Who would have ever thought that a team that broke spring training camp with eight MLB-experienced starting pitchers on its 40-man roster would be calling upon that eighth guy only 17 games into the new season?

Well they just did.

To say that the announcement that Dodger right-hander Chad Billingsley was being placed on the 15-day disabled list this morning comes as a surprise to anyone would be a bold-faced lie. It was never a matter of if it would happen, it was a matter of when it would happen.

There isn’t a Dodger fan on the planet who didn’t see this one coming. I mean really now, have you ever heard on anyone not needing Tommy John surgery after tearing the labrum in their throwing arm – partially or otherwise?

When Billingsley went on the disabled list in August of last season with right elbow discomfort which a subsequent MRI reveal was due to a partially torn labrum, even the layest of laymen knew that Chad would need Tommy John surgery – and the sooner the better in light of the minimum 12-month recover period. Had Bills done the surgery at that time, he would most likely have been able to pitch in the stretch run this season. Now he will not only miss the remainder of the 2013 season but he will miss all of spring training 2014 and probably the first two or three months of the 2014 season as well.

Instead of being ready for spring training 2014, don’t expect Chad Billingsley to return to the Dodger rotation until May or June of 2014. (Photo credit – Doug Pensinger)

The one guy who is undoubtedly least surprised by this devastating news is Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti, who during this past off-season signed Korean left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu and top-tier (and top dollar) former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke to mega contracts, knowing that Billingsley’s elbow was questionable after Chad opted for platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections instead of Tommy John surgery. Granted, Bills would have been lost for the 2013 season anyway had he had the surgery, but at least he would have reported to spring training 2014 fully recovered.

When skeptics questioned Dodger money man Mark Walter about spending a boatload of money for Ryu and Greinke, Walter answered by saying “Pitchers break.” No two truer words have ever been spoken.

With Zack Greinke sidelined for at least another month and now with the loss of Chad Billingsley (and don’t believe for one second that this will actually be a 15-day DL thing), the Dodgers 2013 playoff hopes may have just gone out the window. I don’t say this to be negative or to be mean, I say this because having to rely on Ted Lilly and Chris Capuano (who will probably return from the DL next week) to round out the Dodger starting rotation puts them in a very precarious position.

The good news is that Stephen Fife is a very good pitcher; good enough to have been on any other MLB teams’ opening day roster. But politics and high-dollar contracts on the books forced the 26-year-old Boise, Idaho native to begin the 2013 season at Triple-A Albuquerque instead of being on the Dodgers 25-man roster.

There is yet another Dodger minor leaguer who I believe will end up being brought up to the Big club (most likely if/when Lilly and/or Capuano struggle) and that is 23-year-old right-hander Matt Magill. If you recall, Magill had a very good spring training with the Dodgers before being sent down to minor league camp due to the Dodgers having too many starters. In his 4 innings of work, Magill allowed no runs on three hits while walking one and striking out 8. And while 4 spring training innings is hardly an adequate sample size to determine if a guy is MLB ready or not, the Simi Valley native showed tremendous command and control of his pitches that should at least lend Colletti and Assistant General Manager of Player Development Dejon Watson reason to consider Magill, should the Dodgers need another starting pitcher; and the way things are going thus far in the young season, this is a very distinct possibility. In case you were wondering, Magill is already on the Dodgers 40-man roster and he is having an excellent season thus far in Albuquerque, having allowed only 5 earned runs in 15 innings of work for an ERA of 3.00 (which is very good considering the light air at mile-high Isotopes Stadium). Matt has allowed 12 hits and 10 walks while striking out 16.

Should the Dodgers need another starter, the likely candidate is 23-year-old Matt Magill, who had an excellent spring training with the Dodgers and doing well at Triple-A Albuquerque.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Regardless of who the Dodgers send to the mound in the next four to six weeks, unless they start winning series, they may be once again watching the playoffs from their respective living rooms instead of watching them from across the diamond.