Dodgers Place Hyun-jin Ryu, Casey Fien On 15-Day DL

The Dodgers have announced that lefty Hyun-jin Ryu is headed back to the 15-day DL, this time with elbow soreness. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag had reported earlier that Ryu would miss his scheduled start tomorrow. He’ll be joined there by righty Casey Fien, with center fielder Joc Pederson and lefty Luis Avilan taking their respective places on the active roster.

[Related: Updated Dodgers Depth Chart]

Ryu had only just returned from a lengthy absence caused by shoulder troubles. Now, it seems, he has a new area of concern. The team is labeling it tendinitis, though the DL placement suggests that Ryu could require a reasonably lengthy rest. On the other hand, it’s retroactive to July 9th, so Ryu will be eligible to return in short order.

It’s obviously far too soon to know how long Ryu will be out, but there are some positive signs. An MRI showed “no notable changes” from prior looks at the joint, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).

Regardless of the near-term prognosis, though, it’s yet another troubling sign for a pitcher who has struggled to return to health. It also wasn’t promising to see Ryu scuffle through 4 2/3 innings in his lone outing of the year earlier this month, allowing six earned runs on eight hits.

Whether there’s any impact on L.A.’s deadline plans remains to be seen, but there are other options already on hand and filtering back to the major league mix. If anything, the move on Fien could be just as notable in regard to trade plans. The pen will now be without a pitcher who had contributed 22 innings of 4.09 ERA pitching (with 7.8 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9) since being claimed earlier this year.