Dustin McGowan, Dodgers reportedly nearing deal

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Dodgers continue to stockpile pitchers with checkered injury histories, with the latest addition possibly Dustin McGowan, who is reportedly close to a deal with the team, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. McGowan was seen in the Dodgers' clubhouse on Sunday at Camelback Ranch.

McGowan, who turns 33 in March, was 5-3 with a 4.17 ERA in 53 games for the Blue Jays in 2014, including eight starts, with 61 strikeouts and 33 walks in 82 innings. He had better results in relief, with a 3.35 ERA and 20.5-percent strikeout rate, compared to 5.08 and 14.0 percent as a starter.

He also allowed 13 home runs in only 82 innings, one home run shy of his career high, set in 2007 when as a starter he allowed 14 home runs in 169⅔ innings.

Last year was a healthy season for McGowan, which made it an outlier for the right-hander; 2014 marked the first year without a disabled list stint since 2007.

McGowan, who had Tommy John surgery as a minor leaguer in 2004, has dealt mostly with shoulder injuries in the majors. Surgeries to repair a frayed labrum and a torn rotator cuff, with right meniscus surgery and plantar fasciitis in his right foot mixed in, combined to wipe out nearly four years of his career. From 2009-2012, McGowan pitched only in 2011, and even then it was for a total of 56 innings in the majors and minors.

He then followed that up by missing 60 games on the DL with right shoulder soreness to start 2013, and later that season missed a month with a strained right oblique.

McGowan made $1.5 million last year with Toronto. The Blue Jays declined his $4 million club option for 2015 on Nov. 1, instead paying McGowan a $500,000 buyout. Should McGowan sign a major league deal with the Dodgers, the club can place new pitcher Brandon Beachy on the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster, as Beachy isn't expected back until midseason at the earliest.