March 3: Roberts told the Dodgers pitching team this morning that the team “blocked a bullet” regarding Stone (link via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). Imaging revealed swelling in Stone’s surgically repaired shoulder but no structural damage. He will be sidelined for a few weeks but at the moment he doesn’t appear to be facing months out of action.
March 2: Right-handed Dodgers Gavin Stone is dealing with shoulder discomfort, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jack Harris of The California Post and Sonja Chen of MLB.com). It is unlikely that Stone will be ready for the start of the season.
It’s about the return of a player who misses the entire 2025 season after surgery on that shoulder. It was a major surgery involving repair of his labrum, capsule and rotator cuff. Stone underwent the procedure in October ’24 and was immediately released the following season.
The 27-year-old entered camp unrestricted and threw a perfect two-hit inning in his Spring Training debut last week. Stone threw a bullpen session between game appearances and came out of that job with a sprained shoulder. There is no indication that anything is wrong with the structure. Stone has been sidelined from throwing for the time being, which is an understandable move given his health history.
Stone was in the midst of a quality ’24 season before the injury. He had a 3.53 earned run average across 140 1/3 innings. His 20% strikeout rate was a hair below average but he had limited walks and hard contact. He looked at the rotating part of the arm.
The Dodgers plan to open the season with a six-man rotation. Stone had a good chance to win a spot if he arrived at camp healthy. Blake Snell headed to the injured list for the season opener after battling arm fatigue last season.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani again Roki Sasaki should take the top four spots. Ohtani is not playing in the World Baseball Classic and could be a solid value in his first start. Emmett Sheehan He was delayed in camp due to illness but should have plenty of time to build for Opening Day. You’ll probably win the exchange again.
That will leave one rotation spot available. Ryan River missed all 2025 Tommy John surgeries but is back to health this spring. On the left Justin Wrobleski it can start or run out of the barn. Landon Knack remains on the 40-man roster as a depth starter; he got hit during his first Spring Training outing. A veteran southpaw Cole Irvin you are in the camp as someone who is not registered on the invite list.
The right hand Kyle Hurt it does not appear to be present in the rotation mixture. Roberts told reporters that the Dodgers view the 27-year-old as a reliever who can work multiple innings. Hurt did not appear in MLB last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July ’24. He looked sharp early in camp, striking out six of the 11 batters he faced in his first three games. Hurt fired three innings of one-run ball as he tried to earn a spot in the bullpen Day.
