There seems to be some miscommunication within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization with regard to the nature of Emmet Sheehan’s injury that landed him on the 60-day injured list back on March 31.
Sheehan’s injury trouble began all the way back in the early stages of Spring Training when he was dealing with general body soreness following a bullpen session.
His injury prognosis worsened when it was later updated to specifically right shoulder soreness, which then further evolved into right forearm inflammation that first landed him on the 15-day injured list and finally the 60-day on March 31.
Now there seems to be some confusion on the wording of Sheehan’s ailment. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Sheehan had suffered a setback and was not ready to return any time soon due to his shoulder troubles.
However, Sheehan was confused to hear this statement from his manager regarding the specific nature of the injury, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“It was never the shoulder,” he said Monday. “I said my arm, I think. I was confused why there was shoulder out there. I didn’t think I said that. Maybe I did.”
Regardless of what is causing Sheehan’s worsening injury outlook, it is not the greatest news for the Dodgers to receive with the current dwindling health of their starting rotation.
Coming into the 2024 season, the struggles to find quality starting pitching seemed to be in the past after the Dodgers front office aggressively attacked the starting pitching market this past offseason.
In addition to the acquisitions of Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and James Paxton, the Dodgers also had young players like Sheehan, Gavin Stone, Landon Knack and Kyle Hurt that they believed they could rely on to be Major League contributors. They also have other starters possibly returning from injury, including Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, and possibly Dustin May.
Now with Bobby Miller’s injury, Sheehan’s extended leave of absence, and Kershaw’s return still a ways away, the Dodgers are hoping Buehler can return after his next rehab start.
Dodgers dipping into depth starting pitchers
The team recently called up Hurt and Knack to put a band-aid on a starting staff that is now suddenly lacking depth. Entering Spring Training, Hurt was seen as more of a bullpen piece and Knack was a candidate in the battle for the fifth starter spot, but ultimately lost out to Stone.
However, Hurt has since been placed on the 15-day IL as well.
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