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Dodgers Place Bobby Miller On 15-Day Injured List

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10:12pm: Per Ardaya, Miller has undergone an MRI which revealed no structural damage to the righty’s shoulder. Meanwhile, Harris adds that while Miller has been shut down from throwing for the time being, the Dodgers are “hopeful” that he’ll be able to build up at a normal rate once he resumes throwing.

9:51pm: The Dodgers announced this evening that they’ve placed right-hander Bobby Miller on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Right-hander Connor Brogdon has also been placed on the 15-day IL due to plantar fasciitis in his foot. Right-hander J.P. Feyereisen and left-hander Nick Ramirez have been called up to take the duo’s places on the active roster.

The news comes on the heels of a difficult start to the season for Miller. While the 25-year-old struck out 11 Cardinals in six scoreless innings for his first start of the year, since then he’s allowed a whopping seven runs on nine hits and five walks in 5 2/3 innings of work across a pair of starts against the Cubs and Twins. A timeline for Miller’s return to action is not yet clear, though Jack Harris of the L.A. Times reports that the inflammation in the young righty’s shoulder is not considered “severe” by the club, with Harris adding that there is no need for surgery as things stand.

While that reporting removes the most worrisome outcomes from the table for the time being, it’s nonetheless disheartening news for Dodgers fans. The club’s first-round pick in the 2020 draft, Miller quickly grew to be a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport and impressed during his rookie season with a 3.76 ERA and 3.51 FIP across 22 starts with L.A. last year. Though he just celebrated his 25th birthday earlier this month, Miller already entered the season as a potential cornerstone for the Dodgers’ rotation alongside the likes of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.

Those plans have now clearly been scuttled, at least for the time being, and the Dodgers will have to sort through their rotation options in order to replace Miller for what could prove to be an extended absence. With Gavin Stone already in the club’s starting five alongside Glasnow, Yamamoto, and James Paxton, right-hander Walker Buehler may spring to mind as the obvious candidate to take Miller’s spot in the rotation. After all, the 29-year-old righty was long one of the most effective pitchers in the sport and has already begun a rehab assignment as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery.

Unfortunately, it’s unclear how realistic an option Buehler is in the short term. As The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reported last night, Buehler’s most recent rehab outing was cut short after the righty took a comebacker off his pitching hand. David Vassegh of Sportsnet LA relays that manager Dave Roberts has indicated Buehler is “fine” following the incident and should be ready to make his next rehab start, but the abbreviated outing last night could extend Buehler’s time away from the club long enough for the Dodgers to need an interim option. Right-handers Kyle Hurt and Landon Knack are among the arms who the club could rely on to make a spot start or two while Buehler completes his rehab.

As for Brogdon, the right-hander hits the shelf just one week after the Dodgers acquired him from the Phillies in exchange for minor league lefty Benony Robles. Brogdon has made just one appearance in a Dodgers uniform to this point, allowing two runs on two hits in an inning of work against the Twins during which he did not record any walks or strikeouts. With Brogdon headed to the injured list and Miller’s replacement in the club’s rotation not yet needed on the roster, the Dodgers bullpen receives a pair of reinforcements in the form of Feyereisen and Ramirez.

Feyereisen, 31, joined the Dodgers during the 2022-23 offseason in a trade with the Rays after he had already undergone shoulder surgery that would end up keeping him from pitching at all in 2023. He made his Dodgers debut during the Seoul Series against the Padres but struggled, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one in a single inning of work. That rough performance was enough for the Dodgers to leave Feyereisen off their stateside Opening Day roster, though now he’ll get another opportunity with the big league club.

As for Ramirez, the Dodgers acquired the lefty this past winter in a cash deal with the Yankees earlier this month. The southpaw made his big league debut with the Tigers back in 2019 and posted middling during his first three seasons in the majors, pitching to a league average 4.55 ERA and 4.60 FIP in 110 2/3 innings of work split between Detroit and San Diego. Ramirez didn’t pitch in the majors during the 2022 season but resurfaced with the Yankees last year as a key contributor to the club’s bullpen with a 2.66 ERA and 2.94 FIP in 40 2/3 innings of work.

