Even though the Los Angeles Dodgers are just one game back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in all of baseball, they have had to endure some of the most brutal injury luck throughout the entire season. On Friday, the Dodgers were given even more bad news when starting pitching Gavin Stone was placed on the injured list with what the team described as “right shoulder inflammation.”
Stone, who had been the only member of the Dodgers' starting rotation to not miss a start this season, is now the 12th Dodgers' starting pitcher to take a stint on the injured list. Stone is also one of eight Dodgers starters who are currently on the injured list. Clayton Kershaw (toe, expected back mid-Sept.), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (triceps, expected back mid-Sept.), Tyler Glasnow (elbow, expected back mid-Sept.), Tony Gonsolin (elbow, expected back late-Sept.), Dustin May (neck, out for the season), River Ryan (elbow, out for the season) and Emmet Sheehan (elbow, out for the season) are also all unavailable.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman addressed the health of his pitching staff on Friday after it was announced the Stone would be heading to the injured list, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Related NewsArticle continues below
“It’s been a really challenging year on that front and something that we’re going to need to spend a lot of time on this winter to really dig in on,” Friedman said. “From when we onboard a pitcher, when we draft or trade for him, through the development path, at the major-league level, obviously, it’s a problem in the industry, and the injuries that are happening to us, we feel.”
“Injuries that are happening to other teams, we don’t feel as much,” Friedman continued. “It doesn’t hit home quite the same way. And so we’re going to do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position going forward.”
Gavin Stone's 2024 season
Stone was one of the Dodgers' biggest surprises this season. Through 25 starts, the 25-year-old rookie currently has an 11-5 record and a 3.53 ERA. Most importantly, Stone had been able to stay healthy up to this point. With every other starter going down at some point, the Dodgers knew they could rely on Stone to go out there and make his start.
Friedman said on Friday that there is still a chance that Stone makes it back before the end of the season. With so much of the Dodgers' rotation in flux, getting Stone back before the postseason would be huge for Los Angeles' World Series hopes.
