This situation is a mess. The Dodgers did their best to give themselves options this season seemingly signing every available veteran free agent, while continuing to develop their young talent. As of July 21st though, things have become disastrous. Here we go.

CLAYTON KERSHAW - DANGER

Clayton Kershaw has a back issue. He’s on the DL. He won’t be making a start in July. That’s what we know for certain. Here’s the other data with the best hurler in the game.

(1) Kershaw has a mild disk herniation. He has received an epidural for the issue. Obviously that hasn’t had the desired effect.

(2) Kershaw hasn’t had any change in his symptoms since he was initially pulled from the rotation. He has soreness in his back but there has been no radiating pain his legs – no shooting pains, numbness or weakness.

(3) Surgery is a possible direction to turn to cure Kershaw’s back woes. "With the way it flared up, it's more of an indication that surgery is more of a possibility," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Note that neither Roberts, Kershaw or anyone with the team said that surgery is going to happen.

(4) Given the current symptoms Kershaw is dealing with, surgery is possible but not indicated. “In the absence of having a lot of buttock pain or leg pain, we typically counsel athletes not to have surgery for that problem,” said Andrew Hecht, the chief of spinal surgery for Mount Sinai Health System. “Because micro-discectomy is most effective for people who have buttock and leg pain, not just back pain. We don’t usually do micro-discectomy surgeries on people with back pain only.” For a player with merely back discomfort, the indicated treatment plan is rest, physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication, not surgery.

(5) Kershaw has been shut down to let his body rest. There is no target date for a return to the hill, but Roberts believes, well he is “hopeful,” that Kershaw will pitch again this season. If you own Kershaw it’s time to panic. You may, or may not, see him return to the bump this season.

If someone approaches you with a legitimate offer for take him off your hands, it would be wise to give serious consideration to that offer. A best case scenario would likely seem to be a return in three weeks. A worst case scenario would be not a single pitch that matters the rest of 2016. Plan accordingly.

THE REST OF THE DODGERS ROTATION

Scott Kazmir, what do you know, I wrote about him this morning in my Daily Trends piece.

Kenta Maeda, the guy who had to have his contract reworked because of concerns about his elbow, has been the healthy one. The 28 year old righty, in his first season in North America, has made 19 starts with a 3.25 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 112 strikeouts over 108 innings. He’s been great. However, some struggles of late are a bit concerning. Over his last five starts he’s still punching folks out, 33 in 26.1 innings, and it’s not like the walk rate has exploded as it’s at 2.73 per nine in the five starts (his WHIP is 1.18). However, he’s allowed five homers and has a 5.13 ERA. A blip or a sign of wearing down? We shall see.

Bud Norris has allowed 10 runs his last two starts. I look up and I see a hurler with a 4.53 ERA and 1.35 WHIP this season. For his career, Norris has a 4.45 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. This is who he is. I hope you didn’t drink the Kool Aid on this one. Norris, as I’ve repeatedly said, is just a guy, isn’t very good, and was never going to extend his hot run of a couple of weeks.

Brandon McCarthy threw just 23 frames last season and he’s up to 16 innings this season as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. His workload this season has to be an issue. How long will his arm hold up this year? Moreover, he’s thrown 175 innings one time in more than a decade of pitching in the big leagues. He’s been great in three starts (22 punchouts in 16 innings with a 1.69 ERA), but he’s just slightly more reliable than Ryu. You cannot count on McCarthy.

Hyun-Jin Ryu is hurt again. He’s back on the DL with another issue in his elbow. I DO NOT understand why this is news. Why did you bother to add him? I wish I had back the 30 seconds it took to write this.

Alex Wood has made 10 uneven starts this season though a 3.99 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 62 strikeouts over 56.1 innings aren’t horrible numbers. Sounds like his season might be over with those 56.1 innings. Wood had an elbow debridement procedure that comes with a roughly eight week recovery period. He might return in late September, but even if he does it will be out of the bullpen, won’t it?

Brett Anderson has been out all season with a back issue. He’s always hurt. Always. I could care less about Anderson. He’s set to throw a simulated game this weekend, and it sounds like he could be about three weeks away from a return. Uh huh.

Jose De Leon is an elite talent (Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com all ranked him as a top-30 prospect in baseball coming into the season). He’s dealt with an ankle issue this season. Of more concern is the fact that he’s dealt with a shoulder issue this season. The result is that JDL has thrown all of 43.1 innings over nine games at Triple-A this season though he’s been tremendous with a 2.49 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 64 strikeouts over 43.1 frames. Over his last three starts he’s struck out at least nine batters each time with a total of 29 strikeouts over 20 innings. Not a lot of innings on this young arm as JDL threw 114.1 innings last season, a year after throwing 77 innings. He could be called up at any point by the Dodgers. Great arm. Bright future but... Can he stay healthy? Is he ready right now to handle the big leagues? Would the Dodgers turn to him or simply add a veteran at the trade deadline, contracts be damned?

Julio Urias will return to start Thursday for the Dodgers against the Nationals. He’s the owner of a 4.95 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 44 strikeouts in 36.1 innings this season with the Dodgers, and is an immense talent (see his Player Profile). Written and talked about him forever. The bottom line is that the innings cap for him is rapidly approaching. The Dodgers know it and they want to use him out of the bullpen, not in the rotation, to make sure he can help them later in the year.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).