Plus, Freddie Freeman’s swing and a World Series challenger.
The average length of a major-league career for a pitcher is 2.6 years, according Dr. Keith Meister, the league’s go-to guy for Tommy John surgeries. And that’s a big problem for their health.
After all, if a team knows a pitcher will only last so long, they’re less likely to pay him a big salary. They’ll just cycle through to the next cheap contract, over and over again, leaving a trail of injured pitchers behind.
The Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays have used more pitchers than any other team recently, with the Dodgers using 40 in 2024 and the Rays calling in 45. Something is shifting, though—the Dodgers continue the trend this year with 35 pitchers so far, while the Rays are down to 23.
That’s partly because Tampa is pushing more two-seam fastballs, which Meister says might create less stress on the elbow than others.
“It’s equated to endurance for their pitchers, because you know why? They’re healthy, they’re able to pitch, they’re able to post and they’re able to go deeper into games,” Meister said to Ben Royer at the Los Angeles Times. “Maybe teams will see this and they’ll be like, ‘Wait a minute, look what these guys won with.”
The Dodgers, meanwhile, are still invested in sweepers and changeups, which put considerably more stress on a pitcher. Meister hopes that, along with some rule changes, more teams will realize that throwing hard isn’t the only way to win games. With their extensive injured list, the Dodgers are a prime candidate to partner with the Rays and show the rest of the league how it’s done.
Dodgers Notes
Royer has even more on the impact of pitching injuries across all levels of baseball in a follow-up story.
Something about getting hit by a pitch this weekend must have helped Freddie Freeman reset his swing. According to Sonja Chen at MLB.com, the slumping Freeman came out of batting practice yesterday feeling much better about things—and a photo from last year’s World Series provided the final clue.
Bob Nightengale at USA Today has 18 second-half questions, but the most intriguing one is whether the Detroit Tigers can win the World Series. They’d have to beat the Dodgers to do it, of course, which is less far-fetched than it may seem.