Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of athletics) with updates on some injured players today and bad news for right-handers Jimmy Nelson And Daniel Hudson. Nelson’s rehabilitation duties will have to restart after he was recently sidelined due to discomfort from throwing. Hudson is throwing as part of his recovery from a torn ACL last June, but Roberts says Hudson’s knee isn’t responding to the point where rehabilitation can be planned.
Nelson has not played since 2021, as Tommy John surgery wiped out his entire 2022 season. The Dodgers turned down their $1.1 million club option for Nelson in November, but later re-signed him. to a new deal pays right $1.2 million in guaranteed money, plus quite a few additional bonuses based on the number of starts, relief outings or appearances in a certain period of time he has could be implemented by 2023.
However, there is now new uncertainty as to whether Nelson will be able to play this year, given both this defeat and his lengthy injury history. Nelson starts the season on a 15-day injury list as an inconsistent performance in spring training suggests he needs more time to be fully fit, but he’s only made one trip. playing minor league rehab (on April 25 with Triple-A Oklahoma City). The move to 60-day IL would keep Nelson off the Dodgers active roster until the end of May, but since that could be an optimistic target date at this point, Los Angeles could actually move Nelson. to 60 days if the team needs to make space in the 40-man roster.
Hudson made his own move to the IL 60 days in mid-April, although it was thought he needed a longer recovery, especially since ankle tendonitis slowed his spring activity. he. Given the severity of a year’s ACL, it’s not necessarily unusual that Hudson’s knee is still not 100% fully recovered, although the lack of a rehab schedule at this point is also not a good sign. .
The Dodgers took calculated risks for a quicker recovery, making an early decision in late September to exercise their $6.5 million club option on Hudson’s services for in 2023, then make an extension as another club option (minimum value of MM$6.50) for 2024. Although the season is still plenty of time for Hudson to return, the Outstanding $6.5 million investment for a team originally seemed to be planned to avoid the luxury tax threshold last season, as there is no guarantee Hudson will be able to regain his former form when he returns to the mound. Hudson looked excellent for 24 1/3 innings before an ACL tear, posting a 2.22 ERA with outstanding outlying numbers.
