The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Clayton Kershaw on the 15-day injured list on Saturday due to left big tow inflammation that caused serious discomfort in Friday’s start. The Dodgers news on the other injuries to this rotation hasn’t been much better.
Entering MLB games today, the Dodgers rotation is missing four of its top starting pitchers. River Ryan (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this month, while Tyler Glasnow (elbow) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (trices) have each missed significant time due to injuries.
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- Los Angeles Dodgers pitching stats (ESPN): 3.77 ERA (7th in MLB), 1.21 WHIP (5th in MLB), 46 quality starts (19th in MLB), .232 batting average allowed (5th in MLB)
The injuries have raised significant concerns about the team’s postseason rotation come October. Los Angeles isn’t a stranger to being in this position either, as the organization has frequently seen many of its key arms go down in the weeks leading up to the playoffs.
As of Sunday, the Dodgers don’t have a timeline for when Kershaw will return from his injury but there is optimism he’ll rejoin the team in October. As for Glasnow, things don’t look promising on that front either, as of now.
- Tyler Glasnow stats (ESPN): 3.49 ERA< 0.95 WHIP, 168 strikeouts, 4.8 K/BB ratio in 134 innings
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Glasnow was scheduled to resume a throwing program on Friday, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts cautioned that this will be a very cautious ramp-up period and there have already been setbacks. Roberts also announced that even in a best-case scenario, Glasnow wouldn’t rejoin the Dodgers rotation until the middle of September.
Los Angeles had hoped it would be a short-term stay on the IL when it originally placed him on the list. Glasnow told reporters on Saturday that he’s taking a day-by-day approach and despite experiencing some tightness, he believes he’ll return before the regular season ends and is determined to pitch in October.
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- Yoshinobu Yamamoto stats (Baseball Reference): 2.92 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 84-17 K-BB in 74 innings pitched
Yamamoto, who last pitched for Los Angeles on June 15, is much closer to rejoining the Dodgers rotation. Roberts announced on Friday that Yamamoto will make his next rehab start on Tuesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City. After throwing 2 innings in his first rehab game, the Dodgers will build his arm strength up further before welcoming him back for a mid-September return.
