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Dodgers Place Gavin Stone On Injured List

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The Dodgers announced they have recalled right-hander Landon Knack and left-hander Justin Wrobleski. In corresponding moves, they have optioned righty Michael Petersen and placed righty Gavin Stone on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

At this point, it’s the path forward for Stone is fairly unclear. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says the young righty will be shut down for about ten days and the plan from there will depend on how he feels at that point, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic on X. It’s likely to be a notable development regardless of how that plays out, both due to Stone’s strong performance this year and the other injuries in the club’s rotation.

Stone made his major league debut last year, making eight appearances, including four starts. He didn’t find immediate success, as he allowed 31 earned runs in his 31 innings last year, meaning he came into 2024 with his earned run average at an even 9.00.

But he has taken a significant step forward so far this year. He has made 25 starts for the Dodgers and logged 140 1/3 innings with a 3.53 ERA. His 20% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 44.2% ground ball rate are all fairly close to average for a starting pitcher this year.

Subtracting that kind of solid performance would be unwelcome for any club but it’s especially notable for the Dodgers, who have been suffering through a huge slate of rotation injuries this year and in the past as well.

Stone is actually the only pitcher on the club currently qualified for the ERA title, as he leads the team in both starts and innings pitched. That’s due to just about every other pitcher on the staff spending at least some time on the IL. Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, River Ryan and Emmet Sheehan are all currently on the IL. Now that Stone is joining them, that gives the club eight viable starters currently on the shelf.

May, Ryan and Sheehan are done for the year due to major surgeries. Yamamoto is going to be reinstated next week but isn’t fully stretched out, having thrown 53 pitches in his most recent rehab outing. Glasnow is a few steps behind Yamamoto, as he’s playing catch but hasn’t yet taken the mound, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (X link). Kershaw hit the IL a week ago due to a bone spur in his toe and has an uncertain timeline. Gonsolin is trying to come back from last year’s Tommy John surgery but will be limited to relief work, at best.

For now, the rotation consists of Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, Knack and Wrobleski. That group will be welcoming back Yamamoto soon but, as mentioned, he isn’t fully ramped up and might need a piggyback. Flaherty has some injury questions of his own, as he had back issues earlier this year with the Tigers, which reportedly scuttled a trade with the Yankees and led to him landing with the Dodgers instead. Buehler has a 5.67 ERA this year and Miller is at 7.79. Knack and Wrobleski each have less than 50 major league innings pitched.

It’s a less than ideal situation for a club that is still playing meaningful games. The club’s 84-56 record is tied with the Phillies for the best in baseball, but the Central-leading Brewers are just three games back, meaning a bye through the Wild Card round is no guarantee. The division isn’t totally sewn up either, as the Padres are just five games back of the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks 5.5.

Even if the Dodgers cruise into the postseason, having a banged-up rotation can cause trouble in a short playoff series, as the Dodgers know well. They won 100 games last year but their rotation was in shambles by the time the postseason rolled around, which led to them being quickly swept by the Diamondbacks.

At this point, it’s still technically possible that the Dodgers could have a postseason rotation consisting of Flaherty, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Stone and Kershaw, but there are question marks with each of them. That could perhaps lead to someone like Buehler, Miller or Knack sliding into the mix simply due to a lack of other options.

Dodgers To Activate Yamamoto Next Week

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto will return to the Dodgers’ rotation on Tuesday. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Alden González of ESPN) that the right-hander will get the start for the second game of next week’s set with the Cubs. Yamamoto is on the 60-day injured list and will need to be reinstated onto the 40-man roster.

It’ll likely be a brief appearance. Yamamoto last pitched in the majors on June 15. A rotator cuff strain knocked him out of action for more than two months. The 26-year-old joined Triple-A Oklahoma City on a rehab stint last week. He only pitched there twice, topping out at two innings. He labored through 53 pitches last night, and while his results weren’t good, he built up enough that the Dodgers don’t feel he needs another rehab appearance.

