Los Angeles Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten fears that right-hander Chad Billingsley may miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury, which could step up the club's search for starting pitching before Friday's waiver trade deadline.
Kasten said the team's ongoing search for pitching is not related to Billingsley's injury, but the the right-hander's second bout with elbow inflammation certainly increases the urgency. In fact, Billingsley underwent a platelet-rich plasma injectionThursday, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Mark Saxon, as a last-ditch effort to allow him to pitch again this year.
If the Dodgers can't make a trade, John Ely may be the club's best bet on the farm, as he's had 100-plus innings of big league experience and has pitched really well in the hitter haven that is Triple-A's Pacific Coast League: 14-7 W-L, 3.20 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 8.8 K/9.
But proven major leaguers such as Jason Vargas, Kevin Millwood, Mark Buehrle, Ricky Nolasco and Daisuke Matsuzaka may be fits, assuming they make it to the Dodgers via waivers.
Buehrle is the most reliable of the group but also may be the least likely to reach the Dodgers on the wire. Meanwhile, we know Matsuzaka was placed on waivers earlier this week, but whether the Dodgers would have any interest in acquiring another Red Sox player is unclear. Stay tuned, as time is running out quickly on the possibility of such a move.
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