Nate Springfield
Clinical Notes: Collarbone Injury Shelves Greinke
Friday April 12th, 2013
Zack Greinke will miss significant time with a broken collarbone. (US Presswire)
After Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin took exception to being hit with an inside pitch from Greinke in the sixth inning, words were exchanged between players, and then Quentin charged the mound.
The outcome of both men partaking in what looked like a football blocking/tackling drill was a broken collarbone for the 29-year-old right-handed pitcher.
Greinke had dealt with a sore elbow during spring training, and most were worried that it may send him to the disabled list, but he avoided missing any time. In his first outing of the season he shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates for six-plus innings, while striking out six and walking none. He also looked good against the Padres before the incident with Quentin, allowing two runs, striking out four through five innings.
The Dodgers second "staff ace" now appears to miss a considerable amount of time, but how much won't be determined until he sees a doctor on Friday in Los Angeles. Two pitchers that could join the rotation in his absence are Ted Lilly and Chris Capuano.
Capuano came in relief after Greinke had to leave the game on Thursday evening, and held a spot in the Dodgers rotation last year. Lilly is coming off of September shoulder surgery, and was expected to join the Dodgers bullpen when ready. Lilly threw 90 pitches in a start on Wednesday for the club's Triple-A team.
Fantasy owners who were probably a little worried about Greinke's elbow on draft day may end up seeing this DL stint as a gift later in the season. If there was some inflammation in the elbow, this time off early in the season may prevent him from missing time later on. Owners will not be able to replace Greinke with the same quality of pitcher via the waiver wire, but there are some good options available in most leagues. Chris Capuano or Ted Lilly, depending on who fills the rotation spot, are both worth picking up in NL-Only leagues and deeper mixed formats.
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