GLENDALE, Ariz. — Rich Hill had a blister problem last season. He does not have a problem with blisters.
“There’s also been recalls on Toyotas that are very reliable, you know what I mean?” the Dodgers left-hander said with a chuckle. “I mean, it had never happened before in my career. It was such an outlier that it’s not something I look at and feel is going to be an issue.”
Hill has had other issues that sidelined him over the years — a groin injury early last season, shoulder woes earlier in his career and so on. He has made more than 20 starts (last year’s combined total between the Oakland A’s and Dodgers) and thrown more than last year’s 110 1/3 innings just once in his career. That was back in 2007 with the Chicago Cubs at age 27.
For most of that time, though, Hill wasn’t asked to pitch any more. He spent most of his career as a reliever until re-emerging as an elite starter the past two seasons.
“I would never go there and say I can’t go 32 starts. I’m fully prepared to make 32 starts,” Hill said. “I come in prepared. I did all the work this offseason — as I do every year.
“Nobody can predict the future. I’m always staying in the moment and focusing on the here and now. That’s really all I can give as a guarantee. I think that’s a healthy way to go about it rather than saying, ‘Geez, I’d better prepare’ or ‘I hope I can make 32 starts.’”
He probably won’t be asked to.
The Dodgers opened spring training with 10 of the 15 pitchers who started at least one game for them last year back in camp. Trevor Oaks and Chase De Jong aren’t among those 10 but have established themselves as prospects on the rise who could be seen in Los Angeles this summer.
That depth will likely dovetail with a desire to limit the innings on every starter but Clayton Kershaw — out of caution with a young starter like Julio Urias, necessity with older starters like Hill, Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir or just with an eye toward keeping arms fresher in anticipation of a deep October run. The new 10-day DL will make it easier to cycle starters through the rotation, potentially giving a starting pitcher an in-season break while missing just one or two starts.
“I think to have that on the table and have that be a viable option for any of the guys is a luxury, obviously,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the starting pitching depth while dismissing a straight six-man rotation as “not an option.”
In Hill’s case, Roberts indicated there would be “conversations we’ll have with Rich” about his workload.
“I don’t think he’s a guy that looks too far ahead, self-admitted,” Roberts said. “To go out there and say we expect the same thing as far as posting like Kersh, I think that’s unfair to everyone. … He’s obviously very mature. He’s been around a lot but the track record is not Clayton Kershaw.
“We learned last year with Richie — just have the conversations because the player feels, and they all do, they’re invincible and can do whatever. But I think the dialogue, the communication is important with all of our pitchers.”
No swings for Gonzalez
First baseman Adrian Gonzalez was among the position players who reported to camp early Friday. But Gonzalez will not be swinging a bat for two weeks due to tendinitis in his right elbow.
Gonzalez said the discomfort, which he described as “tennis elbow,” flared up during his workouts in December and has not gone away.
Gonzalez’s injury puts his participation in the World Baseball Classic in question. He has committed to play for Team Mexico with his brother, Edgar, as manager.
It also opens the door for the Dodgers to get an extended look in early Cactus League schedule at top prospect Cody Bellinger, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee.
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