Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts Doesn't Seem Overly Concerned With Large Number of Pitcher Injuries

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 9, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn't seem overly concerned with his starting rotation — and Jack Flaherty gave him plenty of reasons to have confidence during Sunday's 4-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

Flaherty pitched a gem going 7.1 scoreless innings.

“He’s added stability, consistency and today, it was a pitching clinic,” Roberts told reporters after the game. “Obviously it was really hot out there, so for him to be efficient and get us back in the dugout to hit was huge. He had command all day long of his fastball, his breaking balls that he uses. He worked them front to back. He kept them off balance.”

The right-hander's spectacular outing couldn't have come at a better time.

As the Dodgers enter the last three weeks of the regular season, typically a time for securing the NL West title, refining the roster, and setting up their playoff rotation, they now look ahead to an October run with Flaherty in the rotation. Beyond that, the rest remains uncertain.

“We’re gonna have enough pitching,” Roberts said when asked if the rotation would be good enough to make a deep October run. “The names might be a little bit different. I don’t think anyone knows who [will] and who won’t be a part of it.”

Gavin Stone, with an 11-5 record and a 3.53 ERA over a team-leading 25 starts, is the 11th starter to land on the IL. He joins a group that currently includes ace Tyler Glasnow (elbow tendinitis), Yamamoto (rotator-cuff strain), and Kershaw (left big toe inflammation).

Yamamoto is scheduled to return Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs but has been out since June 15.

Glasnow, with a 9-6 record and a 3.49 ERA over 22 starts, threw approximately 25 pitches off a bullpen mound on Saturday for the first time since his IL stint began on Aug. 16. However, Roberts noted that "time is running out" for the right-hander to secure a role for October.

“He’s getting off the mound and he’ll probably have a more aggressive bullpen session [this week], but we just gotta know, we gotta get going,” Roberts said. “We only have so much time before he [can] get built up and he’s pitching in major league games. Time is certainly of the essence.”

Kershaw returned from shoulder surgery in late June and went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts before injuring the toe on his push-off foot. His status for the postseason is uknown.

“He’s still trying to figure out the best way to provide relief [for his toe], and figuring that out is challenging,” said Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations. “There’s not a playbook for that ... it’s just not a common [injury].”

Friedman remained optimistic about Stone returning and said his stint on the IL is more precautionary.

It wasn’t something that was like, ‘Oh, we need to have surgery.’ It was, ‘Hey, let’s let everything calm down, pick up a ball and see where you’re at.’ If he comes back and feels good, I think we’re in a good spot. If he picks up a ball and has problems, then we’re in a tough spot.”

Heading down the home stretch, the injuries and uncertainty leave the Dodgers with a rotation comprised of Flaherty, Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, and rookies Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski.