Hyun-Jin Ryu sent back to L.A.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu had to shut down his throwing program and was sent to Los Angeles to meet with the team doctor after experiencing discomfort in his left shoulder when he tried to play catch Sunday.

Ryu will begin the season on the disabled list, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.

"I think he's feeling something. If he was feeling nothing, we wouldn't be trying to get him in front of Doc," Mattingly said. "We know to move forward it's going to be a heavier workload, so we've got to be sure where we're at. I saw the look on Hyun-Jin's face and it wasn't typical Hyun-Jin."

Mattingly said team physician Neal ElAttrache will determine whether Ryu needs further diagnostic tests after he examines him Monday.

Ryu (28-15 with a 3.17 ERA in two seasons) experienced soreness in his shoulder the day after a March 17 start against the Texas Rangers and had an anti-inflammatory injection the next day.

The Dodgers are looking to trade for a starting pitcher before the start of the regular season, but the conversations they've had with other teams haven't gone far. Now, they're prepared to ride out Ryu's injury by plugging in one of their internal options, probably Joe Wieland, the pitcher they acquired from the San Diego Padres in the Matt Kemp deal.

"We've been looking for starting pitching depth all offseason and that's kind of continued into camp," Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said. "This is just a hard time to go out there and acquire starting pitching depth. We're fielding calls from teams that are asking us about our starting pitching depth, so there aren't a lot of starting pitching sellers right now."

If Ryu is out for a month or less, the Dodgers feel perfectly prepared to weather the storm. Because of open dates, they would need just three fill-in starts between Opening Day, April 6, and May 5.

The other pitchers being considered as Ryu's fill-in are Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger. Both are in the Dodgers' minor league camp.