The Los Angeles Dodgers activated Brock Stewart off the 15-day injured list and optioned Chayce McDermott to Triple-A Oklahoma City ahead of their series opener against the Minnesota Twins.
Stewart had been on the IL since May 9 due to a bone spur in his left foot. The original hope was that Stewart would only miss three weeks, but his foot initially did not respond to the treatment and rest, and his return was delayed.
The main course of action for Stewart’s foot injury was rest, and the 34-year-old avoided surgery, which was under consideration if he did not begin to improve.
Stewart made only two appearances with the Dodgers prior to landing back on the IL three days after being activated for his season debut. He missed the start of the year while recovering from last September’s right shoulder surgery.
Stewart completed a short rehab assignment with Single-A Ontario that focused more on the health of his foot, instead of number of appearances.
He first pitched for the Tower Buzzers on June 12, allowing one run over one inning. Stewart then appeared in games on June 14, 18 and 19. The final checkpoint for Stewart was pitching in back-to-back games.
During his first rehab assignment this season, Stewart took a longer route, which made sense given he was rehabbing his shoulder. The right-hander pitched in eight Minor League games over a three-week span prior to getting activated.
He threw a total of 6.1 scoreless innings and struck out 13 batters in those eight games.
Stewart has been limited by injuries since joining the Dodgers ahead of last year’s trade deadline, but it’s also been an issue throughout his career.
Stewart has pitched in parts of eight MLB seasons, but only has 188.2 career innings. From 2023-26 as a full-time reliever, Stewart has tossed 83 innings with a 2.39 ERA.
In his second stint with the Dodgers, Stewart has appeared in just six games.
Brock Stewart replaces Chayce McDermott
To make room for Stewart, McDermott was sent back to Triple-A just two days after being recalled when Blake Treinen landed on the 15-day injured list.
McDermott made his Dodgers debut in the finale of the Freeway Series on May 17 when he pitched a scoreless inning. He was optioned the following day as a corresponding move to the Dodgers’ signing of Jonathan Hernández.
McDermott pitched in the Dodgers’ series finale against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, allowing two runs on a homer in 1.1 innings of work.
The right-hander owns a 7.71 ERA this season and a career 12.00 ERA in 15 innings.
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