Emmet Sheehan was expected to be part of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Opening Day rotation but those plans changed when general body soreness slowed him in Spring Training.
The right-hander’s ailment was updated to be right shoulder soreness before the Dodgers put Sheehan on the 15-day injured list with right forearm inflammation when they set their Opening Day roster for the Seoul Series. Sheehan has since been transferred to the 60-day IL and cannot be activated until Saturday, May 18.
At the time, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated Sheehan was doing well and had just faced batters.
Unfortunately for Sheehan, he has experienced a setback and won’t return for the foreseeable future, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“(His shoulder) just hasn’t been responding. So right now, it’s non-activity as far as throwing,” Roberts said.
Sheehan is on the 60-day IL and not eligible to be activated until mid-May. But Roberts said the right-hander “is a ways away” from making a return to the mound.
“I just know it’s gonna be a longer-term situation,” he said.
The latest development is nothing short of disappointing for Sheehan, who had hopes of building off his 2023 season in which he went 4-1 with a 4.92 ERA, 4.85 FIP and 1.19 WHIP across 13 games (11 starts).
With Sheehan now expected to be sidelined even longer, it places further strain on the Dodgers’ pitching depth as several starters currently aren’t available.
Bobby Miller was placed on the 15-day IL over the weekend due to right shoulder inflammation and Walker Buehler is still in the midst of his Minor League rehab assignment.
Meanwhile, Tony Gonsolin is not expected to pitch this year, while Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May could potentially return at some point in the second half.
Dodgers rotation without Emmet Sheehan
As it currently stands, the Dodgers have only four healthy starting pitchers in Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Gavin Stone and James Paxton. The team could fill the fifth spot with an opener until Buehler is ready to return to the Majors.
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