Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
Will Klein has been a major part of the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen in 2026, but struggled recently and then landed on the 15-day injured list.
The Dodgers announced Klein was dealing with right elbow discomfort and sent him for additional testing. The imaging did not bring encouraging results as Klein is dealing with bone chips in his elbow, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
The Dodgers are deciding next steps after an MRI showed bone chips in his elbow, league sources told The Athletic.
Klein is the third Dodgers pitcher this season to deal with bone chips, joining Edwin Díaz and Blake Snell. Both of them underwent surgery to have them removed, but it took each of them a few months to return.
Díaz landed on the IL on May 10 and did not return until July 29, a span of roughly 10 weeks. Snell was placed on the IL on May 15, and he is expected to return on Tuesday, missing just shy of three months in total.
If Klein undergoes surgery as soon as possible, a similar timeline would bring him to the end of October, which is also the end of the postseason.
The right-hander would need to avoid surgery to have a chance at returning, but that seems unlikely given the nature of bone spurs.
But there is some hope, even with surgery. Tarik Skubal underwent a procedure to remove a bone spur earlier this year while he was with the Detroit Tigers, and he missed just five weeks.
Skubal’s procedure used the new NanoNeedle device to speed up his return timeline, but the left-hander only had one bone spur removed, which made it less invasive, and he had a lot less work done.
Whatever the severity of Klein’s injury is could determine if he’s able to return this season, but Skubal’s case is more of an outlier than a norm.
Will Klein season’s to date
For most of the season, Klein was one of the Dodgers’ most trusted and dominant relievers and served a key role in the bullpen as he continued to move up the trust tree.
But the 26-year-old started struggling in mid-June, and it continued to worsen through July.
Klein allowed at least one run in his last six outings and an earned run in five consecutive. He additionally allowed at least one run in eight of his last 11 appearances.
That stretch brought his ERA from 2.12 on June 16 up to 3.67 now. His last scoreless outing came on July 4 against the San Diego Padres.
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