The Los Angeles Dodgers have been without Michael Kopech for all of the 2025 season thus far after he became a key piece of their bullpen late last year.
Kopech began dealing with right forearm inflammation during the 2024 postseason, and it carried into the offseason. Despite that, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes downplayed the injury and said there was no concern.
But Kopech reported to Spring Training behind in his throwing program and then began the year on the 15-day injured list with what the Dodgers called a right shoulder impingement. The right-hander has been at Camelback Ranch for most the season, but made some appearances in L.A. to throw in front of Dodgers pitching coaches and trainers.
After missing more than a month of games, Kopech is now scheduled to begin his rehab assignment, starting with an outing for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday.
Kopech was transferred to the 60-day IL on May 1, but he is eligible to be activated in the middle of the month. However, Kopech is likely going to be on a lengthy rehab assignment that could last upwards of two weeks or more.
Pitchers are eligible to stay on a rehab assignment for a maximum of 30 days. Kopech will need to check various boxes before returning to the Dodgers roster, including building up to pitching on back-to-back days.
With a rehab assignment now underway, the Dodgers will care more about how he feels bouncing back from outings and how his stuff looks than any of the results.
Michael Kopech 2024 stats with Dodgers
During the regular season, Kopech went 4-0 with six saves, a 1.13 ERA, 2.54 FIP and 0.79 WHIP across 24 appearances for the Dodgers. He followed that by going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts over nine innings pitched in 10 games (one start) during the playoffs.
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