Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu's return to the Dodgers' rotation was short-lived.
Tuesday afternoon the Dodgers announced they have placed Ryu back on the DL, this time with elbow inflammation. An MRI showed no structural damage, just inflammation. Inflammation that is bad enough to send him to the DL, apparently.
#Dodgers Hyun Jin Ryu had MRI on elbow. Showed no changes from past MRIs. Will be sidelined indefinitely.
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) July 19, 2016
Ryu missed all of last season and the start of this season following shoulder surgery. He returned right before the All-Star break and made one start, allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. Ryu was scheduled to start Wednesday's road game against the Nationals.
The Dodgers have not yet announced who will replace Ryu in the rotation. Monday's off-day allows them to start Bud Norris, Thursday's scheduled starter, on Wednesday on normal rest. In fact, they don't need a replacement starter for Ryu until Saturday, so they have some time to figure things out.
Ryu joins Clayton Kershaw (back), Brett Anderson (back surgery) and Alex Wood (sore elbow) as starters on the DL. The Dodgers did just welcome Brandon McCarthy back from Tommy John surgery earlier this month. He has allowed three runs in 16 innings in three starts.
The 29-year-old Ryu went 28-15 with a 3.17 ERA (111 ERA+) in 56 starts and 344 innings from 2013-14. The Dodgers paid a $25.7 million posting fee to acquire Ryu's rights from the Hanwha Eagles in Korea during the 2012-13 offseason, then signed him to a six-year, $36 million contract.
The Dodgers are 52-42 and 5 1/2 games back of the first-place Giants in the NL West. They sit in the top wild-card spot and have a two-game lead for a postseason berth in general.
