With an expectation of welcoming back the likes of Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, the primary move the Los Angeles Dodgers made to address their bullpen at the trade deadline was acquiring Brock Stewart from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for James Outman.
On the surface, Stewart represented the type of relief pitcher the Dodgers were lacking. He’s excelled against right-handed batters and succeeded in high-leverage situations. Stewart additionally is under team control through the 2027 season via arbitration.
But the 33-year-old returned for a third stint with the Dodgers organization with a long injury history. That wound up surfacing after Stewart made just four appearances for the Dodgers before going on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.
There was optimism from Stewart and the Dodgers that his condition wasn’t too severe and it would lend to a relatively quick recovery. Nevertheless, he wasn’t projected to return until September.
Stewart received a cortisone shot and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection upon going on the injured list, and though it provided immediate relief, he experienced more discomfort upon starting a throwing program.
“He was playing catch, and then it just didn’t respond the right way,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently explained.
Stewart has since been on the mend once again and is making progress toward the start of a rehab assignment.
Brock Stewart
In similar fashion to what transpired with Kiké Hernández needing multiple rounds of injections for his left elbow, Stewart has responded more productively to a second cortisone shot.
“That one took way better and was way more effective,” Stewart said. “I took a couple days off just to let it settle in. And then I had some throwing capacity already built up, because I kind of started the throwing program, and then there’s some discomfort. And then we got the other shot, so I was able to build up pretty quickly.”
He threw a bullpen session on Aug. 30 and has continued with a throwing program since. Stewart completed a second bullpen session this past Saturday as well and is scheduled for another at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.
“If everything goes well, live BP on Friday. And then if that goes well, off to OKC for hopefully just one outing, but we’ll see,” Stewart said.
“But feeling good, just trying to take it one day at a time still and continue to build, continue to stack good days.”
Stewart allowed two runs in just 3.2 innings pitched for the Dodgers before landing on the injured list. He
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