A torn UCL claims another prominent pitcher – Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy will miss the rest of this season because of the injury, which will require Tommy John surgery.
Brandon McCarthy is out for the year with a UCL tear, according to Don Mattingly.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 27, 2015
Los Angeles signed the 31-year old McCarthy to a four-year, $48 million contract this offseason. He made four starts this season, and though he had a 5.87 ERA over 23 innings, McCarthy struck out 29 and walked just four on the season.
His main issues came because of an issue allowing home runs, including an odd start on April 13th in which McCarthy allowed four homers, walked none, and struck out ten in a 6-5 win over the Mariners.
His injury is bad news for a Dodger rotation that has struggled with injuries this season. Hyun-Jin Ryu hasn’t pitched this year because of a shoulder injury. Brett Anderson has completed just 15 innings over three starts, though he hasn’t had to make a trip to the DL yet.
If it weren’t for the solid performances of Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers would be a mess right now – and they’re still not even close to being out of the woods. If an NL West team wants to pick up some ground on the defending division champs, now could be the time to do it.
