Dave Roberts reveals Dodgers might've avoided disaster with Gavin Stone injury

Anyone betting on Gavin Stone to make the Dodgers' Opening Day roster got some bad news on Monday, when Dave Roberts told reporters that Stone was experiencing a "setback" with the shoulder he underwent surgery on in 2024. It kept him off the mound throughout 2025.

He reported discomfort after his one-inning start on Feb. 24, which persisted through a subsequent bullpen. The Dodgers tend to exercise an abundance of caution when it comes to their pitchers, given their recent history of breaking all of them, but Stone coming off of such a major surgery added a another dimension of disappointment and fatalism.

However, Dave Roberts told reporters on Tuesday that Stone's MRI revealed inflammation but no structural damage. In Roberts' words, they "dodged a bullet." Stone will still be shut down from throwing over the next few weeks and probably won't be ready to go by Opening Day, but at least it doesn't seem like anything some time and rest won't fix.

It also thins out competition for a sixth-man spot in the Dodgers' rotation, leaving perhaps just two options remaining.

Gavin Stone's MRI showed no structural damage in his shoulder, and competition for Dodgers' rotation spot becomes tighter

Emmet Sheehan is widely expected to already have a rotation spot, despite not having pitched in spring training yet due to an illness at the beginning of camp. With Blake Snell starting the season on the IL, Sheehan will pitch behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki (maybe not in that exact order).

River Ryan is already getting rave reviews for his appearances so far, and the Dodgers are apparently building up Justin Wrobleski as a starter in camp. Landon Knack, Kyle Hurt, and Bobby Miller are all ramping up as relievers and could threaten Jack Dreyer and Ben Casparius' on the 26-man, so it really comes down to Ryan and Wrobleski as the two remaining options for a sixth starter or swingman.

The Dodgers have so much depth that losing even Snell wasn't a death sentence, but it's still a disappointing start to the season for Stone, who was optimistic about his chances of breaking camp.

There's a distinct chance that we still end up seeing Stone in the majors sooner rather than later. Maybe another pitcher gets injured (more likely than not for the Dodgers), or a reliever is quick to disappoint. The Dodgers have been so eager to see a comeback season from Stone that he shouldn't be too worried about getting innings when he's ready.