The Los Angeles Dodgers placed starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the 15-day injured list, the team announced, a day after he exited his start early due to triceps tightness.
After Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Kansas City Royals, manager Dave Roberts announced Yamamoto has a strained rotator cuff. Roberts said it is not a season-ending injury.
The Dodgers have recalled RHP J.P. Feyereisen, selected the contract of Michael Petersen and placed RHPs Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Michael Grove on the injured list. In order to make room for Petersen on the 40-man roster, RHP Joe Kelly was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 16, 2024
Yamamoto threw just two innings the Dodgers’ 7-2 loss to Kansas City on Saturday night. His velocity was down across the board. His fastball averaged just 94.1 miles per hour, down from 95.5 on the season.
The 25-year-old righty told reporters after the game that he communicated that he was feeling tightness before the game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, however, that he “obviously wasn’t part of that conversation,” according to The Los Angeles Times.
Roberts said that the team believed he was experiencing some minor soreness between starts, which is partly why Yamamoto had eight days in between starts.
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Losing Betts and Yamamoto hurts Dodgers, but getting them back for October is what matters
The Dodgers also placed pitcher Michael Grove on the IL with a lat injury, after he pitched two innings on Saturday. J.P. Feyereisen and Michael Petersen, both righty pitchers, were called up.
Yamamoto has a 2.92 ERA over 74 innings (14 starts) so far this season.
During Sunday’s game, Dodgers star shortstop Mookie Betts fractured his left hand when hit by a 97.9 mph fastball at the plate. Betts exited the game in the seventh inning and was replaced by pinch runner Miguel Rojas.
Roberts could not provide a timeline for Betts’ recovery but said the shortstop will return this season. He added that Betts will not need surgery.
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