After a nightmarish 2021 season with the Los Angeles Angels and the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to take a chance on left-hander Andrew Heaney for the 2022 campaign.
They gave him a one-year, $8.5 million deal to prove his worth.
He was having an excellent start of the season, with 10.1 scoreless innings to kickstart his Dodgers career.
However, the hopes of him having a strong campaign will have to wait for now, as he is hitting the injury list.
The reason?
Shoulder discomfort, which is not what you want to hear from a starting pitcher.
“LA #Dodgers starter Andrew Heaney, who has been phenomenal in his 1st two starts with 10.1 scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts, goes on the injured list with shoulder discomfort,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted on Wednesday.
LA #Dodgers starter Andrew Heaney,who has been phenomenal in his 1st two starts with 10.1 scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts, goes on the injured list with shoulder discomfort.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 20, 2022
Shoulder Injuries Are A Less Than Ideal Scenario For Pitchers
The shoulder is perhaps the most important body part in the act of pitching: more than the elbow, legs, hips, or hands.
In fact, pitchers fear some specific shoulder injuries more than, say, elbow surgery (Tommy John).
In this particular case, however, we still don’t know anything about Heaney beyond the fact he feels discomfort.
The Dodgers will likely have him take some imaging on his shoulder to see the extent of the injury.
If it’s just fatigue and there is no structural damage, he could be back in a couple of weeks.
If it’s anything more serious than that, well, he could be out weeks or even months.
Only time will tell, but it’s a shame that Heaney’s season has to be cut short when he was at his best.
He was showing his most dominant self and missing bats left and right.
We will have to wait some time to see him again, though.
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