ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ largest rotation investment is making his return. Manager Dave Roberts announced Wednesday that Yoshinobu Yamamoto will make his return from the injured list on Sept. 10 against the Chicago Cubs.
The 26-year-old right-hander, who the Dodgers signed to a record 12-year, $325 million deal in the offseason, hasn’t pitched since June while dealing with a strained rotator cuff and will enter the fray for a rotation that has as many looming questions as any contender in the sport — including what to do about the close to half-a-billion dollar investment in two offseason acquisitions (Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow) currently on the shelf with injury.
Yamamoto’s return itself is not without questions. The right-hander completed just two innings in each of his two rehabilitation starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City, with an extended 17-pitch at-bat against former big leaguer Omar Narváez running up Yamamoto’s pitch count in his final outing on Tuesday night.
The Dodgers opted to bring Yamamoto back despite him not being fully built up — Roberts said it would not be surprising to see Yamamoto start a fourth inning of work — because they plan to use his upcoming starts to increase his endurance in time for the playoffs.
“I think the stuff will be there,” Roberts said. “I’m not sure about how the command is going to be. So I think the way we’re looking at it is we’re going to get four starts from him and if we can log four starts and build up volume we’ll be ready to go beyond that.”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw 53 pitches, 36 for strikes in his 2 innings of his rehab start for AAA OKC last night.
2IP 2H 2R 3K 2BB
He threw 26 4 Seam fastballs that averaged 95.4, so the velo was good, but it got hit. Average exit velo on his 4S was 101.4 MPH.Curveball averaged… pic.twitter.com/LwKNKvz4dJ
— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) September 4, 2024
Given the state of the Dodgers’ rotation and the hefty contract they awarded him this winter, it’s safe to assume that Yamamoto will start games for them in October. His performance before the injury was brilliant. He had a 2.92 ERA in 74 innings, even including his disastrous major league debut in South Korea. He had a dominant showing of seven scoreless innings at Yankee Stadium in his penultimate start before the injury.
“Our expectation, why we committed to him, is because of this,” Roberts said.
The question marks remain. Deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty has solidified his case for October action. Gavin Stone has had a remarkable rookie season, though he’s already exceeded his professional career high in innings pitched. Clayton Kershaw’s painful left toe landed him on the injured list and has thrown a wrench into hopes the longtime franchise ace can be a contributor in the postseason. That has left essentially open auditions over the season’s final month to Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller, each of whom has regressed mightily in 2024 (Buehler off a second Tommy John surgery, and Miller after an ascendant rookie season that led him to a postseason start in 2023).
“Performance will dictate everything,” Roberts said. “We’ve got a lot of things going on as far as injuries. …(Buehler and Miller) both have an opportunity to salvage this season.”
Then there’s Glasnow, who hasn’t pitched since Aug. 11 because of right elbow tendonitis. The 31-year-old right-hander, whom the Dodgers traded for and extended this winter, is expected to throw off a mound this weekend, the first major step in a potential return by the end of the month.
(Photo of Yoshinobu Yamamoto: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
