The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation took a hit on Thursday. MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reported that lefty starter Brett Anderson was set to undergo surgery on a bulging disk in his back. Anderson will be sidelined at least three months, and perhaps as many as five.
The injury, though surely tough to swallow for the Dodgers, should hardly surprise the team. The 2015 season was the first since 2010 in which Anderson topped 100 innings pitched. In fact, injuries in each of the last three seasons prevented Anderson from even breaking forty-five. This is also the second time Anderson has had to have surgery for a bulging disk. That same procedure shortened his 2014 season as well.
Anderson helped stabilize the Dodgers rotation behind Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke last year. He made thirty-one starts for the first time in his career, and finished with a 10-9 record, a 3.69 ERA, and 116 strikeouts in a career-high 180.1 innings.
With Greinke now pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Anderson’s reliability had become even more important to the Dodgers than it had been. The $15.8 million qualifying offer he accepted from them reflected the team’s need for his services, though it also reflected a market that was reluctant to rely on his health. Though the Dodgers do not lack for option to replace him, most are untested, and many are injury risks in their own right.
The Dodgers are now waiting for three starters to return from injury. Hyun-jin Ryu is in the process of rehabbing following shoulder surgery, and Brandon McCarthy still faces a long road back from his Tommy John injury.
Anderson has pitched in seven major league seasons; he came up with the Oakland Athletics in 2009 and spent the first five years of his career in the Bay Area. He spent 2014 with the Colorado Rockies before joining the Dodgers last season. Anderson is still relatively young (just 28 years-old), and therefore still has time to reclaim his career. At some point, however, the injuries will take their toll.
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