Zack Greinke injury: Dodgers ace to get elbow examined

Zack Greinke has been scratched from his spring start and will fly to Los Angeles to have his right elbow examined.

By Blaine Blontz Mar 11, 2013, 11:37am EDT

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke has been scratched from today's start and will fly to Los Angeles to have his right elbow examined, according to Eric Stephen of SB Nation.

Read more and react to Greinke's injury: True Blue LA

Greinke will have his elbow examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. He missed a bullpen session 10 days ago after experiencing discomfort in the back of his elbow. Five days ago he missed a spring training start due to the flu, but he was able to throw a bullpen session on Friday without issue that manager Don Mattingly raved about, according to Stephen.

CURRENT STARTERS
1. ~~Greinke~~
2. Kershaw
3. Beckett
4. Billingsley
5. Ryu
6. Lilly
7. Capuano
8. Harang

However, the elbow discomfort returned while Greinke was playing catch on Sunday. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that the Dodgers have termed their decision to send Greinke for an elbow exam as being made "out of an abundance of caution." The right-hander is expected to be back in camp later in the day.

Greinke told the team that he's dealt with similar elbow issues in the past, but they never kept him from making a start.

The Dodgers have selected Hyun-Jin Ryu, who was already slated to pitch today, to start in Greinke's place this afternoon.

The Dodgers currently have eight starting pitchers on their roster, but Ryu, Chris Capuano, Ted Lilly or Aaron Harang can't replace Greinke. LA signed the 29-year-old to a $159 million contract this offseason. He owns a career ERA of 3.77 and was the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner with the Kansas City Royals.