Dodgers Shut Down Closer Jonathan Broxton

Added on May 04, 2011 by Scott in

MLB

Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton’s sore elbow is bad enough to get him removed from the bullpen rotation. An MRI and other tests are scheduled to determine if there is any structural damage causing the pain. Persistent soreness and a loss of velocity was all manager Don Mattingly needed to make the call on his beefy stopper.

After watching tape of Broxton’s Tuesday night performance, Mattingly and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt were aware there was a problem.

“Broxt came in to complain about stuff, finally. It’s honorable he’s willing to pitch like this, but in the end, it doesn’t do him any good and it’s not fair to him and really everybody else, either. If you can’t pitch the way you’re capable of, it’s too tough to pitch like that here.”

It’s not known when the elbow pain began, but a decrease in velocity from 96 mph to 90 mph on Tuesday night signaled the injury was severe enough to warrant further examination.

Broxton has converted 7 0f 8 save chances. However, inconsistent control has yielded an ERA of 5.68 and nine walks in 12 2/3 innings pitched. He’s a two-time All-Star with 84 career saves in six big league seasons.

Mattingly hinted that it will take multiple pitchers to fill the void. Vincente Padilla will likely be first in line, but Matt Guerrier, Blake Hawksworth and the recently sent down Kenley Jansen are all potential candidates.

Jansen had 22 strikeouts in 13 innings before being shipped to the minors to make room for Hong-Chih Kuo. However, he also allowed three home runs and walked eight, which might rule him out as longterm solution to the team’s closer woes.

The Dodgers are already enduring injuries to position players Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal, but have been relatively healthy in the bullpen thus far in 2011. They are 15-16 in the NL West, four games behind Colorado. They end a three-game series with the Cubs today, then will have a travel day off tomorrow before beginning a weekend series with the Mets on Friday.

Source: MLB.com