Last season, the Los Angeles Dodgers finished the regular season with 100 wins and a rotation ravaged by injuries so badly they were only left with the variably limited forms of Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller and Lance Lynn for the playoffs.
They are well on track for a repeat in 2024.
The Dodgers announced Friday they were placing starting pitcher Gavin Stone, the only starting pitcher on their roster who hadn’t been hurt this season, on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman subsequently told reporters Stone would be shut down from throwing for 10 days with the viability of his return depending on how he feels at the end of the period. That timeframe leaves very little room for Stone to be ready when the playoffs roll around.
That wasn’t the end of the Dodgers’ pain Friday, as All-Star outfielder Teoscar Hernández took a pitch off his foot against the Cleveland Guardians and exited with a contusion. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters that X-rays were negative, but Hernández was “not doing great” and would likely need IL stint.
Hernández is a big loss for the Dodgers lineup, but it’s Stone and the state of their pitching that is the bigger concern at this point.
Even before the Stone injury, the Dodgers were already facing a dire outlook when it comes to available pitchers in October. Having a lineup led by Shohei Ohtani is fun, but you still need pitchers in the playoffs, and the Dodgers, well, let’s just go through every pitcher they could have conceivably wanted to pitch for them in the playoffs.
The Dodgers rotation’s injuries are something to behold
Clayton Kershaw: The longtime Dodgers ace underwent offseason shoulder surgery and didn’t return until July 25. After seven up and down starts, posting a career-worst 4.50 ERA, Kershaw returned to the IL due to a bone spur in his right toe that requires a walking boot.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto: The $325 million man was living up to the hype until a rotator cuff strain sidelined him in June. Fortunately, he is set to return on Tuesday.
Tyler Glasnow: After beginning the season looking like a Cy Young candidate, Glasnow hit the IL on July 9 with a back injury, returned within the month, then hit the IL again with right elbow tendinitis. He and the Dodgers still hope he can make a few MLB starts before the end of the regular season.
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Walker Buehler: Previously the team’s postseason stalwart, Buehler returned from a second Tommy John surgery in May and was sidelined again in June with a hip injury after his ERA increased to 5.84. He returned in August and hasn’t looked much better since, with a 5.29 ERA in four starts, none longer than five innings.
Bobby Miller: Last year’s standout rookie has been this year’s disaster. Miller hit the IL in April with shoulder inflammation and didn’t come back until June. Since then, he holds the worst ERA in the majors among pitchers with at least 40 innings at 7.79. The Dodgers demoted him to the minors at one point, but he’s still struggling.
Gavin Stone: See above.
Jack Flaherty: The Dodgers’ big trade deadline acquisition is still healthy!
Dustin May: The flamethrower hasn’t pitched all year and won’t be coming back, due to a second Tommy John surgery, then a torn esophagus.
Tony Gonsolin: Gonsolin also hasn’t pitched all year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. If he comes back, it won’t be as a starter.
Emmet Sheehan: Sheehan competed for a roster spot in spring training, but had to stop due to shoulder soreness. He underwent Tommy John in May.
River Ryan: The team’s top pitching prospect entering the season dealing with shoulder fatigue and made his MLB debut in July. Four starts later, he needed Tommy John surgery.
Shohei Ohtani: Ohtani won’t pitch this year after undergoing major elbow surgery at the end of last season. The Dodgers knew this when they signed him, but they would sure love if he could be a two-way player now.
So yeah, it’s been bad. And that doesn’t even get into long IL stints for the likes of Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and, now, Hernández.
The Dodgers’ rotation is currently something like Flaherty, the husks of Buehler and Miller and rookies Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski. Yamamoto comes back next week and Glasnow might not be far behind him, but there’s no guarantee they will stay both healthy and effective for the playoffs.
Pitcher injuries are a cost of doing business in baseball, but the Dodgers have reached a new level this season. You can argue over whether it’s due to a flaw in the team’s pitcher evaluations, a flaw in the team’s training, plain bad luck or a “Homer at the Bat”-style curse, but the situation remains that the Dodgers need several things to break right to just have a real rotation in the playoffs.
