Injuries taking an outsize toll in National League West
Injuries playing a big role early in race for NL West
Left-hander Clayton Kershaw’s placement on the disabled list Sunday put the finishing touches on a nightmarish stretch for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who during their just-completed, three-city road trip also lost outfielder Yasiel Puig, shortstop Corey Seager and left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu.
In some ways, the Dodgers’ plight has been the norm within the National League West. Baseball seasons often are determined by health. The teams with the fewest injuries – or, at least, the fewest injuries to their top players – tend to ascend the standings.
But what’s happened in this division through the season’s first six weeks borders on the ridiculous. Scan the disabled lists for the NL West’s five teams and an All-Star roster can be assembled.
Among position players, there’s Seager (elbow surgery), Puig (hip, foot) and third baseman Justin Turner (broken wrist) from the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks are without third baseman Jake Lamb (shoulder, elbow) and only recently got outfielder Steven Souza Jr. (pectoral) back. The Padres are missing outfielder Wil Myers (oblique) and the Rockies are without second baseman D.J. LeMahieu (hamstring).
The pitching staffs have been even more decimated. Among the casualties: Madison Bumgarner (broken hand), Johnny Cueto (elbow), Robbie Ray (oblique), Taijuan Walker (elbow), Dinelson Lamet (elbow) and Rich Hill (finger) along with Kershaw (biceps) and Ryu (groin).
“I don’t know how it’s been in past years, but there’s been a lot of big, key players, and you can go (look) at every team in this division,” Souza said. “That’s part of the season. I think at the end of the year, when a team can stay the most healthy that’s usually the team that ends up the best. Hopefully, every team has depth and throughout the year you’re tested. I think that’s where everybody is at right now.”
So far, the Rockies have been the healthiest. They briefly lost outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to a hamstring issue. LeMahieu is expected back this week. Their pitching has mostly held up. It’s allowed them to keep pace in the division, though they are 3 1/2 games back of the first-place Diamondbacks, who have jumped to a 23-11 start, the secondbest record after 34 games in club history.
The Diamondbacks, of course, do all they can to avoid injury. Some of it can’t be prevented. Souza and Lamb hurt themselves on jarring, diving plays. For the Giants, Bumgarner was struck by a line drive. Those things are unavoidable.
But Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed said he’s hoping to stay away from the types of injuries that forced him to miss the final three months of last season, when he twice broke bones in his hand when struck by pitches.
This year, Ahmed is wearing extra padding around his hands, and he’s one of many players across baseball this year to start wearing a protective face guard attached to his batting helmet.
“There’s times when you get hit in the head and get a concussion, break a bone on a freak accident, things you can’t avoid,” Ahmed said. “I’m trying to cover my bases with some of those little pads. I’m trying to take care of my body the best I can.”
As for the Dodgers, who play host to the Diamondbacks Tuesday and Wednesday, they don’t seem to be using the injuries as an excuse, though they seem to have been affected by them far more than the Diamondbacks have.
“Obviously, it’s been tough, but injuries are part of the game,” Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman told reporters on Sunday. “And we’ve seen this team respond to adversity in years past when others had written us off. And we expect to do the same thing.”
Said Ahmed: “We’ve had a lot of injuries ourselves, too. … We’ve just having guys step up. (Daniel) Descalso’s been playing amazing. (Matt Koch) has stepped up and has been pitching his butt off. I think we’re just getting those guys out of our depth and picking up the slack.”
Pollock honored again
A week after being named the National League Player of the Month for April, Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock was named the NL Player of the Week.
He went 11-for-26 with four home runs, eight RBIs and five runs scored as the Diamondbacks took four out of seven home games against the Dodgers and Astros.