Shuey Ruptures Tendon in His Thumb

The bullpen suffered a significant blow Wednesday as setup man Paul Shuey might be sidelined up to two months because of tendon damage in his right thumb.

The right-hander was injured while ducking to avoid a ball and losing his balance during fielding drills before an 11-5 victory over the New York Mets at Holman Stadium. A tendon in Shuey’s thumb was ruptured as he tried to break his fall with his right hand.

“It was kind of a freak accident,” pitching coach Jim Colborn said. “He lost his balance and fell down.

“He stopped his fall with his hand. I guess his thumb was bent under and pulled off the tendon.”

An MRI exam revealed the injury. With the Dodgers returning to Los Angeles today, Shuey is scheduled to meet Friday with Dr. Norman Zemel, a hand and wrist specialist, to determine treatment.

The thumb could be put in a splint if enough of the tendon remains in place, team trainer Stan Johnston said, giving it time to heal and enabling Shuey to avoid surgery. But Johnston said Shuey would still be sidelined six weeks even without surgery.

The veteran reliever struggled with a 6.48 earned-run average and one save in eight exhibition appearances, but was coming off a solid season in 2003, in which he was 6-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 62 appearances.

Shuey’s injury is the latest setback for a bullpen in flux. Guillermo Mota, closer Eric Gagne’s primary setup man, has pitched only three innings in major league games because of a sore triceps.

The Dodgers are attempting to convert starter Darren Dreifort to a reliever, though they also have concerns about Dreifort in a bullpen role.

Manager Jim Tracy said the Dodgers still have not determined whether to carry 11 or 12 pitchers.

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Outfielder Bubba Trammell was released.

“It really came down to fit, it didn’t come down to performance,” General Manager Paul DePodesta said. “He was really coming back into form after missing a good part of last year.”

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Tracy said recent acquisitions Jason Grabowski and Jayson Werth would make the team, along with backup catcher David Ross and utilityman Jolbert Cabrera. That leaves one or two bench spots depending on whether the Dodgers carry 11 or 12 pitchers.

It appears first baseman Olmedo Saenz is in good position for one of the spots. Utilityman Jason Romano and infielder Jose Hernandez are also in the mix.

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Hideo Nomo pitched five-plus innings against the Mets to earn his first victory. Nomo (1-4) gave up six hits and four earned runs.

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Team physician Frank Jobe, who pioneered the reconstructive elbow procedure commonly known as Tommy John surgery, was honored during pregame ceremonies. The club named the examination room in the new training complex in Jobe’s honor.... First baseman James Loney, 19, was selected the club’s top rookie in major league camp in a poll of writers covering the team. Loney batted .414 with one homer and seven RBIs in 17 games.