Edwin Ríos will have season-ending shoulder surgery, further depleting Dodgers depth

Dodgers corner infielder Edwin Ríos will have surgery next week to repair a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder, ending his season. The procedure will be performed in Los Angeles by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, with Ríos expected to be ready by spring training in 2022.

It’s been a trying season for Ríos, who was placed on the injured list on May 5 in the middle of an 0-for-32 slump.

“It’s something that over time has kind of bothered him and impeded his swing,” manager Dave Roberts said on May 5, when Ríos was placed on the injured list. “He’ll never use it as an excuse, but I certainly believe that the shoulder affected his performance.”

The announcement of Ríos’ season-ending surgery on Wednesday came after Roberts’ media scrum, so it wasn’t brought up.

Ríos was just 4-for-51 with one home run and seven walks this season, hitting .078/.217/.137 in his age-27 season. Ríos in limited duty in his first two major league seasons (2019-20) slugged over .600 each season, hitting .260/.338/.634 with 12 home runs in 139 plate appearances. Even with the down year, Ríos’ .282 isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) is 16th in the majors since the start of 2019, among all hitters with at least 150 plate appearances.

Losing Ríos further weakens the Dodgers’ already razor-thin position player depth, as he started the second-most games at both third base and first base this season, five starts at each position. But Ríos being out for the year will likely eventually open up a 40-man roster spot when he is transferred to the 60-day injured list, should they decide to add externally.

With Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry currently on the injured list, both still likely at least a few weeks away from returning, the available Dodgers position players on the 40-man roster but not on the active roster runs only two deep: catcher Keibert Ruiz and outfielder Zach Reks.