Los Angeles Dodgers Injury Updates: Dodgers Continue to Drop Like Flies as Injuries Mount

The injury bug bites all teams from time-to-time, but the Los Angeles Dodgers seem to always be the main course. 

The Dodgers set the record for the most players on the disabled list in 2016, and backed it up with an MLB-high 38 total DL stints in 2017.

That trend has continued in 2018 as the Dodgers have already placed eleven different players on the DL in the first six weeks of the season.

As of today's date, injuries have made fourteen different players miss a total of 429 days on the DL, totaling nearly $18 million in salary spent towards injured players.

The biggest blow of course was the announcement on April 30 that two-time All-Star shortstop and 2016 National League Rookie of the Year Award winner, Corey Seager, would miss the rest of the season with a strained UCL in his right elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery.

Currently, the Dodgers are tied with three other teams (Angels, Mets, Nationals) for the most players on the disabled list with ten.

After injuries befell four of the five Dodgers opening day starters in Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda, and Clayton Kershaw, even L.A.'s young crop of prospects called upon to step in their shoes is now starting to get hurt.

Number one prospect, Walker Buehler, took a line drive off the ribs on May 21, and hasn't been the same since. He exited Friday's victory against the Atlanta Braves in the fifth inning with rib soreness after telling Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts he felt pain and was having trouble breathing on the mound.

Buehler is receiving treatment and has not been placed on the disabled list as of yet, but that could change in the coming days.

Dennis Santana, the Dodgers tenth best prospect as determined by MLB.com before the season began, ascended through the ranks of the farm system and was promoted to the Major Leagues last week in Colorado.

After earning the win in relief of a bullpen game on June 1 at Coors Field, Santana was slated to make his first MLB start on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

However, just minutes before first pitch, Santana felt something in his right lat muscle and was a last second scratch. An MRI the following day revealed a tear in the muscle and Santana went on the disabled list.

Here are the latest updates on all the Dodgers injuries:

Dennis Santana (strained right rotator cuff): Santana was called up to the big leagues earlier than expected this season, but with the amount of injuries to the starting rotation, his services were needed last week in Colorado and Pittsburgh. However, Santana suffered a torn right lat muscle while warming up and went on the disable list on June 5^th. On Saturday, he was transferred to the 60-day DL, making him ineligible to return until Aug. 8^th.

Tony Cingrani (left shoulder sprain): Cingrani is back on the disabled list for the second time this season with what is being diagnosed as a left shoulder sprain. Cingrani exited Wednesday's loss against the Pirates after he "felt pain" in his left shoulder during a relief appearance. Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts noticed that Cingrani's velocity had dropped 4-5MPH while on the mound and pulled him from the game. Roberts said that they expect Cingrani to be back on or around June 18.

Clayton Kershaw (lower back strain): Kershaw returned to the disabled list with a familiar injury after he was pulled from a start on May 31 after just five innings. Similar to his lower back strain he suffered last season, Kershaw is expected to miss at least a month. He's been playing catch before games and according to Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts, is currently "symptom-free." His time table has not changed however.

Kenta Maeda (right hip strain): Maeda threw an aggressive bullpen session on Friday, and is expected to throw another one on Sunday. Provided that everything goes well, he is expected to come off the disabled list and be slated into the starting rotation as soon as Wednesday, June 13.

Chase Utley (left thumb strain): Utley's injury came as a surprise ahead of last Wednesday's game when it was announced that the veteran second baseman would head to the 10-day disabled list with a sprained left thumb. Utley declined to comment on how he suffered the injury, but he appeared as a pinch-hitter last Tuesday night and the Dodgers did need bullpen help after Maeda's short outing in that game.

Rich Hill (Finger): Hill threw his first simulated game without any tape covering his blister on Friday. In the game, he threw 60 pitches over four innings and according to Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts "the ball came out really well." Hill will either throw another simulated game or make a rehab start next week.

Tom Koehler (Shoulder): Originally believed to be a bicep injury, Koehler was diagnosed with an anterior capsule strain early in spring training and was placed on the 60-day disabled list to start the season. Koehler threw his first bullpen session last week and his second this past weekend. Dave Roberts said that Koehler "felt strong," and left the session encouraged. Koehler is still a long way away however, requiring a simulated game and a rehab assignment before returning to big league action.

Julio Urias (Shoulder): The Mexican native underwent shoulder surgery last summer and is expected to be out until after the All-Star break. Urias has finally begun to throw off a big league mound, and Dave Roberts said the timetable of after the All-Star break, and a target of end of July is still the plan. He also noticed that Urias could provide bullpen help if needed.

Corey Seager (Elbow): The biggest blow of all for the boys in blue was announced on Monday, April 30 when the team reported that Seager was diagnosed with a right UCL sprain in his throwing elbow and have to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. Seager's surgery took place in Los Angeles on Friday, May 4, performed by Dr. Neal El Atrtache. El Attrache told the team that the surgery was a "success," and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Seager would rehab at home in North Carolina for the remainder of the season. 

Hyun-Jin Ryu (Groin): Ryu tore his groin muscle "off the bone," during a start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 2, and was transferred to the 60-day disabled list a month later on June 2^nd. The move means Ryu is ineligible to return until the first week of July, but his target return is still expected to be after the All-Star Break.

Dodgers Injury Updates are provided each and every week, usually on Friday or Sunday throughout the season.