That made the southpaw something of a surprising cut from New York’s Opening Day roster, though the club ultimately decided to give his roster spot to fellow lefty Tanner Tully instead of retain him for the 2024 campaign. Now with the Dodgers, Ramirez figures to provide the club with a multi-inning option out of the bullpen while also giving the club an addition lefty to pair with Alex Vesia and Ryan Yarbrough.

NL West Notes: Flores, Jefferies, Thomas, Grichuk, Buehler

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Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores exited before the second inning of today’s game against the Padres after falling into the opposing dugout while attempting to catch a foul ball. He initially stayed in the game but was replaced by a pinch hitter before his first plate appearance. During the game, the team told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area) that Flores had suffered a right shoulder contusion. Afterward, Pavlovic added that the first baseman also had a cut on his finger and the Giants will reevaluate his condition tomorrow. Flores confirmed to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he had not hit his head.

Flores, 32, is coming off a career year for the Giants, in which he hit 22 doubles and 23 home runs with an .863 OPS over 126 games. His overall defensive metrics were not particularly impressive, but as usual, he did his best work at first base, producing 6 DRS and 1 OAA. He made just two errors in 61 games.

In additional Giants news, starting pitcher Daulton Jefferies also left the game early on Sunday, after giving up nine runs (five earned) in just two innings of work. According to Slusser, the righty felt some discomfort in his left hip. Like Flores, he will be re-evaluated tomorrow.

Jefferies, 28, had his contract officially selected today, ahead of his first MLB start in nearly two years. He underwent surgery for both thoracic outlet syndrome and a torn UCL in 2022, so he and the Giants will hope his latest injury is nothing more serious than mild discomfort.

In other news from around the NL West…

  • Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas left Sunday’s game against the Rockies in the fourth inning with what the team later announced as “left hamstring tightness.” Speaking after the game, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters that he decided to take Thomas out of the game, while the center fielder wanted to stay on the field (per Arizona Sports). Hopefully for the D-backs, that is a sign that this was merely a precautionary measure. Lovullo said the team will continue evaluating the 23-year-old over the rest of the night.
  • Earlier in the day, Lovullo provided an update on another one of his outfielders. Randal Grichuk, 32, is currently on a rehab stint with the Triple-A Reno Aces, and the skipper told reporters (including Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports) that he expects him to return soon after his minimum 10 days on the IL are up. Lovullo said Grichuk is already prepared to face major league pitching, but he needed a little more time to prep in the outfield after missing all of spring training recovering from ankle surgery.
  • Walker Buehler made his first rehab start today, pitching into the fourth inning for Triple-A Oklahoma City. His fastball velocity sat around 94 mph (h/t to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic), not quite as high as it was in 2021 and ’22, but promising for an early rehab appearance. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jack Harris of The Los Angeles Times) that Buehler would need to make around four rehab starts, with Juan Toribio of MLB.com noting that Buehler likely needs to build up to throwing 90 pitches; his goal today was 40-45.

NL West Notes: D’Backs, Montgomery, Buehler, Monfort

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The Diamondbacks officially introduced Jordan Montgomery at a press conference yesterday, with Montgomery, agent Scott Boras, and several team officials answering questions from the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports, and other media.  D’Backs managing general partner Ken Kendrick said that the club initially checked in on Montgomery early in the offseason but weren’t eager to meet the asking price at the time.  As Montgomery’s stay in free agency ended up stretching almost to the very end of Spring Training, GM Mike Hazen and assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye started to explore the idea of re-engaging with the southpaw, and negotiations both started and ended within just a few days’ time.

