After missing all of 2015 with shoulder problems that eventually led to surgery, Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu is making slow progress in his return to the mound in 2016. 

Continue for updates. 


Ryu Likely to Miss Start of Season

Saturday, Feb. 27

Per Eric Stephen of True Blue LA, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged Ryu will not be ready when the regular season starts on April 4. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reported Ryu won’t be ready until May.

Per Stephen, Roberts said, “If you look at April 4, he’s behind. We said it from the beginning, there’s no hard date, and we’re not going to rush him.”

Ryu’s 2015 season officially ended on May 21 when he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He hasn’t appeared in a game since Oct. 6, 2014, against the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series. 

At the time of Ryu’s procedure, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com noted some of the success stories following a similar procedure included Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling. He also pointed out sad endings to promising careers for Jason Schmidt and Mark Prior. 

While time will determine Ryu’s fate on that particular list, by all accounts, right now he is heading in the right direction. The Dodgers will need him back in their rotation after losing Zack Greinke to free agency this offseason. 

Los Angeles still has plenty of depth among starters, with Clayton Kershaw being the alpha dog and Scott Kazmir behind him. Ryu has been a valuable No. 3 for the Dodgers, posting a 3.17 ERA with 293 strikeouts in 344 innings since 2013-14. 

The Dodgers know how important Ryu is to their starting rotation and are going to take their time to ensure he is 100 percent before throwing him out against an MLB lineup.

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