NewsDodgers decline option on Ohman
Dealing with injuries, left-hander made only 21 appearancesRelated Links
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By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
10/16/09 9:59 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers made the first decision of an offseason that hasn't even started yet on Friday by declining the $2.2 million 2010 option on left-handed reliever Will Ohman and instead paying a $200,000 buyout that makes him a free agent.The decision was pretty much a foregone conclusion, as Ohman made only 21 appearances with a 5.84 ERA, spending the final four months of the season on the disabled list and undergoing surgery on Sept. 29 on the acromioclavicular joint, where the clavicle meets the shoulder blade at the top of the shoulder. He is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
While rehabbing a previous shoulder injury that had put him on the disabled list at the end of May, Ohman strained the flexor tendon near his elbow. He rehabbed that for three months and said he was ready to come back in late August, but the Dodgers couldn't shake loose a 40-man roster spot, and he remained on the 60-day DL.
Ohman, 32, was signed on March 31 to a $1.35 million deal for 2009, plus the option, when the Dodgers were concerned about the health of left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo. Ohman later said that his injuries might have been the result of having only one week of Spring Training before being activated for the Opening Day roster.
Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
