The Dodgers introduced this night that right-hander Gavin Stone underwent surgical procedure on his proper shoulder on October 9. The surgical procedure was carried out by Dr. Neal ElAttrache and figures to trigger Stone to overlook your entire 2025 season.
Stone, 26 subsequent week, made his large league debut with the Dodgers final yr to lackluster outcomes however loved a breakout marketing campaign this season upon being compelled into the rotation by a lot of pitching accidents. Stone wound up being one of many membership’s most dependable pitchers for a lot of the yr as key gamers like Bobby Miller, Walker Buehler, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow all fell by the wayside all through vital parts of the season as a consequence of accidents, ineffectiveness, or a mixture thereof. Throughout that point, Stone stepped as much as put up a strong 3.53 ERA (109 ERA+) with a 4.01 FIP in 140 1/3 innings of labor throughout 25 begins, together with an completely dominant 2.73 ERA in his first 15 begins of the season.
Sadly for the Dodgers, Stone started to flag late within the season as he made it out of the fifth inning simply thrice after the All-Star break, pitching to a 4.12 ERA and 5.00 FIP in his closing eight begins of the yr earlier than he too was positioned on the IL in early September as a consequence of what on the time was termed proper shoulder irritation. The soreness endured all through the month of September and ultimately led to him being kind of dominated out for the membership’s postseason push just below a month in the past. On the time, there was little indication that Stone wouldn’t be able to go come Spring Coaching 2025 however that’s not the case because the teenager will seemingly have to attend till 2026 to observe up on a powerful rookie marketing campaign.
Whereas the information adjustments little for the Dodgers as they appear to tackle the Mets within the NLCS tomorrow in hopes of advancing to their first World Collection because the shortened 2020 season, Stone’s absence is a devastating blow to the membership’s 2025 beginning rotation. With Shohei Ohtani anticipated to return to the membership’s rotation early subsequent yr, it appears seemingly that the Dodgers will make use of a six-man rotation subsequent yr because the Angels did whereas Ohtani was pitching for them. Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Glasnow determine to occupy three of these six slots, however the Dodgers have little in the best way of certainty past that group.
Miller will return to the membership subsequent yr however struggled to an 8.52 ERA in 13 begins this yr, leaving questions concerning how keen the membership could be to depend on him for a major variety of begins subsequent yr. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin Could each determine to return to the mound early subsequent yr, however might be coming off prolonged absences that would make them questionable decisions to pencil in for 30 begins a bit. Clayton Kershaw might return however is undecided about his future after a largely misplaced season as a consequence of damage, whereas each Buehler and Jack Flaherty are ticketed without spending a dime company this November.
Given the quite a few questions the Dodgers face concerning their rotation depth this winter, it appears seemingly that bolstering their beginning pitching corps might be a precedence for the membership this winter at the same time as they boast a lot of doubtlessly robust choices. This winter’s free agent class of starters is headlined by Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried, and Flaherty. The Dodgers have proven little hesitance about purchasing on the prime of the free agent market, so it’s definitely possible to think about that caliber of identify being in play for the membership. Even trying past that group, nonetheless, L.A. might nonetheless bolster their rotation depth with mid-tier choices like Nathan Eovaldi, Sean Manaea, or Luis Severino and even seek for a bounce-back candidate or two as they’ve accomplished with Tyler Anderson and Noah Syndergaard lately.
