The Los Angeles Dodgers transferred Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the 60-day injured list, making August 15 the earliest day he can return to the club.
The move is procedural and does not affect his expected return to the team, whenever that may be. Yamamoto is more than a month away from returning, but the move opened a spot for Brent Honeywell on the 40-man roster.
Yamamoto first landed on the 15-day injured list on June 16 with right triceps tightness. He started the day prior and pitched just two innings against the Kansas City Royals.
The 25-year-old revealed he felt the tightness during the week leading up to that start, but it had dissipated by his scheduled day to pitch. That was until Yamamoto began warming up for the start and the issue returned, though he did not believe it to be serious.
Additional testing later revealed Yamamoto suffered a strained rotator cuff, but it did not require surgery.
He was shut down from throwing for roughly one month, but began his throwing program on Friday after being pain-free. Yamamoto was playing catch at 60-feet, but it’s just the first steps in what will be a lengthy rehab process of more than one month.
Yamamoto was 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 1.07 WHIP and 10.2 strikeouts per nine in 74 innings pitched over 14 starts prior to landing on the IL.
Yamamoto was one of the Dodgers most effective starters before he suffered the injury, and their list of injured pitchers has only grown.
Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan are all on the IL as well, and while some of those were expected, their rotation depth and overall talent has also taken a major hit.
Bobby Miller was also optioned to Triple-A due to his struggles, and the Dodgers’ rotation currently consists of Gavin Stone, James Paxton, Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski, a far cry from what they expected it to be this year.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto 60-day move makes room for Brent Honeywell
The Dodgers claimed Honeywell earlier in the day and needed the 40-man roster spot. The right-hander is out of options so he will be added to the 26-man roster as well.
Honeywell was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday as a corresponding move to activating Marco Gonzales off the 60-day injured list.
Honeywell joining the Dodgers organization represents a reunion with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. The Tampa Bay Rays selected Honeywell in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft, months before Friedman was hired to lead the Dodgers front office.
The former top prospect has yet to cement himself as a Major League pitcher, but the same could be said about other journeymen relievers the Dodgers have added that went on to make an impact.
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