Over the weekend, what had been apparent for some time was finally confirmed by the Dodgers. Starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin has been pitching hurt. In all likelihood, the 2022 NL All-Star will be shut down for the rest of the season and that leaves an opening in the starting rotation for the next six weeks or so of the regular season.
So, the question for the Dodgers now is, who should replace Gonsolin going forward?
Ryan Pepiot
We got our first look of the season at one of the top options in Ryan Pepiot, who made his 2023 debut on Saturday after missing most of the season with an oblique injury. He made a statement with 5 innings of 1 run relief and firmly threw his name in the hat to get some more MLB experience under his belt.
Adding to his ledger of reasons he should get the job was that an injury originally robbed him of a starting rotation spot he earned out of spring training (to, at that time, again fill in for an injured Gonsolin).
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasn't ready to commit to Pepiot following his season debut on Saturday, but left the door open for the likelihood.
“Certainly, the way he threw the baseball speaks to him getting another opportunity or opportunities, and I just don't know right now how that's going to look for the next couple of weeks.”
Gavin Stone
Another option is fellow rookie Gavin Stone. We haven't seen Stone at the big league level for a while. And when we have, it's been mostly disaster (12.75 ERA over 4 games). While his Triple-A ERA isn't pretty at the moment (5.11 over 19 starts), he's pitched much better of late with a 2.75 ERA over his last 5 starts.
Roberts threw Stone's name in the hat to replace Gonsolin, but he seems less likely to get the call, particularly with his minor league options status nearing something of an issue after being optioned three times already in 2023.
Emmet Sheehan
Sheehan was the odd man out when Clayton Kershaw returned from the IL two weeks ago. Since returning to AAA, he's working in more of a hybrid role for the Dodgers, twice pitching 4 innings in relief 10 days apart.
Considering his recent run -- or struggles, rather -- with the big league club and total innings count so far in 2023 (99.2 IP), he's more likely to stay at AAA and continue working in relief for the time being.
Ryan Yarbrough
The only option currently on the big league roster, Yarbrough was acquired by the Dodgers as an emergency option for the starting rotation. However, he's pitched well in his role for LA so far. Really well (2 earned runs over 12.1 IP in bulk relief).
When asked about Yarbrough, Dave Roberts made it seem more likely that he'd stay in his current role.
“As we've seen, his ability to pitch a couple times a week, shorten games, save the bullpen, has proved valuable. So you could argue that, versus pitching every five or six days.”
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