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Dodgers Notes: Yamamoto, Rojas, Graterol, Grove

By Nick Deeds | July 21, 2024 at 10:21pm CDT

In his first public comments to reporters since going on the injured list with a rotator cuff strain, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto told reporters (including ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez) yesterday that he’s been playing catch as he works his way back toward the mound. He described pitching again this year as his “goal,” noting that he was trying to return as soon as possible. Though Yamamoto did not specify a specific timetable for his return, Gonzalez noted that the Dodgers are “hoping” their star rookie will be back on the mound for them in late August or early September.

At the time of Yamamoto’s injury, manager Dave Roberts suggested that it wasn’t expected to end his season, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that the 25-year-old hurler still hopes to pitch this year. Even so, any source of optimism regarding Yamamoto’s status is surely a welcome one for fans in L.A. given the number of rotation injuries they’ve suffered in recent weeks. Entering the All-Star break, the club was relying on a patchwork rotation of veteran southpaw James Paxton and rookies Gavin Stone, Landon Knack, and Justin Wrobleski. Although both Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw are expected to join the mix later this week, providing the club with a solid front four alongside Stone and Paxton, questions will remain about the club’s lacking rotation depth until either Yamamoto or Walker Buehler returns from the injured list, barring a trade in the days leading up to the deadline.

Even setting aside the Dodgers’ current rotation needs, getting Yamamoto back late in the season figures to provide a huge boost to the club as they look ahead towards the postseason. After all, the $325MM righty was generally regarded as the best pitcher available this winter despite his lack of MLB experience, and in 14 starts with the Dodgers prior to hitting the shelf he flashed that potential. In his 76 innings of work this year, Yamamoto sports an excellent 2.92 ERA (137 ERA+) with an even better 2.68 FIP thanks to a fantastic 27.9% strikeout rate against a measly 5.6% walk rate.

While the club received some positive news about Yamamoto this weekend, they also were dealt something of an injury scare today when veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas exited today’s game due to a bout of tightness in his right forearm. Fortunately, Rojas told reporters following the game (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that he believes the injury, which he suffered over the All-Star break while doing hitting drills, isn’t a particularly serious one. Roberts echoed that sentiment, noting to reporters (including Ardaya) that the club does not currently plan to send Rojas for an MRI, although he won’t play tomorrow and could ultimately be down for a few days due to the issue.

The loss of Rojas would’ve been a brutal blow for the Dodgers, a somewhat surprisingly reality considering his disappointing 2023 campaign. In 206 trips to the plate for the club this year, Rojas has slashed a respectable .272/.317/.408 that registers as 6% better than league average by wRC+. He’s combined that solid work at the plate with strong defense, initially at second base before sliding over to shortstop to take over for Mookie Betts after he went down with a fractured hand last month. Kiké Hernández took over for Rojas at shortstop after he exited tonight and figures to continuing getting reps at the position in Rojas’s absence, perhaps alongside Gavin Lux.

More positive injury news for Dodgers fans comes out of Triple-A Oklahoma City, where (as noted by OKC Broadcaster Alex Freedman) right-handers Brusdar Graterol and Michael Grove have both been assigned to begin rehab assignments this evening. Each right-hander struck out one while pitching a single inning of work tonight, with Grove working around a walk to produce a scoreless frame while Graterol allowed a hit and an unearned run in his inning of work. That both righties have reached the highest level of the minors in their rehab process is an exciting development for the Dodgers, as it suggests both will soon be available to contribute to a bullpen that has scuffled badly in recent days with a 5.51 ERA and 5.23 FIP since the calendar flipped to July.

Graterol hasn’t appeared in a big league game this year due to shoulder inflammation but has been one of the club’s most trusted relievers in recent years with a sterling 2.08 ERA and a strong 3.00 FIP in 117 innings of work since the start of the 2022 campaign, Grove, meanwhile, pitched to mixed results earlier this year before going down with a lat strain. The righty’s 5.06 ERA left much to be desired, but some of that lackluster run prevention seems to be due to unfortunate sequencing as demonstrated by his unusually low 62.5% strand rate and strong peripherals, including a 3.16 FIP, a strong 28.7% strikeout rate, and a fantastic 2.94 SIERA. Both hurlers should be welcome additions to the club’s bullpen when ready to return, possible sometime before the end of the month if their respective rehabs continue to go well.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Notes Brusdar Graterol Michael Grove Miguel Rojas Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Mariners Place Ty France On Outright Waivers
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Notable Draft Signings: 7/21/24
View Comments (19)
Post a Comment

19 Comments

  1. 13Morgs13

    12 months ago

    Imagine giving a 5ft 10in 180lb SP 12yrs 325mil…year 1 he already has a rotator cuff injury. Good luck with that contract.