The two sides agreed to a one-year, $25MM contract with a $20MM vesting player option and opt-out clause covering the 2025 season.  Boras said Montgomery had some longer-term offers but “Jordan’s edict to me was, ’I want to play for a competitive team.  I want to make sure that I’m there and if I have to take something short-term to play for a competitive team, I will.’….It resulted in I think a deal that served our purposes in the short term and certainly served Jordan’s competitiveness needs and put an evaluation on I think his performance for this year and potentially next year that was appropriate for what he’s done.”

From Arizona’s perspective, adding Montgomery boosts payroll to a team-record $168MM for 2024, yet Kendrick and team president/CEO Derrick Hall are comfortable with the extra spending in order to keep the team in championship contention.  While Hall hinted that the D’Backs might need another lengthy postseason trip to sustain a higher payroll into 2025, Arizona’s run to the World Series last year already provided enough of an extra revenue boost (both in ticket sales during the playoffs and more tickets already sold for this season) to justify more of all-in push in 2024.

Some other items from the NL West…

  • Walker Buehler will throw four or five innings in a Triple-A rehab start on Sunday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times).  Sunday’s outing will be the first of four rehab starts for Buehler, as per the team’s current plans, though things remain fluid as the Dodgers want to be as careful as possible in managing Buehler’s return after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2022.  Buehler is already well beyond the normal 13-15 rehab window, though obviously not every recovery process is the same for every pitcher, plus this was also the second TJ procedure of Buehler’s career.  If all goes well at Triple-A, Buehler should be on track to be part of the L.A. rotation before April is over.
  • “I do feel like we are on the right track,” Rockies owner Dick Monfort told the Denver Post’s Troy Renck, with Monfort citing his team’s up-and-coming core of young talent and his ongoing trust in GM Bill Schmidt and manager Bud Black.  Colorado has had only five winning seasons since the Monfort family bought the team in late 2005, and things seemed to bottom out last year when the Rox lost a club-record 103 games.  Still, Monfort believes in the “organic” strategy of relying on homegrown prospects and only mid-range payrolls, as Monfort is critical of the revenue disparities among Major League franchises.  Denver fans have themselves long been critical of Monfort’s approach due to the lack of on-field success, and Monfort has frequently come under fire for his perpetually over-optimistic view of his team’s fortunes and the Rockies’ reliance on long-time employees.  While Monfort admitted that he worries about being too loyal at times, he noted that when looking to replace former GM Jeff Bridich, he wasn’t impressed by external candidates’ plans to fix the team.  “They would tell me how to win at altitude and everything they mentioned, it would not have worked, or it’s all things we have tried.  I think in any business you have to have people you can trust, and I trust [Schmidt and Black],” Monfort said.

Injury Notes: Twins, E-Rod, Dodgers, Jackson

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The Twins won their season-opener against the Royals yesterday, jumping out to a quick 1-0 lead with a first-inning homer off the bat of burgeoning star Royce Lewis. The former No. 1 overall pick singled in his next at-bat but departed shortly thereafter, coming up lame when going first-to-third on a Carlos Correa double. The Twins announced that Lewis had a quadriceps injury. He underwent an MRI last night, per Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Further updates figure to be available before tomorrow’s game, though Miller notes that Lewis was optimistic and described the feeling as cramping more than severe pain.

In many ways, it’s a three-inning microcosm of Lewis’ career. The 24-year-old is a .313/.369/.564 hitter in 284 plate appearances — not including last year’s four postseason homers in 26 plate appearances — but he’s also twice torn his ACL and had IL stints for oblique and hamstring strains. A healthy Lewis has superstar potential, but injuries have been far too frequent early in his career. If Lewis requires a trip to the injured list, top prospect Brooks Lee won’t be an option to replace him. The 2022 No. 8 overall pick is dealing with a back injury, and Triple-A skipper Toby Gardenhire tells KSTP’s Darren Wolfson that he’ll be down for about three to four weeks (X link). Minnesota also had an injury scare with right fielder Max Kepler, who exited the game after fouling a ball into his leg. X-rays came back negative, per the Star-Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale (X link).

