Two days after coming to terms with Tanner Scott on a four-year contract, the Los Angeles Dodgers were said to have reached an agreement with Kirby Yates as well.
While the Dodgers front office regularly emphasizes being open to all possibilities and “opportunistic,” the impending addition of Yates came as a surprise.
But the need for Yates became apparent amid reports of Michael Kopech potentially missing the first month of the regular season because of injury. Kopech was said to be dealing with right forearm inflammation that originally surfaced during the Dodgers’ run to winning the World Series.
While there are indications of Kopech’s status being uncertain, general manager Brandon Gomes downplayed any concern.
“He’s throwing and playing catch. We’re going to see how he progresses. I don’t think there’s anything of concern at this point,” Gomes told DodgerBlue.com.
Gomes then offered a vague response when asked if Kopech dealt with the right arm issue during the postseason.
“I mean, no more than anybody else that was grinding through things,” he said.
If Kopech is not ready for the start of the 2025 season, he’ll join Brusdar Graterol in beginning the year on the injured list. Graterol is not expected to pitch until some time in the second half due to recovering from right shoulder surgery.
Dodgers pitchers and catchers have a Spring Training report date of Monday, Feb. 10. Their first official workout is scheduled for the following day, and the Dodgers will hold the first full-squad workout on Saturday, Feb. 15.
The Dodgers assuredly will proceed cautiously with Kopech if he’s still bothered by inflammation when camp opens. At minimum, he would figure to be an unlikely candidate to be on the Dodgers’ travel roster for the Tokyo Series and instead be a possible candidate when the team returns for traditional Opening Day on March 27.
Michael Kopech’s first Dodgers season
After being acquired as part of a three-team trade with the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, the right-hander went 4-0 with six saves, a 1.13 ERA, 2.54 FIP and 0.79 WHIP across 24 appearances.
Kopech 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.
Kopech and the Dodgers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $5.2 million contract for the 2025 season. The 28-year-old is on track to become a free agent at the end of the year.
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