The Los Angeles Dodgers have placed right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the injured list, less than a day after he exited his start against the Kansas City Royals because of a strained rotation cuff. Manager Dave Roberts disclosed the diagnosis on Sunday following the Dodgers' 3-0 over the Royals. Roberts also said that Yamamoto won't throw for at least two weeks. "It's gonna take some time," Roberts said. "It's not season ending."
The Dodgers also placed fellow righty Michael Grove on the IL with a strained lat. In corresponding moves, they brought up right-handers JP Feyereisen and Michael Petersen.
Yamamoto's start had been pushed back because of that same issue. "I did have tightness and I was aware of it [during the bullpen session], but it wasn't serious at that point. As I was pitching, it started growing," he told reporters on Saturday night. "I let [the] coaches know, and we decided to pull me."
Yamamoto, 25, is in his first season in MLB after signing a 12-year pact worth $325 million with the Dodgers over the offseason. He had previously enjoyed a decorated career in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, leading CBS Sports to describe him as the best pitcher in the world who had not previously pitched in an MLB contest.
Through Yamamoto's first 14 starts, he has a 2.92 ERA (136 ERA+) and a 4.94 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has been particularly effective since a disastrous debut in South Korea against the San Diego Padres. Indeed, Yamamoto has compiled a 2.34 ERA in his last 73 innings.
The Dodgers now have seven starting pitchers on the injured list, including veterans Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin, as well as youngsters Dustin May, Bobby Miller, and Emmet Sheehan. Los Angeles' rotation nevertheless ranks seventh in the majors in ERA, just behind the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs.
The Dodgers entered Sunday with a 43-29 record that puts them in first place in the National League West. The Dodgers' seven-game lead over the San Diego Padres is the second largest in the NL, just one game fewer than the Philadelphia Phillies' hold in the NL East.
