Walker Buehler and Blake Treinen progressing towards September returns
The Dodgers could be adding two key pieces
Reinforcements are on their way and they could be back pretty soon.
Two key pieces on the Dodgers’ pitching staff threw off the Chase Field mound on Wednesday, each representing a massive upgrade for the starting rotation and bullpen.
The first to throw was Walker Buehler, who has missed all of 2023 as he continues to rehab from his second Tommy John surgery. According to manager Dave Roberts, Buehler threw only one inning and tossed about 15-20 pitches.
“It was really good,” Roberts said on SNLA. “He used his entire pitch mix. Everything looked crisp. I think the next plan would be for him to throw a bullpen. For me, it was encouraging. It was 92-93 mph. The velocity was a lot better than I expected. The outlook looks good.”
Seeing Buehler throwing to hitters is certainly an encouraging sign. Considering he got surgery last August, the fact he’s doing this 12 months later is just insane.
Although it was great to see Buehler on the mound throwing to hitters, he still has a ways to go before we can see him return to the mound at Dodger Stadium.
“I think there’s a bunch of checkpoints,” Buehler said on SNLA. “When you start throwing bullpens, now hitters, and then games. You can take little chunks at a time.”
Buehler said that he has a handful of bullpens and live sessions remaining, probably four or five.
“You start building a bit of a base,” Buehler said on SNLA. “Then you get to ‘Do I want to throw another live, or a game, or where do I want to throw a rehab?’ Then you start nitpicking if I’m good enough to help. I think you have to be confident in the 12 months of work that we’ve done.”
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It’s a long process, and it makes sense. There are so many things that you need to check off, especially if you’re building your arm back up to be a starting pitcher. I mean if he’s only at one inning now with lower velocity, it’s going to take some time to be built up to go at least five innings.
Earlier on this roadtrip when the team was in San Diego, Buehler threw a bullpen session at the Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside. During his session, which was observed by the Dodgers’ assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness, Buehler threw some pitches to Jon Rahm. Yes, the famous golfer.
I know what you’re thinking. Why the hell was he at this facility throwing to a golfer? They used Titleist’s motion-capture technology to look for ways to limit the damage he puts on his elbow.
“I’ve hurt my elbow twice pretty seriously,” Buehler said on SNLA. “There’s part of what’s in my delivery that is’t working while also trying to keep the things that do work well. We toyed around and tried to figure out what fixes the most things at once. Found some of those things and now we’re going to try and alter the way I practice just a little bit to clean up that stuff.”
Technology nowadays, huh?
As you may know, Buehler has been very vocal about his targeted September 1 date. Although nothing is impossible, that return date is looking less likely by the days.
“I’ll face professional hitters on September 1, but I don’t know if Ill be back with the team by then,” Buehler said on SNLA. “This second surgery is 14-18 months [of recovery and rehab], if I step on a field this year I’ll have blown that out of the water. I’m pretty proud of where I am. I don’t think September 1 is a reality but I’m hoping some time in September.”
That’s totally okay. The September 1 deadline seemed a tad early, so I’m okay if he doesn’t make it. If he returns two weeks later, I think the Dodgers will be just fine with that. With so much uncertainty in the Dodgers’ rotation, adding Buehler back would essentially be adding a starter at the trade deadline.
“For me, being able to touch a mound would be a huge thing,” Buehler said on SNLA. “Make this 2023 season not a complete throwaway. It’s hard to take years off your career. We only get to do this for so long.”
Buehler isn’t the only one who looks to be returning next month. The Dodgers could be getting a huge addition to their bullpen, as Blake Treinen appears to be on a path towards returning by the end of the season. In a surprising move, he threw to hitters at Chase Field as well.
“Blake was 100th percentile,” Roberts said on SNLA. “He’s been throwing simulated games and has been kind of 86-87 mph. He touched 94 today. It was a lot more than anticipated. All pitches had a lot of movement to them. Hopefully he comes out of it well. He should be throwing in the next few days again.”
Personally, I didn’t think we’d see Treinen at all in 2023 so this would be massive!
Treinen underwent right shoulder surgery last November to repair his labrum and rotator cuff. The procedure comes with roughly a 10-month rehab, which left his 2023 status up in the air.
“I’d love to say hey, one month, [I’m] back; on this day, I’ll be here,” Treinen said to the LA Times. “I hope so. I’ve just got to [keep] seeing some climbs in velocity, and then they can make the decision if I’m good enough to help them.”
Roberts said he was encouraged from Treinen’s outing. He thought they were far off from his return, but seeing his stuff in person made him completely change his expectations.
In addition to those two names, the Dodgers could also be getting Shelby Miller back in the coming weeks as well.
We haven’t seen him on a mound in nearly two months. He was placed on the IL on June 15 because of a herniated disk in his neck. Originally it was expected to be a short stint, but he was eventually transferred to the 60-day IL.
Miller began his rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League this past week. He’s appeared in two games so far, tossing two scoreless innings with six strikeouts while allowing one hit. The plan is for Miller to make another outing on Saturday. If that goes well, he could head to Oklahoma City and continue his rehab assignment. At some point, he’d return to the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Just like that, there are three pitchers who could return to bolster LA’s pitching staff. Roberts said that he’s still holding out hope that Daniel Hudson is a viable option as well. If he returns, that gives LA four key pieces for an October run.
“Those are four really good options,” Roberts said on SNLA. “Things seem to always happen. We’re going to have some tough decisions, which is a good thing.”