A few more injury situations worth monitoring as they unfold…

  • The Diamondbacks lost Eduardo Rodriguez to a lat strain late in spring training — a discouraging development for the left-hander, who inked a four-year deal worth $80MM over the winter. No timetable was provided at the time of the injury, but manager Torey Lovullo told the team’s beat yesterday that Rodriguez could throw off a mound in about five days (X link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Jon Heyman of the New York Post, meanwhile, writes that the Snakes expect Rodriguez to be down for about a month. That’d be a notable absence but far from a worst-case scenario, as lat strains for pitchers can often result in multiple months on the shelf. In 152 2/3 frames last season, E-Rod notched a 3.30 ERA, 23% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate for the Tigers.
  • Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts provided a series of updates on some injured pitchers yesterday (X thread via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times). There was good news on both Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, each of whom Roberts described as ahead of schedule. The Dodgers have made clear they’re being cautious with Buehler’s rehab from a second career Tommy John surgery, but the right-hander’s progress so far is encouraging enough that he’ll be back “sooner than I think we anticipated,” per Roberts. Kershaw, who had shoulder surgery in early November, is long-tossing from 120 feet and ahead of initial rehab projections. Roberts’ updates on righties Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen were far less encouraging. Both are playing catch but are “a ways away” from activation. Graterol was slowed by hip and shoulder troubles during camp, while Treinen suffered a bruised lung when a comeback liner hit him in the chest. The Dodgers originally suggested that it wouldn’t require a lengthy absence, but Treinen has yet to even throw a bullpen session.
  • Right-hander Luke Jackson exited last night’s game with Giants trainers after suffering some degree of back injury. Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the 32-year-old Jackson underwent an MRI and will be further evaluated today. Jackson missed just under a month with a back strain last year but said following last night’s injury that the initial pain this time around was not as severe as it was in 2023. The Giants inked Jackson to a two-year, $11.5MM contract in the 2022-23 offseason while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He made his team debut late last May and was excellent when healthy enough to be on the roster: 33 1/3 innings, 2.97 ERA, 30.1% strikeout rate. Last night, however, Jackson’s velocity was down more than a mile per hour from his 2023 average, and he allowed all three hitters he faced to reach base. All three came around to score.

Dodgers Place Four Pitchers On Injured List

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The Dodgers finalized their roster for the Seoul Series this evening. Los Angeles didn’t make any 40-man transactions but did place four pitchers on the 10-day injured list: Walker Buehler, Emmet Sheehan, Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen.

None of those is all that unexpected. The Dodgers announced early in camp that they’d start Buehler on the IL so as not to push him too quickly after missing last season working back from his second Tommy John procedure. The team announced Sheehan’s injury as forearm inflammation. That’s a little surprising at first glance, considering they’d previously said he was dealing with shoulder discomfort. Fortunately, Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic reports (on X) that this isn’t a new injury and Sheehan is throwing to hitters.

Graterol and Treinen were each banged up in spring. Graterol has been delayed by hip tightness and inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The Dodgers announced the latter injury as the reason for the IL placement. Treinen suffered a bruised lung when he was hit by a comebacker in a Spring Training game on March 9.

None of the injuries seem all that serious, as the Dodgers appear to be playing things cautiously with this series. The placements could afford an opportunity for righty Landon Knack to make his major league debut. He’ll get a spot in the season-opening bullpen after the Dodgers selected his contract over the winter.

Knack, 26, was a senior sign out of East Tennessee State in 2020. The former second-round pick has posted strong numbers in his minor league career. He turned in a 2.51 ERA over 22 starts between the top two minor league levels last season.

Of course, L.A.’s more anticipated first big league outing will come on Thursday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is tabbed to start the second game of the season opposite Joe Musgrove. It’ll be Yu Darvish and Tyler Glasnow kicking things off on Wednesday.

Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes Discusses Kershaw, Injuries

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Dodgers fans enjoyed the club’s annual FanFest today, and among the festivities were comments from GM Brandon Gomes as well as several players. In addition to providing a handful of injury updates, Gomes discussed the future of longtime franchise face and generational hurler Clayton Kershaw during the event.

As relayed by The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, Gomes told reporters that the door remains open for Kershaw to return to the only club he’s known throughout his illustrious 18-season professional career even after the Dodgers have spent the offseason completely retooling their rotation mix with the additions of right-handers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow as well as the more recent pickup of veteran southpaw James Paxton. Kershaw has long been expected to choose between either staying with the Dodgers or joining his hometown Rangers on the heels of the first World Series championship in franchise history, with ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez indicating that the expectation is that he’ll eventually sign a two-year deal with one of the two clubs.

“We continue to stay in touch with Clayton,” Gomes said (as relayed by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register), “and we’ll progress.”

Kershaw, of course, is among the greatest starters in MLB history. The southpaw has ten All Star appearances, three Cy Young awards, and an MVP award on his mantel and is just 66 batters set down away from 3,000 career strikeouts. Dominant as he’s been throughout his entire career, it’s worth noting that the lefty battled through injury in the second half last year. While he managed a sterling 2.23 ERA in that time, he struck out just 22.2% of batters faced in his final eight starts of the regular season while issuing free passes at an uncharacteristic 11.1% clip and never throwing more than 66 pitches during a start. The lefty’s 2023 season came to a close with a disastrous performance in Game 1 of the NLDS where he allowed six runs while recording just one out.

Shortly after the season wrapped up, Kershaw announced that he had undergone surgery on the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule of his left shoulder. At the time, Kershaw said that he hoped to return “sometime” during the summer of 2024 before indicating back in December that his recovery process was going “really well.” While there have been no updates to the contrary to this point, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio recently offered a more specific timeline for Kershaw’s return to the mound, reporting that the lefty isn’t expected to pitch in the majors until “at least August.” That timeline is on the later end of the summer estimate provided at the time of Kershaw’s surgery, but would still give the lefty ample time to gear up for another crack at the postseason.

Given Kershaw’s lengthy timeline for return, it’s not necessarily surprising that neither side appears to have much urgency in putting pen to paper. Plunkett noted that the Dodgers will be able to put players who expected to miss at least the first two months of the season onto the 60-day IL, thus opening up their 40-man roster spot for the duration of their injury, starting on February 8. With that date less than a week away, it’s hard to imagine Kershaw being officially added to the roster- and thus requiring a corresponding 40-man move- before then, though it’s certainly possible Kershaw’s free agency could extend well beyond that date as well.

Setting aside Kershaw, Gomes made note of one hurler already under contract who’s poised to start the season on the shelf: right-hander Walker Buehler. The GM noted (as relayed by Plunkett) that Buehler’s return to a major league mound for the first time since June of 2022 will be “slow-played”, with both Gomes himself and (per Ardaya) manager Dave Roberts indicating that the righty is likely to start his 2024 campaign late. With that being said, Gomes makes clear that Buehler is not currently a candidate to start the season on the 60-day IL, indicating the club could stand to welcome Buehler back into the rotation mix fairly early into the 2024 campaign.

That the club might look to delay Buehler’s start to the season is hardly a surprise, given comments last month from Gomes noting that the Dodgers would be on a “flexible” innings limit of some sort throughout the year with an eye toward ensuring he’s available for the stretch run and a potential postseason push. It’s understandable that the Dodgers would place a premium on ensuring Buehler is healthy, as the right-hander was among the best starting pitchers in the league from 2018 to 2021, when he posted an excellent 2.82 ERA and 3.16 FIP across 564 innings of work. In the meantime, Buehler’s absence at the start of the season figures to open up a spot in the club’s Opening Day rotation alongside Yamamoto, Glasnow, Paxton, and sophomore righty Bobby Miller for one of the club’s young arms such as Emmet Sheehan or Gavin Stone.

