Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to undergo a season-ending injury with Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation next week following an injury-related absence of nearly three months
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will rejoin the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation next week after missing almost three months due to a right arm injury.
Yamamoto is scheduled to start on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium against the Chicago Cubs, as announced by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Wednesday.
The $325 million pitcher has recently made two rehab starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City. With the Dodgers needing to see if Yamamoto can help them as they push for a World Series, they’re not waiting any longer to find out.
“I think the stuff will be there,” Roberts said. “I’m not sure about how the command is going to be, so I think the way we’re looking at it is we’re going to get four starts from him (before the playoffs), and if we can log four starts and build up volume, we’ll be ready to go beyond that.”
Yamamoto, 26, has been on the injured list since June 16 due to what the Dodgers initially called a right triceps injury. Roberts had earlier mentioned that the injury also involved a rotator cuff strain.
Before the injury, Yamamoto was having a strong first season in the majors, with a 6-2 record, a 2.92 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP over 14 starts. However, he left a game against Kansas City after just two innings and was placed on the injured list the next day.
Yamamoto didn’t pitch for about a month and has been working on rebuilding his arm strength since then. He threw two innings for Oklahoma City last Tuesday night, using 53 pitches.
The Dodgers have the best record in the majors after their win against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night, marking their 12th victory in 15 games. However, their rotation still faces significant concerns this year following pitching injuries that impacted their 100-win season last fall.
Even though the Los Angeles Dodgers are just one game back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in all of baseball, they have had to endure some of the most brutal injury luck throughout the entire season. On Friday, the Dodgers were given even more bad news when starting pitching Gavin Stone was placed on the injured list with what the team described as “right shoulder inflammation.”
Stone, who had been the only member of the Dodgers’ starting rotation to not miss a start this season, is now the 12th Dodgers’ starting pitcher to take a stint on the injured list. Stone is also one of eight Dodgers starters who are currently on the injured list. Clayton Kershaw (toe, expected back mid-Sept.), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (triceps, expected back mid-Sept.), Tyler Glasnow (elbow, expected back mid-Sept.), Tony Gonsolin (elbow, expected back late-Sept.), Dustin May (neck, out for the season), River Ryan (elbow, out for the season) and Emmet Sheehan (elbow, out for the season) are also all unavailable.
