Emmet Sheehan was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday as the corresponding move to Tarik Skubal being added to the Los Angeles Dodgers active roster.
That came after Sheehan struggled against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, continuing his season-long issues he has yet to figure out. The right-hander allowed five runs on six hits, including three home runs, in just 2.2 innings of work.
Sheehan fell to 4-8 with a 5.29 ERA, 4.75 FIP and 1.29 WHIP in 95.1 innings across 20 starts this season.
“For everyone, I think it’s the right thing to do,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the team’s decision to send Sheehan down to OKC. “It’s going to give him a chance to reset, get out of this hotbox of performance.
“Obviously, we believe in him, we’ve shown that year in and year out, and I just had a good conversation with him. He’ll start on Saturday for that OKC team. Just got to get him back to who he is.”
Sheehan’s fastball averaged just 93.3 mph in his start against the Red Sox, which represented a drop of 1.2 mph from his season average. The 26-year-old’s diminished velocity has been a concern all year, but the Dodgers maintain it is not due to an injury.
“What’s interesting is 15 minutes ago, he said physically he feels great,” Roberts said of Sheehan before the team’s series opener against the Chicago Cubs. “There’s other parts of the being that make the package of a player, so to highlight the physical, there’s other things — emotional, the mental part — we feel that him being out of this can kind of free him up.”
Dodgers confident Emmet Sheehan will get back on track
The Dodgers are hopeful a stint with the Comets will help Sheehan get back on track, as they believe he is too talented to continue struggling the way he has.
“I think this is going to be the reset button for Shee to get back to basics,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. “Get the delivery dialed in like it was last year. He’s been battling it a lot of it this year. We’ve seen some flashes of really good and some inconsistencies.
“So, taking a step back, a deep breath, obviously nobody ever wants to be sent down, but I think this is an opportunity to hit the reset button, get in a really good place and make sure he’s a weapon for us moving forward.”
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