GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Right-hander Gavin Stone had his sights set on breaking camp with the Dodgers after losing last season due to shoulder surgery, but a spring setback has put his status for Opening Day in jeopardy.
Stone experienced discomfort in his surgically repaired right shoulder last week after tossing a scoreless inning in his Cactus League debut and later throwing a bullpen session, manager Dave Roberts told reporters at Salt River Fields before Monday's game against the Rockies. Stone is shut down, and there is no timeline for him to resume throwing.
Last Tuesday marked Stone's first game action since Aug. 31, 2024. He had surgery to reconstruct his right shoulder in October of that year and missed out on pitching in two World Series as a result. Stone was considered fully healthy coming into this Spring Training, but he said bouncing back from heavy throw days continued to be a challenge.
"The recovering part of it has been the hardest, especially going through Spring Training," Stone said after last week's start. "The days that I’ve thrown [live batting practice], bullpens -- today felt great, but the recovery part is still a grind."
Before getting hurt in 2024, Stone was having a breakout year. He led the Dodgers with 140 1/3 innings and posted a 3.53 ERA. Coming into this season, he was hoping to get back to that level of performance. Stone was in the mix to compete for a rotation spot, so by losing a depth option, the Dodgers have gained some clarity into which starters they can expect to have at their disposal come Opening Day.
Because Blake Snell is highly unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow are the only two fully stretched-out certainties in the season-opening rotation. Shohei Ohtani will begin the year in the rotation as well, but he is unlikely to be built up for full starts right away. That leaves two or three spots open, with Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski and River Ryan being the top candidates to fill them.
All four could feasibly make the Opening Day roster. Based off previous comments from Roberts, Sasaki and Sheehan would appear to have the inside track for rotation spots, but they'll have to earn them by performing well this spring. Sasaki was shaky in his Cactus League debut, and Sheehan is a little behind schedule after being sick earlier in camp, though he is expected to make it into his first game this week. Wrobleski has had a strong start to his spring, and Ryan got through a clean inning last week despite spotty command in his first appearance since Tommy John surgery.
Roberts has acknowledged that the Dodgers could take a hybrid approach to their rotation early in the season. That could mean that they only use five regular starting pitchers, carrying multiple long-relief options in the bullpen who can make spot starts during stretches of the schedule with fewer off-days. That would also allow them to piggyback Ohtani while he continues to build up his arm in his first few starts.
Stone would have been in the mix for that swingman role, and perhaps he could still make a case for the Opening Day roster if he's able to get back into games by the end of Spring Training. But for the time being, the Dodgers will have to move forward without him in their immediate plans and lean on the pitching depth they've amassed.