Dodgers News: Gavin Stone Suffers Setback in Dodgers 2026 Rotation Plans
With a rehab setback for Gavin Stone, the Los Angeles Dodgers must rethink their 2026 rotation as young arms battle for a spot.
GLENDALE, AZ—While the Los Angeles Dodgers were set to have a star-studded starting rotation during the 2026 season, headlined by 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, left-hander Blake Snell, and flamethrower Tyler Glasnow, the team was also expected to receive significant contributions from young pitchers, including Gavin Stone.
Well, those contributions from Stone now seem to be doubtful. Before Monday’s Cactus League game against the Colorado Rockies, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the media that Stone had hit a “setback” in his rehab.
“Given everything he’s gone through with the shoulder, we wanted to make sure we push pause. I don’t know when he’s gonna start throwing again. But it is a setback, unfortunately. With the shoulder soreness, we’re just trying to be thoughtful and mindful for Gavin. And right now, he’s trying to get everything to calm down.”
It’s an unfortunate circumstance, as before Monday’s new Stone was in strong contention to be a part of the Dodgers Opening Day starting rotation after a solid 1-2-3 inning last week.
The setback leaves Stone, who led the Dodgers in innings pitched in 2024, without a set timeline to return. The right-hander was anticipated to be a crucial part of the team’s pitching rotation in 2026 after missing the entire last season while recovering from shoulder surgery.
It’s often overlooked how important Stone was for the Dodgers in his final healthy season, when he led the team with 11 wins, 25 starts, and 140.1 innings before a shoulder injury ended his season and required surgery.
Notby, with Stone’s shoulder as he mentioned in an interview this spring, explained that most of his right shoulder fatigue occurs after starts, not during them. This was the issue here, as Stone threw a bullpen session that left his shoulder sore. As a result, the Dodgers have “put him on ice” and temporarily stopped him from throwing.
Roberts mentioned that there is no definite timeline for the right-hander’s return or when Stone might start pitching again. However, Roberts suggested that this progress will likely exclude the right-hander from the Opening Day roster.
Justin Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan Being Built Up as Starters
Even before the Gavin Stone news, Dave Roberts revealed that this spring the team viewed both right-hander Emmet Sheehan and young lefty Justin Wrobleski as starting pitchers and would build them up as such.
Now with Stone and Blake Snell out of the mix for the Dodgers Opening Day six-man rotation, those two, along with Roki Sasaki and River Ryan, will compete for a role at the backend of the rotation to start the year.
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