Dodgers' Dave Roberts Sets Date For Yoshinobu Yamamoto To Make Rehab Start

Yamamoto has been out since June.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Sunday that Yoshinobu Yamamoto will make a rehabilitation start on Wednesday for Triple-A Oklahoma City, per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s rehab assignment will start Wednesday with Triple-A OKC, Dave Roberts said.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 25, 2024

Earlier this week, Roberts said that Yamamoto remained on track to return to the team by the middle of September, which the date of this rehabilitation start appears to confirm.

Yamamoto will take the next step in his return from a strained rotator cuff with this start. Yamamoto has recently thrown multiple bullpen sessions and completed a two-inning simulation game on Wednesday as he progresses through his throwing program. The rehabilitation start will bring him even closer to a return to the Dodgers.

The Dodgers' 12-year, $325 million offseason signing has not played since June 15, when he pitched just two innings before he was removed from the game due to the injury. He was placed on the injured list and later moved to the 60-day IL.

Prior to the injury, Yamamoto had started 14 games for the Dodgers this season, going 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA and 84 strikeouts. In his last three starts, over 15.0 innings, Yamamoto allowed just one earned run for a 0.60 ERA as he continued to emerge as one of the best starters for the team.

Yamamoto signed with the Dodgers last December after playing seven seasons of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, where he went 70-29 with a 1.82 ERA and 922 strikeouts. In NPB, Yamamoto was a three-time Pacific League MVP, four-time ERA Leader, and four-time strikeout champion.

While Yamamoto appears to be nearing his long-awaited return, Dodgers ace Tyler Glasnow is making 'slow progress' according to Roberts. Glasnow has been on the IL since Aug. 16 with elbow tendonitis, and will likely remain on the list until at least September.

The Dodgers are approaching the final month of the season before postseason play begins, when they hope they will have their top two pitchers back. Even with the injuries across their starting rotation and bullpen over the course of the year, the Dodgers hold the National League's record and are once again poised to go after a World Series in October.