Los Angeles Dodgers: Rich Hill Having Trouble with Blisters Again
The Los Angeles Dodgers paid a pretty penny to bring back resurgent lefty Rich Hill this offseason. But the 37-year-old is once again experiencing difficulty with blisters on his throwing hand.
Yesterday, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill exited his start after just three innings with the team citing blisters on the middle finger of his throwing hand.
This is the second time in two outings that Rich Hill has had trouble with blisters and it’s likely that the injury will cause the 37-year-old to be placed on the 10-day disabled list.
In what has to be very troubling for the Dodgers organization, blisters haven’t been a new concern regarding its four-year, $48 million signee from this past winter.
In his breakout 2016 season, Hill could not get on the field on multiple occasions throughout the year because of lingering blisters in his throwing hand. It was reported by MLB.com reporter Ken Gurnick that Hill did not experience any trouble with blisters in his throwing hand during Spring Training and that he was fine in warm-ups as well.
Apparently this means that Hill’s blister problem only becomes prevalent during in-game action, which is less than ideal for a team that is relying on the veteran hurler to be a dependable number-two option behind Clayton Kershaw.
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The previous history with this injury as well as his inability to start on the field must be concerning for the Dodgers, especially considering that the front office invested a sizable amount of money into the pitcher over the next four years.
For the time being, the Dodgers have a lot of depth to replace Hill in the starting rotation, even though their upside isn’t as high. Alex Wood and Ross Stripling are currently in the Dodgers bullpen and have started in the past. In addition, the team has the highly-touted Julio Urias waiting in the wings at Triple-A. Scott Kazmir and Brock Stewart are on the disabled list at the moment, but they can fill in if need be when they return.
It’s an unnerving situation for manager Dave Roberts for all the reasons previously mentioned, but there must be some sense of relief considering the unusual amount of depth that he has to choose from when looking at who will fill Hill’s shoes until the team can figure out his blister issues.
Next: Dodgers Looking for Outfield Upgrades
What do you think about Hill’s blister problem? Who is most likely to replace him in the Dodgers starting rotation? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.