Alex Wood placed on injured list with shoulder inflammation

The Dodgers on Tuesday placed Alex Wood on the 10-day injured list with shoulder inflammation, adding another early-season test to their starting pitching depth.

Wood allowed three runs in just three innings in Saturday’s loss to the Giants, in which he walked three, threw a wild pitch, and generally lacked the command necessary for someone who’s main pitch averages 89.7 mph.

Manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday via conference call that Wood was experiencing shoulder issues for a few weeks.

“He just felt that he can continue to go through his workouts, in the weight room, bullpens, and obviously make that start,” Roberts said. “After that start, he didn’t feel great. Also, we were fortunate to have information on, you know, his arm slot dropping a little bit, and that’s kind of a notifier.”

Roberts said an MRI on Wood’s shoulder came back clean. There is no timetable as of yet for Wood’s return, though he didn’t make the road trip with the team.

Three starting pitchers the Dodgers had in their planned starting rotation are out at the moment. David Price opted out of the 2020 season for health concerns in July, and scheduled Opening Day starter Clayton Kershaw was placed on the injured list Thursday.

Kershaw could conceivably return this week, in time to replace Wood in the rotation, though that likely depends on the scheduled bullpen session Kershaw is to throw Tuesday in Houston. The earliest Kershaw is eligible to be activated from the injured list is Thursday. Wood’s next scheduled start was Friday in Arizona.

To replace Wood on the roster for now, reliever Josh Sborz was recalled from the team’s alternate site at USC. That gives the Dodgers a 12-pitcher bullpen for at least the first few days of their nine-game, nine-day road trip through Houston, Phoenix, and San Diego.