Paul Maholm Has a Torn ACL

In completely unsurprising news:

LHP Paul Maholm‘s MRI showed a tear of the ACL. He will see Dr. Neal ElAttrache and decide on treatment, including surgery.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 2, 2014

As soon as we saw the look on his face after going down last night, it seemed clear that this wasn’t going to end well. This all but certainly ends his season and, likely, his Dodger career as well. Maholm hadn’t pitched well at all this year, finding himself in the bottom 11 (min. 70 innings) of FIP and xFIP, fueled largely by his complete inability to miss bats. We can be honest and say that many fans had wanted him off the roster for a while, but let’s also be adult and not act as though a player getting injured is something to celebrate. It’s lousy for Maholm, who faces long odds to pitch in the major leagues again, and it’s not great for the Dodgers, who just lost one of the very few pitchers who could possibly replace Dan Haren. (In just a little while, Brim will have a look at external options Ned Colletti could go after. It’s… not great.)

Maholm hasn’t officially been placed on the disabled list yet, but he surely will soon. His replacement hasn’t been announced, but will likely be one of the usual minor league relievers. Albuquerque played in Sacramento last night and is to host Tacoma today; Yimi Garcia and Paco Rodriguez each pitched last night, while Matt Magill and Colt Hynes pitched on Thursday. Perhaps, and purely speculation, that means it’ll be Jose Dominguez or Pedro Baez, though who knows what other moves may happen by the next time Haren goes.

So long, Paul. That’s tough.