Chris Withrow had a rough 2014. He had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in June and surgery on the herniated L5/S1 vertebrae in his back in December. The original 12-18 month timetable for his recovery is still intact, he said — the back surgery won’t push back his recovery — but he still hasn’t begun to throw.
“I honestly can’t tell you when I’ll start throwing, either,” Withrow said. “I’ll come out to Arizona the 10th of February. The doctor has it laid out day by day, as to what you’re capable of doing. Once I pass the test then I’ll be able to move on to the next step. I kind of gave up on the fact of looking ahead so far in advance, because you lose focus on that day that you really need to focus on. So I take it a day at a time, try to accomplish what I need to accomplish that day and look forward two weeks or two months.”
Prior to the tearing the UCL in his right elbow, Withrow was arguably the Dodgers’ best relief pitcher. In 20 games he struck out 31 percent of the batters he faced. Opponents were hitting .141. For all the bullpen’s struggles in October, a healthy Withrow might have been the perfect cure.
His fastball was touching 98 mph on the radar gun. He was changing speeds effectively with all four of his pitches — a cutter, slider and curve. And he was doing it with a bad back.
“I’ve had back issues my whole career,” he said. “I guess you can say while I was rehabbing (it got worse) or it’s just got worse over the progression of my life. The timing (of the surgery) was in the middle of my rehab but it could’ve been just from Day 1 on.”
Withrow reiterated Saturday that not every pitch caused him pain, but he clearly has room for improvement in the health department.
Whenever he returns, Withrow expects to return stronger.
“I don’t see any reason why I can’t,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about my body, what my body takes in order to maintain the strength I’ve been going through every day to maintain. It’s tough to say ‘stronger.’ You don’t know what that level is. I just want to perform to the level I’m capable.”