In terms of more positive injury updates, Gomes told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) that infielder Gavin Lux is fully ready for Spring Training after missing the entire 2023 campaign due to a torn ACL suffered last February, while superstar slugger Shohei Ohtani has begun hitting although he has yet to resume throwing after undergoing elbow surgery back in September. Gonzalez adds that Ohtani himself told reporters that he is “very confident” he’ll be in the lineup on Opening Day, setting the stage for the international superstar to appear in the club’s March 20 game against the Padres in South Korea.

DiGiovanna also notes that Gomes expressed optimism regarding veteran right-hander Blake Treinen, who the GM said is “trending” towards a return after missing the entire 2023 campaign and throwing just five innings during the 2022 season. Treinen sports a sterling 2.49 ERA and 3.12 FIP in 229 appearances dating back to the 2018 season, and figures to be a key piece of the club’s bullpen if he manages to make a healthy return to the mound. That being said, the potential return of Treinen hasn’t stopped the Dodgers from pursuing bullpen additions this winter.

West Notes: Buehler, Kershaw, Rangers, Astros, Giants, Yamamoto

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The Dodgers have long seemed likely to lean on the services of right-hander Walker Buehler next season as he returns from rehabbing Tommy John surgery, which will have kept him away from the major league mound for nearly two years by the time Opening Day 2024 rolls around. While the club has recently bolstered its rotation with the additions of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, the club’s starting corps still offers little certainty beyond that duo, Buehler, and sophomore right-hander Bobby Miller even as youngsters like Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone show promise.

According to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, the club may be more careful with Buehler’s return to action than initially expected. While the right-hander is expected to be at full strength for Spring Training, Plunkett indicates that the club intends to limit Buehler’s innings in 2024, though he relays comments from GM Brandon Gomes that indicate the club is likely to be “flexible” regarding the specific innings total Buehler is allowed to reach and his schedule for the 2024 campaign as a whole. Plunkett goes on to suggest that one possibility would be delaying the start of Buehler’s 2024 season in order to ensure he’ll be available to the Dodgers come October.

If the Dodgers do intend to have Buehler sit out the start of the season, it would further incentivize the club to add additional depth to its rotation even after landing both Yamamoto and Glasnow. Even if the club ends up reuniting with longtime ace Clayton Kershaw, the veteran lefty isn’t expected to return to the mound until sometime next summer after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. Adding an additional starting pitching option who figures to be ready to go on Opening Day along with Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Miller would allow the club to have the likes of Sheehan, Stone, and Ryan Yarbrough battle for the fifth starting job entering the season rather than using them to cover multiple rotation spots.

More from around MLB’s West divisions…

  • While he has re-upped with the Dodgers on one-year pacts each of the past two offseasons, it doesn’t appear that Kershaw’s return to L.A. is necessarily guaranteed, as Kershaw’s hometown Rangers have been frequently connected to the veteran lefty this offseason on the heels of their first World Series championship in franchise history. While the club already has Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Mahle all targeting midseason returns from surgeries of their own, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Scherzer’s recent surgery hasn’t deterred the Rangers from their pursuit of the 3-time Cy Young Award winner. While Kershaw has struggled to stay healthy in recent years, he’s been as valuable as ever when he manages to take the mound with a 2.67 ERA and 3.23 FIP in 78 starts since the start of the 2020 season.
  • Astros center field prospect Jacob Melton was a hot commodity on the trade market at the trade deadline this year, as noted by Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Rome relays comments from Houston GM Dana Brown who told a podcast run by the Astros that Melton was “the one guy [he] was afraid to give away” but that he was asked after in “almost every” trade conversation last summer. Rome goes on to note some officials in the organization internally valued him more highly than top prospect Drew Gilbert, who was part of the package the club dealt to New York to re-acquire Justin Verlander. Melton, 23, was the club’s second-round pick in the 2022 draft and slashed .245/.334/.467 across 99 games split between the High-A and Double-A levels last year.
  • While the Giants ultimately fell short in their pursuit of Yamamoto, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the club was “in the mix right until the very end” and that Yamamoto was impressed enough with San Francisco’s pitch that the club would have been the “West Coast finalist” for his services had the Dodgers not entered the fray after signing Shohei Ohtani. A source indicated to Slusser that Ohtani’s presence on the Dodgers played a role in Yamamoto’s decision to ultimately sign with the club for a record-breaking $325MM guaranteed over twelve years.