The Dodgers will presumably limit Yamamoto to somewhere in the 60-75 pitch range next week. L.A. has a decent 5.5-game cushion on the Padres in the NL West. They’re a game up on the Phillies for the top seed in the National League and three clear of the Brewers for a first-round bye. They’re still playing meaningful regular season games, but the primary focus is again on October.

Yamamoto should be able to log four turns through the rotation before the regular season concludes. That’d be ample time to build to a typical starter’s pitch count going into the postseason. If his stuff returns to pre-injury levels, he could be Roberts’ choice to start the first game of a playoff series. Yamamoto’s first MLB start was a nightmare, as he allowed four hits and five runs and didn’t make it to the second inning. The former NPB star has been as advertised since then. In the 13 starts since his debut, he sports a 2.34 earned run average with a 28.1% strikeout rate through 73 innings.

While it’s too soon to make definitive judgments about the Dodgers’ $325MM investment, Yamamoto was pitching like the top-of-the-rotation arm that L.A. expected. He’s part of an extremely high-variance rotation. Jack Flaherty and Gavin Stone are leading the group at the moment. Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw are on the IL. The Dodgers seem hopeful that both Glasnow and Kershaw will be back with a couple weeks to spare. If they get each of Yamamoto, Glasnow, Flaherty, Stone and Kershaw firing on all cylinders, they’ll go into the playoffs with an excellent rotation. That’s a big ask with the health uncertainty surrounding most of that group.

Kershaw went on the IL over the weekend with a bone spur in his left big toe. The Dodgers will turn to rookie righty Landon Knack in his place for Friday’s series opener with the Guardians, Roberts said (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Knack has been on and off the MLB roster as an injury replacement throughout the season. He has performed well when called upon, working to an even 3.00 ERA over 48 innings.

River Ryan Suffers Season-Ending UCL Strain

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7:40PM: Roberts updated reporters (including Jack Harris) with the news that Ryan has a UCL strain.  It is still too early to tell if the injury can be treated without surgery, or if Ryan will ultimately need a Tommy John or brace procedure.

1:38PM: Dodgers starter River Ryan is done for the season after suffering an elbow injury in his last outing (per Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Manager Dave Roberts says the team is still figuring out the proper diagnosis and the next steps for the 25-year-old hurler, but he will not be able to return to the mound in 2024 (per Jack Harris of the LA Times). Even if Ryan is able to avoid a worst-case scenario of a major surgery, he simply won’t have time to rest, rehab, and return before the end of the year. The Dodgers have placed Ryan on the 15-day injured list, and recalled Landon Knack ahead of today’s series finale against the Pirates.

Ryan is widely considered one of the top pitching prospects in the Dodgers organization – if not one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Although a shoulder injury held him back at the beginning of the year, he has looked phenomenal since his return. The righty posted a 2.66 ERA over six starts at Triple-A and a 1.33 ERA across his first four starts in the majors. His four-seam fastball sits just above 96 mph, and his slider and curveball both look like they could be dominant secondary offerings. Ryan’s underlying numbers aren’t quite as impressive as his ERA, but his 4.50 SIERA and 3.97 xERA are still solid for a young pitcher who was thrust into a big league role sooner than expected.

Indeed, Ryan made his big league debut after the All-Star break because the Dodgers were desperate for pitching. Today, he has become another one of the team’s many injured starters. The situation is a little better now that Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw are healthy and Jack Flaherty has entered the equation, but Ryan now joins such teammates as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, and Dustin May on the injured list.

It is only a matter of time before Ryan is transferred to the 60-day IL, likely when one of Max Muncy or Tommy Edman is ready to be reinstated. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters (including Jim Bowden of The Athletic) that Muncy and Edman could get back on the field during the team’s next homestand, which begins with a series against the Mariners on August 19.

