zach Lee – who is 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in four starts at Double-A Chattanooga – but he is not deemed Major League ready. Matt Magill, a 23-year-old right-hander at Triple-A Albuquerque, is a possibility.

Perhaps the Dodgers will pursue free agent Roy Oswalt or contact the Red Sox about Alfredo Aceves, whose tenure in Boston is likely about to reach a conclusion.

Regardless of what the Dodgers do, the old saying, “You can’t have too much pitching,” is especially true in Los Angeles. Relying on Beckett, Fife and Lilly is not a recipe that is conducive to contending in the National League West.