    3
    Reply
    • stpofsd

      12 months ago

      yea, exciting potential but Garrett Cole money was surprising

      1
      Reply
      • rocky7

        12 months ago

        Ah, you don’t sign a guy like this because of “global marketing opportunities” which pretty much apply to him much more than the Dodgers…..this seems to be the real problem with Japanese pitchers who are used too much more rest between starts than in MLB…..

        Reply
    • MLB Top 100 Commenter

      12 months ago

      The Dodgers will get the best global ratings and revenue of any team. Whether or not they win. Plus, the guy is good. Imagine that.

      4
      Reply
    • BlueSkies_LA

      12 months ago

      Imagine, no matter which player is injured, someone will claim to have predicted it.

      3
      Reply
    • JerseyShoreScore

      12 months ago

      Dodgers were definitely out on an island with that idea. No other teams went in that range with contract offers…

      Reply
    • Johnny utah

      12 months ago

      The moment LAD gave him 12yr/325 i was sighing in relief that nobody else was dumb enough to hand him That kind of contract
      but dodgers are in desperate win now mode
      And $ flows in LA, they couldnt care less
      Sets a bad precedent now for other intl SPs like roki though

      Reply
    • bruinlife33

      12 months ago

      C section: what does your response even mean?

      1
      Reply
    • rocky7

      12 months ago

      Totally valid comment from 13Morg…..if it was your money wouldn’t you be concerned?

      Reply
    • Eighty Raw

      12 months ago

      Imagine caring about that

      Reply
    • Candlestoked

      12 months ago

      Imagine no possessions
      I wonder if you can
      Huddling in Mom’s basement
      Trolling Doyer fans

      Reply
      • Johnny utah

        12 months ago

        Imagine all the $ spent
        All the signings
        All the expectations
        All the hype
        And all LAD has to show for it
        Is half a championship since 1988

        Reply
  2. douglasb

    12 months ago

    Who had money on Gavin Stone leading the Dodgers in innings pitched this season?

    Reply
  3. PierceIn

    12 months ago

    In the end, the Yamamoto contract will more than pay for itself…if you own a chunk of the Dodgers. Same with Ohtani.

    And that will be true if they never win a single WS game, let alone title.

    Before the Ohtani signing the Dodgers were already estimated to have already _doubled_ in value from their jaw-dropping $2 billion Guggenheim purchase price.

    At some point, somebody in Dodgers ownership will want to sell.

    Now imagine a group of very rich Japanese investors.

    Reply
    • BlueSkies_LA

      12 months ago

      The Dodgers are owned by an investment group, so they don’t need to sell the entire ball of wax to monetize the increased value of the franchise, they need only take on new partners. Which, they have already done.

      Funny, a whole bunch of 2-day old posts suddenly appeared in this discussion. Wonder where they went?

      Reply
      • PierceIn

        12 months ago

        Can’t tell whether your intention was to disagree with me or just making a passing observation, but in any case, I wasn’t positing a complete sale, just noting the attractiveness of a rapidly appreciating asset. As you say, selling chunks would make sense.

        I am of course hoping this will result in Sasaki-san appearing in blue soon.

        Reply
        • BlueSkies_LA

          12 months ago

          Just an observation. I also wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if some part of Ohtani’s salary was converted into an equity share in the Dodgers.

          Reply
  4. MLBTR needs to hire editors

    12 months ago

    Get rid of Deeds already. He can’t write. “Meanwhile” has to START the sentence. It can’t come in the middle, set off by commas.

    Reply
  5. Will K

    12 months ago

    He has already shown why they gave him that much in the short time he has been with the Dodgers and how quicky he makes adjustments.

    Another point that someone else made was about how popular the Dodgers have become in Japan. Japan is an enormous market and one of the top 5 economies in the world. Their businesses have a lot of money yo spend. I saw a great article about how Ohtani is already profiting the Dodgers before the season even started because of how much ad revenue and merchandise they were selling overseas.

    And with skyrocketing salaries, these long term contracts are a bargain. I remember the game Yamamoto threw against the Yankees where he was clocking 97mph regularly, which seemed a few mph faster than he had been pitching up tol then. Not soon after that he went to the DL.

    I think this is more of a problem that the Dodgers have a habit of wrecking their pitcher’s arms. Its not just this year. Its been a consistent problem. I wish we still had Dave Stewart as the pitching coach.

    Reply

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