Knack, 27, has made nine appearances (eight starts) for the Dodgers this year, pitching to a 3.07 ERA and 4.00 SIERA. He has a 3.97 ERA in 59 innings at Triple-A. While he is primarily a starting pitcher, he will join L.A. as additional bullpen depth, likely just until Buehler makes his expected return on Wednesday.

Dodgers Temporarily Shut Down Clayton Kershaw With Shoulder Soreness

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The Dodgers are halting Clayton Kershaw’s rehab process. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters that L.A. is shutting down the future Hall of Famer after he reported lingering soreness in his surgically repaired shoulder (link via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).

Roberts downplayed any significant alarm, noting that a recent MRI revealed “no new incidents.” Rather, it seems the team is chalking it up as residual soreness. That’s not entirely unexpected as Kershaw builds into game shape after undergoing the procedure to repair the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule in his throwing shoulder last November.

It seems Kershaw will be shut down entirely for at least a week. Roberts left open a fairly broad timetable, indicating the 10-time All-Star will hold off until the soreness completely subsides. That’s an understandable approach that might not delay Kershaw for too much longer. It introduces some amount of uncertainty to his timeline, though.

The 36-year-old had looked to be on track for a return around the All-Star Break. Kershaw started a rehab stint for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga last Wednesday. He tossed 36 pitches, 26 of them strikes, over three innings of one-run ball in his first game action of the season. Kershaw’s second start had been scheduled for tomorrow but things are on hold after he felt the discomfort in the days coming out of his first appearance.

Los Angeles recently placed Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler on the 15-day injured list. That pushed Landon Knack into the starting five behind Tyler Glasnow, Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone and James Paxton. Knack was recalled to rejoin the MLB staff last Friday. He tossed five scoreless frames against the Angels. Roberts said this evening that the rookie righty will remain in the starting five for the moment and is slated to take the ball for this weekend’s series in San Francisco (relayed on X by David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports).

Dodgers Add Anthony Banda To Active Roster

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The Dodgers announced a series of roster moves today, highlighted by the club adding left-hander Anthony Banda to the active roster. Right-hander Landon Knack was recalled from Triple-A alongside Banda, while righties J.P. Feyereisen and Ricky Vanasco were both optioned to Triple-A. Right-hander Connor Brogdon was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Banda on the 40-man roster.

L.A. acquired Banda, 30, from the Guardians on Friday, but the lefty had not been on Cleveland’s 40-man roster and therefore did not require a corresponding 40-man move until he was formally added to the roster today. The lefty signed a minor league deal with Cleveland back in January and impressed over 17 innings of work at the Triple-A level, where he struck out a whopping 37.9% of batters faced en route to a 2.12 ERA in 12 appearances prior to the trade.

A tenth-round pick by the Brewers in the 2012 draft, Banda has appeared in parts of seven big league seasons since he made his debut with the Diamondbacks in 2017. In all, the lefty has collected 90 big league appearances with seven different clubs but struggled at virtually every stop along the way. His career ERA sits at 5.69 in the big leagues despite a decent 4.35 FIP, although Banda’s big strikeout numbers in the minors could change his fortunes if they manage to translate to the big league level. After all, Banda has posted a career strikeout rate of just 19.9% to this point in his career, and his minor league strikeout rate over a full season peaked at just 26.9% at Triple-A with the Rays back in 2018. Clearly, the Dodgers are intrigued enough by the possibilities of Banda’s newfound swing-and-miss to give him a shot in their bullpen.

Joining the club’s roster alongside Banda is Knack, 26. The rookie right-hander is set to make his fourth spot start at the big league level of the season today and has generally gotten strong results despite weak peripherals to this point in his big league career. In 16 innings of work in the majors this season, Knack has posted a 2.81 ERA despite a meager 16.9% strikeout rate and three home runs allowed during that time. Those shaky underlying numbers have left Knack with a 5.52 FIP, although he’s posted a decent 4.15 ERA across five starts at the Triple-A level to this point in the season.

