Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his injured right elbow Thursday.
The Dodgers have kept Billingsley's status under wraps since he was forced to leave his Aug. 24 start. He had an MRI in the days following, the results of which were not released. And Billingsley was placed on the DL on Monday with what the team is calling elbow inflammation.
Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten may have tipped his hand Thursday when he expressed his fear that Billingsley's season could be over at a fan discussion, though he claimed they were just his personal concerns and not based on medical evidence.
REPORT: Elbow issues jeopardize Billingsley's season
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"If he's able to throw after this, he's not finished and if that's the case, he'll start a throwing program," manager Don Mattingly told the team website. "If not, there's a different plan. We're trying to see if this helps. It could be something that ends up more than that."
Billingsley, 28, was on a tear before he went down, winning six consecutive starts with a 1.30 ERA prior aggravating his elbow in late August.
If his season is indeed over, the Dodgers rotation will be lacking behind reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang and Joe Blanton were joined by Josh Beckett, who was acquired in the megadeal with Boston on Saturday.
The Dodgers trail the Giants by four and one-half games in the NL West, and the Cardinals by one and one-half games for the second NL Wild Card berth.