ANGELES — Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu’s long road back from shoulder surgery might be in the final straightaway.
The Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander made his first start with Class A Rancho Cucamonga on a rehab assignment Sunday afternoon. Ryu threw 22 pitches in two scoreless innings, then 10 more in the bullpen to get near his targeted pitch count.
It was Ryu’s first game action since Game 3 of the 2014 National League Division Series between the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.
Last May 21, Ryu had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder. The original prognosis was that he would be ready to pitch during spring training this season. However, setbacks with his shoulder (a bout with inflammation) and groin (a minor muscle injury) delayed the timetable.
Ryu is expected to make four more minor league starts, and he could be ready for his comeback to the Dodgers in June.
Meanwhile, right-hander Mike Bolsinger (oblique) is also on a rehab assignment. Right-hander Brandon McCarthy (Tommy John surgery) and outfielder Scott Van Slyke (back) could start theirs within the next week or so.
It sets up some potentially difficult roster decisions for the Dodgers in June.
“Baseball has a way of working itself out,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “But that is something we’re trying to figure out because there are only so many days on the rehab (assignments), and how do you plug players in?
“I think our guys (in the front office) are talking through a lot of different scenarios. There’s a lot of different ways we could go.”