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Free Agent Class Preview: Catcher and First Base, Márquez Extension and the Dodgers’ Rotation

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • What can the Tigers do about Spencer Turnbull? (16:45)
  • Will the Athletics change their spending habits after they move to Las Vegas? (22:00)
  • Why is the American League Central always so bad and will that ever change? (25:45)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Waiver Claim Fallout, September Call-Ups and the Biggest Strength of Each Playoff Contender – listen here
  • MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Shohei Ohtani’s Torn UCL, Free Agent Power Rankings and Stephen Strasburg to Retire – listen here
  • The White Sox Fire Their Front Office, Injured Rays and Prospect Promotion Time – listen here

Walker Buehler Won’t Return This Year

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The Dodgers announced that right-hander Walker Buehler, who recently began a rehab assignment after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, won’t return to the club this year. He will instead focusing on getting healthy for 2024.

“My goal since last year has been to return to a major league mound this season,” Buehler says in a club statement. “After many conversations with my doctor, the Dodgers’ front office, training staff and my family, we concluded that waiting until next season is the right course of action. I am disappointed that I will not be able to help this team go after a title in the 2023 postseason, but I look forward to returning fully healthy in 2024 and bringing another World Series to L.A.”

Buehler, 29, underwent Tommy John surgery in August of last year. Given that the recovery period for that procedure often pushes to 14 months or more, his ability to return in 2023 was questionable right from the get-go. Nonetheless, he planned to give it a try, saying earlier in the year that he was targeting a September return. That plan still seemed to be on track as recently as this weekend, when Buehler started a rehab assignment, tossing two innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.

But it seems that Buehler, along with the various other parties he mentioned, have decided that it’s no longer feasible. It’s unclear exactly what the situation is, but Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports that there was no setback and that Buehler still feels good physically. He just hasn’t progressed enough and pushing himself in the next few weeks comes with too high a risk of re-injury.

While it sounds like both the pitcher and the club have agreed that prioritizing his long-term health is the sensible approach, it will be a significant challenge for the club in the short-term given the other challenges they are facing in the rotation. Dustin May required flexor tendon surgery earlier this year and Tony Gonsolin required Tommy John surgery not too long ago. Both of them are now out for the remainder of this year and at least part of next year as well. Julio Urías was placed on administrative leave earlier this week as the league investigates him for a possible domestic violence violation. His situation is unclear but it seems unlikely he will be returning anytime soon.

Those absences, along with today’s news about Buehler, make the rotation start to feel a bit flimsy. The Dodgers are in a healthy place overall with a record of 85-54, putting them 13 games up on the Diamondbacks in the division and eight games ahead of the Brewers for a bye through the first round of the playoffs. But starting pitching takes on magnified importance in the postseason when teams lean on their top pitchers more often.

The Dodgers still have Clayton Kershaw on the active roster, though his health is a big question mark at the moment. He already missed over a month of the season, from early July to the middle of August, due to a shoulder issue. While on the IL, he spoke about how he felt fine but was being told to rest after undergoing an MRI. He’s now been back for over a month but it seems that situation is lingering.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic looked into the details this week, highlighting that Kershaw failed to hit 90 mph with his fastball at any point in his most recent outing, despite averaging over 91 mph with the pitch earlier in the year. Kershaw continues to assert that he feels fine, in spite of the clearly diminished stuff. Manager Dave Roberts conceded that Kershaw was still not 100% healthy but insisted he would continue to pitch. “He’s going to keep going until he can’t,” Roberts said. “If he is able to take the baseball, he’s going to take the baseball.”