Making room for Banda and Knack on the roster are Feyereisen and Vanasco, both of whom are headed to Triple-A after brief stints in the Dodgers bullpen. Vanasco ultimately appeared in just one game for L.A. before being optioned, though he impressed with two perfect frames and recorded a strikeout in his big league debut. As for Feyereisen, the 31-year-old’s return from shoulder surgery has been an uneven one, as he’s allowed a 6.00 ERA and 4.81 FIP across nine appearances thanks in part to an elevated 13.2% walk rate. He’ll head to Triple-A in hopes of sorting things out and returning to the big league bullpen later this year. As for Brogdon, the righty has been out since mid-April after being placed on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis shortly after being acquired from the Phillies and has no clear timetable for return.

Dodgers To Recall Ricky Vanasco, Landon Knack For MLB Debuts

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The Dodgers are planning to recall right-handers Ricky Vanasco and Landon Knack from Triple-A Oklahoma City this week, reports Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic. Should either pitcher get into a game, they’d be making their respective major league debuts.

Knack and Vanasco are both on the 40-man roster, so the Dodgers would only need to make corresponding active roster moves to bring them up. Knack has actually accrued a few days of major league service, as he was in the L.A. bullpen for their season-opening set against the Padres in Seoul. He didn’t get into a game and was optioned before the team’s domestic opener.

An East Tennessee State product, Knack was a second-round senior sign in 2020. He has worked as a starter throughout his minor league career, turning in a solid 3.44 ERA over 243 professional innings. That includes a stellar 2.51 mark over 22 appearances between Double-A Tulsa and OKC last season. Knack has taken the ball three times in Triple-A this year, posting a 16:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing seven runs through 15 2/3 frames. Baseball America ranked him the #11 prospect in the system this winter, pointing to a future as a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Vanasco did not appear among L.A.’s top 30 prospects. However, the Dodgers liked him enough to sign him to a major league deal this offseason. That came a few months after L.A. had run him through outright waivers but within two weeks of his qualifying for minor league free agency for the first time.

The 25-year-old is a former Ranger draftee who once ranked among the better prospects in the Texas farm system. Control issues pushed him to the bullpen last season, but Vanasco has shown swing-and-miss stuff. He posted a 2.78 ERA with a near-32% strikeout percentage over 32 1/3 minor league frames last season. Vanasco has fanned eight hitters in four innings of Triple-A work this year, although he’s also walked six.

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 Add Three To 40-Man Roster

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The Dodgers have selected the contracts of three players: right-handers Nick Frasso and Landon Knack and catcher Hunter Feduccia. The trio would have otherwise been eligible for the Rule 5 draft. The 40-man count is up to 38.

Frasso was a fourth round selection of the Blue Jays in 2020. The Dodgers acquired him at the ’22 deadline in the deal sending Mitch White to Toronto. A Loyola Marymount product, Frasso has mid-upper 90s velocity and is an excellent athlete. Baseball America recently ranked him as the #5 prospect in the L.A. system. He spent the bulk of 2023 at Double-A Tulsa, working to a 3.91 ERA in 73 2/3 innings. The 6’5″ hurler struck out almost 30% of opponents against a solid 7.6% walk rate in that breakout showing.

Knack, 26, was a second round pick in the same draft. A senior sign out of East Tennessee State, he’s a potential back-end starter. Knack split the ’23 campaign between Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City, posting a sub-3.00 ERA at both stops. He allowed 2.51 earned runs per nine in 100 1/3 frames overall, striking out 24% of batters faced with a 7.3% walk percentage.

Feduccia, also 26, is a left-handed hitter out of LSU. A 12th-round pick in 2018, he has spent six seasons in the minors. He logged all of 2023 in OKC, running a .279/.387/.451 batting line over 380 trips to the plate. Feduccia walked at a huge 15.3% clip, struck out around 21% of the time and connected on 11 home runs.

Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 first reported the selections of Frasso and Feduccia this afternoon.

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