The Dodgers are planning to activate right-hander Emmet Sheehan from the 60-day injured list this week, according to a report from The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. He’ll join the big league rotation upon being activated, though Ardaya notes that the Dodgers don’t plan to decide exact when to activate him until he throws his next bullpen session. Sheehan will require a 40-man roster spot once activated, so a corresponding 40-man move will be required if the Dodgers’ roster is full at that point.
Regardless of the exact timing of Sheehan’s return, getting him back figures to be a huge boost for a Dodgers rotation that recently had to move right-hander Ben Casparius onto a starter’s schedule after months of excellent numbers in relief due to a lack of viable alternatives. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dustin May, and Clayton Kershaw are the only other healthy regular starters L.A. has rostered at the moment, with depth options like Justin Wrobleski, Bobby Miller, and Landon Knack having more or less disqualified themselves with their significant struggles when called upon for spot starts. Sheehan is a more proven commodity than those options, with 11 big league starts to his name after debuting with the Dodgers last year.
While Sheehan seems a bit safer to give the ball too than the club’s other depth options, that shouldn’t be taken to mean this is a riskless move. After all, Sheehan has a career 5.23 ERA out of the rotation in the majors and has not pitched in the big leagues since 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He looked better than that in his most recent outings, however, with a 3.68 ERA and 4.35 FIP across 22 frames in September. Sheehan seemed likely to be firmly in the Dodgers’ rotation mix for last year despite his uneven performance, but he went under the knife almost exactly 13 months ago to the day and hasn’t pitched at the big league level since.
The right-hander has made four rehab starts this year, with a 3.97 ERA in 11 1/3 innings of work during that time. That overall line doesn’t do Sheehan’s performance in those four outings justice; he’s struck out 44.7% of his opponents while rehabbing and limited opposing batters to just one walk. That’s come against minor league hitters, of course, and the jump from minor league opponents to the big leagues is larger than ever these days. Even so, it’s an undeniably encouraging sign that he’s been able to punch out that many hitters even as he’s rebuilding to a starter’s workload.
Once activated, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Dodgers ease Sheehan into the starting rotation. He’s only built up to 63 pitches so far, which could make him a prime candidate to either be used alongside an opener or perhaps piggyback with another pitcher like Wrobleski or Matt Sauer. In any case, adding another arm to a fraught Dodgers rotation that seems unlikely to get further reinforcements before Shohei Ohtani’s return to pitching sometime next month has to be a significant relief for the entire pitching staff.
I wish my team had the dodgers pitching problems. We just have a 5 win cy young winner on our roster instead.
What does that even mean?
It means he is a team owner who dropped out of school at 8.
Nutting yes he never gave a flying fudge. Me I’ve been playing this game since I was 8. It’s in my DNA for Christ sake.
Paul skenes very well could win the cy young with a losing record.
Sheehan may end up being one of the Dodgers most key starters for the rest of the season. He’s gone a bit under the radar the past few years with all of the other talented young arms they have, but he’s got really good stuff and has looked pretty sharp in his rehab assignment.
He’ll be back on the DL by the end of July.
Well alrighty then, Mr. Pessimist!
Don’t blame me. Blame the Dodgers training staff.
what a shmuck
Assume he resembles his pre-surgery self and yes, they need him.
How many innings does he likely pitch in 2025? Surely Roberts doesn’t let him throw 111 pitches in his first start!
He had an era of 5 before he got hurt lol.
That was an indication of his pre TJS arm condition genius.
He also had a 1.19 WHIP and solid peripherals. And he flat out dominated in the minors in 2023. 2.43 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and a 102/29 k/bb in 63 innings.
Anything is possible but Sheehan has big upside potential.
I am no Negative Nelly but am tempering my expectations. Relying on starters returning from injury was part of the plan but like the other parts it’s not going that well, as none of May, Gonsolin, and Kershaw have returned anywhere near as effective as expected. Kershaw seems to be doing well so far tonight FWIW. Smooth sailing from Sheehan would be nice but it’s a little early to call it a huge boost before seeing results.
Dodgers need innings. Its as simple as that.
Seven shutout innings for Kershaw with a low pitch count was excellent.
Just as promising was Kopech coming in and pitching a clean inning with good control.
“Sheehan is a more proven commodity than those options, with 11 big league starts to his name after debuting with the Dodgers last year.”
“Sheehan has a career 5.23 ERA out of the rotation in the majors and has not pitched in the big leagues since 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. ”
So which is it… 11 starts last year or 0? Sloppy article.
Emmet Brown Shehan
Wonder if his GF or wife is Clara?
Exactly how much of a boost will a guy with a 5.92 ERA in the majors and a 4.74 ERA in 16 starts in the upper minors give to the Dodgers? Nick, that makes no sense.