There’s also Lance Lynn, acquired from the White Sox at the deadline, though he has an earned run average of 6.09 on the year. That mark was 6.47 with Chicago and he initially showed better results after changing jerseys, but he went on to allow 15 earned runs over his two most recent starts. Ryan Yarbrough has a 3.80 ERA but the club doesn’t seem to trust him beyond pitching bulk innings out of the bullpen.

Beyond them, the club is relying on rookies, with some encouraging results in there. Bobby Miller has a 3.80 ERA on the year in his 17 starts and Ryan Pepiot is at 0.86 in his four outings. On the less encouraging side, Emmet Sheehan has an ERA of 5.31 while Michael Grove is at 6.61 and currently rehabbing a lat strain.

All in all, there are plenty of questions in that mix, either due to health or a lack of experience or general ineffectiveness. Bringing Buehler back could have been a difference maker, as he has a 3.02 career ERA in the regular season and a 2.94 mark in the postseason. However, it seems that’s not in the cards and the Dodgers will have to cobble together a playoff rotation without him. Buehler will instead set his sights on the 2024 campaign, which will be important for him personally, as that will be his final arbitration season before he is slated to reach free agency.

Walker Buehler To Begin Rehab Assignment

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Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, with Alden González of ESPN among those to relay word from manager Dave Roberts. The righty will make at least three rehab appearances before rejoining the big league club, the first of which will be around one or two innings.

Buehler, 29, is a potential difference-maker down the stretch for the Dodgers, both because of his previous levels of excellence and the challenges the club has faced in the rotation this year. From Buehler’s debut in 2017 through 12 starts last year, he owns a career earned run average of 3.02 in 638 1/3 innings. He struck out 27% of batters faced in that time while walking just 6.3% and keeping the ball on the ground at a 45.4% rate.

Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in August of last year, putting him on the shelf for the remainder of that campaign. It also was fair to wonder if he would be able to return at any point in 2023, given that the recovery period from that procedure usually pushes towards the vicinity of 14 months. However, he has said this year that he would target a return in September, which seems to still be on the table.

Roberts said Buehler returning as a reliever is not an option, so it seems the plan is for him to return as a starter, though he might not have enough time to be fully ramped up at first. His rehab will start with one to two innings, as mentioned, presumably building his pitch count gradually over a few more outings. He could then return to the big leagues in mid to late September, though perhaps still requiring some kind of bulk pitcher to come in behind him.

Even with some limitations, the Dodgers would surely be thrilled with whatever Buehler can provide. Their rotation has lost both Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin to season-ending surgeries, while Michael Grove is also on the injured list. They acquired Lance Lynn at the deadline and tried to add Eduardo Rodriguez as well, though he used his no-trade clause to block the deal and stay with the Tigers.

They currently have Lynn, Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urías and Bobby Miller in four spots, with Ryan Yarbrough taking on bulk innings out of the bullpen. Younger pitchers like Emmet Sheehan, Ryan Pepiot and Gavin Stone are on the 40-man and have been bouncing on and off the active roster as needed.

The club is a lock to make the playoffs, as they have a 83-50 record and a 13.5-game lead in the National League West. That puts them nine games ahead of the Central-leading Brewers, making a first-round bye also a strong possibility. That should give them some flexibility with the remainder of their schedule to get a look at Buehler, who could jump into the postseason rotation if all goes according to plan in the next few weeks. Whether he’s still limited to short outings or has been fully stretched out by that point will be determined in the weeks to come. In 79 2/3 postseason innings for his career, he has a 2.94 ERA.

Returning before season’s end would also be good for Buehler personally. He is set to reach free agency after 2024, meaning he would surely love to finish this year strong before going into an important platform season.

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