Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
From the Dodgers’ public relations department:
Chris Withrow underwent an examination by Dr. ElAttrache on May 23rd to evaluate pain in his right elbow. Dr. Elattrache diagnosed his problem as a tear of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament and recommended Tommy John surgery. He was subsequently placed on the Major League disabled list. Withrow is seeking a second opinion next week and will proceed with further treatment.
Withrow had a 2.95 ERA with 10 hits allowed, 18 walks and 28 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings this season. In his career, Withrow has a 2.73 ERA with 30 hits, 31 walks and 71 strikeouts in 63 innings, and has stranded all 16 runners he has inherited in his career.
The 25-year-old righty faced 11 batters and allowed five runs in the Dodgers’ massive 18-7 loss to Arizona on May 17, then came back to pitch two-thirds of an inning (hitting one batter) on May 20 in New York before it was announced he was optioned to the minors (which is no longer the case).
Drafted in the first round in 2007 by the Dodgers out of Midland Christian (Texas) High School, Withrow was limited to four innings in 2008 because of injuries. Mostly used as a starter from 2009-12, Withrow’s career took off when he was moved full-time to the bullpen. He had a 1.71 ERA and 33 strikeouts against 38 baserunners in 26 1/3 innings with Triple-A Albuquerque in 2013 when he wasn’t pitching for the Dodgers.
oldbrooklynfan
Sorry to read this about Withrow. He was an important part of our bullpen before he was sent back down. Maybe this is one of the reasons the ‘pen was having trouble lately. I wish him all the best, hopefully he’ll be back soon.