Dodgers get encouraging Yoshinobu Yamamoto injury update as rehab continues

By the time Yoshinobu Yamamoto went on the IL with triceps tightness in mid-June, he'd only really just started to find his stride with the Dodgers. His first major league appearance in Seoul, when he only pitched one inning and gave up five runs to the Padres, was enough for opposing fans to write him off, but he was slowly and surely working his way back from that terrible first impression.

The two starts he made in June before he got hurt were stellar: 13 innings pitched, just one earned run, three walks, and 14 strikeouts. He was pulled from his third after two scoreless innings and was initially placed on the 15-day IL before being moved to the 60-day in July in order to make room on the roster for Brent Honeywell.

Yamamoto has made his desire to pitch again this season clear, but there hasn't been anything resembling a concrete timeline until now. He threw a ~40 pitch bullpen session on Tuesday and will join the Dodgers on the road when they head to St. Louis and face hitters on Friday. He'll need to undergo a rehab assignment before officially returning to the Dodgers, but he does seem to be progressing smoothly through the necessary steps.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will progress to facing hitters this week in steady return from Dodgers IL

Yamamoto is only one Dodgers pitcher on a truly stunning list of injured players. Emmet Sheehan, Kyle Hurt, and River Ryan have all sustained injuries that warranted Tommy John, Tony Gonsolin is still making progress back from the surgery which he underwent in 2023, Dustin May is dealing with multiple different issues, and Walker Buehler has been out twice with separate issues this season alone.

Returns from injury have been stacked well enough that the Dodgers have never been completely out of options, but things were looking very dicey around the All-Star break, with Yamamoto, Buehler, and Tyler Glasnow all out, Bobby Miller demoted, and James Paxton DFA'ed.

The Dodgers found some great help at the trade deadline in Jack Flaherty, who's made two solid starts for LA so far, but if Yamamoto can return in time to get a few more starts in before the postseason and Buehler can come back and look a little more like he did in 2021, it'll be the much needed boost they need to make a real playoff run.