Dodgers manager confirms bad news about pitcher who was in competition for fifth spot in the rotation

Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan will start the season on the injured list, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.  Sheehan has yet to pitch this spring due to some shoulder discomfort and what Roberts described as general body soreness earlier this week, but he initially indicated a few days ago that Sheehan could be ready for the Dodgers’ first game in North America on March 28.

The 2024 season gets underway earlier than usual for the Dodgers, who face the Padres in a two-game series in Seoul on March 20-21.  The team then has a couple of days off to recover from jet lag before facing the Angels in the final three games of the spring training schedule. Then the Dodgers start the rest of their 160-game slate by hosting the Cardinals on March 28 when the rest of the league also gets into action.  Technically, a 10-day IL placement for Sheehan could mean that he won’t miss any regular-season action given the unusual nature of the schedule, but it stands to reason that L.A. will give him as much time as he needs to fully recover and get ready for regular trips to the mound.

A sixth-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2021 draft, Sheehan made his MLB debut last season and posted a 4.92 ERA over 60 1/3 innings.  Sheehan probably wouldn’t have risen to the Show quite so quickly if the Dodgers hadn’t been so snakebitten by rotation injuries, yet he at least held his own against big league hitters despite some unimpressive hard-contact and walk rates.

Although Sheehan has only 9 2/3 Triple-A innings on his resume, he did enough in his first taste of the majors to put himself into the competition for the fifth spot in the Dodgers’ rotation at the start of camp.  This injury will now put that quest on hold, and it might ultimately turn Sheehan into more of a Triple-A depth arm depending on how his health progresses, and how many of the regular starters miss time on the IL.

Since Sheehan is no longer in the mix, Michael Grove, rookies Gavin Stone and Kyle Hurt, and swingman Ryan Yarbrough are all in the running for starts.  Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, James Paxton and Bobby Miller make up the top four in the Los Angeles rotation, and Walker Buehler is also expected to start the season on the IL as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery.  Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May should also factor into the mix after the midpoint of the season.