The epidemic of serious elbow injuries that has plagued baseball for several years has revisited the Dodger this week, the team announced that the 24-year-old right-hander Emmet Sheehan underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.
Sheehan, who showed promise by going 4-1 with a 4.92 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 60 ⅓ innings in 13 games – 11 of them starts – last season, is the first Dodgers pitcher to undergo the procedure. ligament replacement this season, but the team lost starters Dustin May It is Tony Gonsolin for surgery in 2023.
Sheehan, who made the jump from double-A to the big leagues last season, entered spring training as the favorite to earn the fifth rotation spot, but was slowed in Arizona by what the team first called “general body soreness” and then on the right shoulder. .
Sheehan began a throwing program in April and extended his long throw to about 150 feet in early May, but apparently took a turn for the worse and opted for surgery that will likely sideline him through the 2025 All-Star break.
“There wasn’t a huge setback,” manager Dave Roberts said before Thursday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. “From what I heard, he just wasn’t responding the way he or we expected. And so I think at that point, you feel like with the information he was getting, surgery was the right decision.”
See more information: Dodgers Dugout: Should the Dodgers be worried about Walker Buehler?
The Dodgers received more encouraging news about another of their prized young pitchers on Thursday. Bobby Miller, out since April 14 because of shoulder inflammation, came out of Wednesday’s two-inning live batting practice session “really well,” Roberts said.
The right-hander, whose fastball ranged from 93 to 97 mph, will play another simulated game or begin a minor league rehab assignment early next week, Roberts said.
Veteran right fielder Jason Heyward is also poised to return from a lower back injury that has sidelined him since April 3. Heyward played two games for triple-A Oklahoma City this week and could be activated as early as Friday. The corresponding move to free up a spot for Heyward brings considerable intrigue.
The Dodgers appear disinclined to cut ties with veteran utilityman Chris Taylor, who was in the lineup Thursday night for the first time in nine days but was batting .071 (four-for-56) with a .280 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. and 28 strikeouts in 25 games. Taylor’s four-year, $60 million contract runs through 2025.
“He’s been working every day on something to improve his mechanics, and I felt like it’s been a while and I need to get him out there,” Roberts said. “CT is on our list. He has been very important to me – and to us – for many years. I have to keep trying to give him opportunities and I will continue to do that.”
If Taylor remains with the team, that would leave young outfielders James Outman and Andy Pages as candidates for demotion to triple-A.
See more information: Hernández: Dodgers have good reason to be patient, believe Walker Buehler can still dominate
The right-handed Pages hit .339 (22-for-65) with a .957 OPS, four home runs, five doubles and 12 RBIs in his first 16 games following his April 25 promotion to the big leagues, but has cooled off considerably since then, batting .114 (four 35) with a .343 OPS, 17 strikeouts and four walks in his last 10 games before Thursday.
The left-handed Outman entered Thursday night with a .151 batting average, .530 OPS, three home runs, 10 RBIs and 38 strikeouts in 35 games.
The Dodgers made a roster move on Thursday, calling up left-hander Nick Ramirez for bullpen depth and opting for right-hander Eduardo Salazar, who allowed one run in two innings in Wednesday night’s loss at San Francisco, for the triple A.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the beginning of each series.
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
