Dodgers’ Alex Reyes has second shoulder surgery, won’t pitch in 2023
PHILADELPHIA — The Dodgers have collected a handful of experienced pitchers coming back from injuries at Camelback Ranch this summer, making low-cost investments in the hopes that they will recover and impact the big-league team at some point.
Alex Reyes will not be rewarding them for that investment. The former All-Star closer had surgery on his pitching shoulder this week and will not pitch again until sometime in 2024. The surgery is the second on Reyes’ pitching shoulder in just over a year. He had surgery to repair a torn labrum in May 2022 and signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract last winter to try to return from that with the Dodgers.
This week’s surgery is just the latest entry in a long medical history that has sidetracked Reyes’ career.
The 28-year-old Reyes was one of the top-rated prospects in baseball when he debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016. But he missed the 2017 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and has pitched as many as 20 innings in a season just once since then — in 2021 when he made the All-Star team and saved 29 games for the Cardinals.
He hasn’t pitched since that season and was not offered a contract by the Cardinals last winter, becoming a free agent. The Dodgers signed him, rolling the dice on him returning to health and recovering his All-Star form.
Reyes started a throwing program near the end of spring training with an eye on being ready to join the Dodgers in mid-season. But pain in his shoulder returned as he increased the intensity of his throwing sessions and Reyes was shut down. More damage was found in another area of his shoulder (not the repaired labrum) and he underwent surgery on Friday.
The recovery time is expected to be at least 12 months. Reyes’ contract includes a club option for 2024 at $3 million which they will almost certainly buy out for $100,000.
Meanwhile, Daniel Hudson (knee surgery), Blake Treinen (rotator cuff and labrum surgery), J.P. Feyereisen (rotator cuff and labrum surgery), Ken Giles (Tommy John surgery in 2020 followed by finger and shoulder injuries last year) and Jimmy Nelson (Tommy John surgery) continue to work at Camelback Ranch.
Hudson has started a minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment, making two appearances this week in the Arizona Complex League. The Dodgers are optimistic he can join their bullpen in the next “couple weeks,” Dave Roberts said.
Giles was signed a week ago and will likely be assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City soon. Nelson made one appearance on a rehab assignment with OKC in April and was sent back to Camelback Ranch. He restarted a rehab assignment on Friday, pitching a scoreless inning for the Dodgers’ ACL team.
Treinen and Feyereisen are long shots to pitch before the end of this season.
EXTRA REST
The Dodgers went with a “bullpen game” Sunday against the Phillies rather than start right-hander Tony Gonsolin on regular rest, the fifth day after his Tuesday start in Cincinnati. The Dodgers give their starting pitchers extra rest between starts as often as possible.
With three off days in the next 11, that could be built in anyway. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the decision was made to give Gonsolin extra rest because “the recovery hasn’t been great” between his starts.
“So, trying to appreciate the short and the long term, making sure we take care of him and his health, making sure the recovery is where it needs to be, we just felt it was best for him,” Roberts said.
“He’s never been a great in-between-start guy, but I still believe, in talking to our pitching guys, the recovery is just not where it has been. There’s no smoke (injury concern). It’s just seeing that, then it’s ‘What can we do to make sure he has great outings when he does pitch?’”
Gonsolin has had shoulder (2021) and forearm (2022) issues in the past. But Roberts said there is no specific issue at this point.
“There’s nothing specific. It’s just overall body recovery,” he said.
After opening the season on the Injured List with a sprained ankle, Gonsolin has gone 3-1 with a 2.21 ERA in eight starts. Gonsolin’s fastball has averaged 92.5 mph, slightly below his career standard.
“It just seems like at times with him you’re seeing 95s then you’re seeing 90 to 92,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s a pacing intentionally. I don’t know if it’s the recovery part of it or there’s a slow getting loose. I do believe at times there have been some long innings where he’s had to get back into that inning which has led to that. But the main thing is we’ve got to make sure we keep him strong and keep him healthy.”
ALSO
After pitching three innings in Saturday’s game, right-hander Andre Jackson was returned to Triple-A Oklahoma City Sunday. Left-hander Adam Kolarek was recalled. Outfielder Trayce Thompson (oblique muscle strain) was moved to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot for Kolarek.
UP NEXT
The Dodgers are off Monday.
White Sox (RHP Lance Lynn, 4-6, 6.72 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Tony Gonsolin, 3-1, 2.21 ERA), Tuesday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM