Dodgers' Victor Gonzalez to undergo arthroscopic surgery on pitching elbow

Dodgers left-hander Victor Gonzalez will undergo arthroscopic debridement surgery on his pitching elbow, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.  There is hope that Gonzalez will be able to pitch this season, but it will ultimately depend on what doctors find during the procedure.

Gonzalez has yet to pitch in 2022 after developing elbow inflammation during spring training.  The southpaw was roughly expected to be back on the mound by now, but further examination revealed that surgery was required.  As a result, Gonzalez now faces an extended absence, even if he is able to make it back before the season is over.

The 26-year-old made his MLB debut in 2020, posting a 1.33 ERA over 20 1/3 innings in the regular season and then a 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 frames during the Dodgers’ run to a World Series title.  After that dream rookie year, Gonzalez was still pretty effective in 2021, delivering a 3.57 ERA over 35 1/3 innings, as his workload was limited by foot and knee injuries.

David Price and Mitch White are expected to return from the injured list in the next week or two, bringing some help to a Dodgers pitching staff that has once again been thinned out by injuries.  Some are relatively minor health problems, while others (like Gonzalez or Blake Treinen) are longer-term in nature.  For Treinen, Roberts said that the veteran righty will look to rehab his ailing shoulder without another visit to a doctor, and Treinen won’t be back until after the All-Star break.  Treinen has pitched only three innings this year due to shoulder soreness and had been slated to undergo an MRI.