The Los Angeles Dodgers had a short bullpen in Friday’s loss to the San Diego Padres, which included Blake Treinen not being available due to what manager Dave Roberts described as “a little bit of arm soreness.”
Evan Phillips also was unavailable in the series opener at Petco Park, and the Dodgers planned to not have Alex Vesia pitch but he would have taken the mound if the game extended to the 11th inning. Roberts added there isn’t any concern with Treinen’s right arm soreness.
Treinen has only appeared in two games since coming off the 60-day injured list on Sept. 2. He last pitched Monday against the San Francisco Giants, and was among the Dodgers relief pitchers ruled out from potentially appearing in the finale of the homestand.
The right-hander has issued just one walk in two scoreless innings. Treinen’s return came after missing 10 weeks due to a tear in the capsule of his right shoulder. Treinen revealed the injury upon returning, as he previously declined to share any specifics while recovering and going through the rehab process.
After an MRI revealed the tear, it was initially suggested to Treinen that he undergo season-ending surgery.
“My wife and I just felt the need to seek God and prayer, and see what his hand is in the recovery process,” Treinen recalled. “Had some good friends of the family out in Colorado give us some insight of sometimes you’ve got to ask God how he wants to heal you, versus just being praying for something miraculous.
“Then went back and that’s when we had our conversations with Andrew (Friedman), and very grateful they were willing to see a benefit in both ways. So we agreed to do the rehab process.”
Scar tissue was key to Treinen avoiding surgery
While Treinen was still mulling over which path he would take, the physical required to finalize a contract extension with the Dodgers provided him with clarity because it uncovered scar tissue had already formed in the shoulder.
“Come to find out the scarring had already happened. That gave me the miracle I needed. God had healed me over and given me some scarring in my capsule,” Treinen said. “I think it was to the surprise of people around that it happened so soon. So just confirmation that his hand was on it.
“From that point on, very blessed to have the guys that we have in here, organizationally, to get me stronger, keep my mind in the right place and challenging me to push through some stuff. Mark (Prior) has gone through some similar injuries in his career, and he was a huge help with me when it comes to trusting certain parts of the process.”
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