Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan out for 2024 after elbow surgery – Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers were counting on Emmett Sheehan to play a vital role in their starting pitching depth this year.

Instead, his season is over before he even throws a pitch.

The Dodgers announced Wednesday that Sheehan underwent UCL surgery on his right elbow and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season. Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the procedure in Los Angeles.

Sheehan, 24, went 4-1 with a 4.92 ERA in 13 appearances (11 starts) for the Dodgers as a rookie last season. He has yet to appear in a game this year due to forearm discomfort.

“He just didn’t respond the way we hoped he would,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So I think at that point, we just think with the information that he was receiving, that having surgery was the right decision.”

A 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander, Sheehan showed swing and miss in his debut last season with 64 strikeouts in 60 innings and made the Dodgers’ playoff roster. He entered spring training with a chance to earn a spot in the starting rotation before being injured.

He was undergoing rehabilitation and recently played a long pitch at Dodger Stadium, but the lack of progress convinced the Dodgers that surgery was the best option.

“It’s an unfortunate thing to end his season,” Roberts said, “but we expect a full recovery.”

OHTANI BOBBLEHEAD ATTRACTS A CROWD

The Dodgers gave away Shohei Ohtani figurines to the first 40,000 fans in attendance for Thursday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. Some went to extreme lengths to ensure they didn’t end up empty-handed.

Fans lined up outside the gates to enter Dodger Stadium more than four hours before first pitch, the line stretching up the hill along Stadium Way. Others tried to drive into the parking lot, but were turned away while the doors were still closed.

The cheapest individual ticket available on StubHub for the game costs $146, including fees, approximately 2 1/2 hours before the game begins. By comparison, the cheapest available ticket for next Tuesday’s game, when the team will give away Mookie Betts bobbleheads, was $59.

TAYLOR RETURNS TO THE RANGE

Chris Taylor was back in the starting lineup against the Reds, batting seventh and playing left field. It was his first appearance since May 7.

Taylor, 33, entered the game hitting .071 (4-for-56) with zero extra-base hits and 28 strikeouts in 68 plate appearances this season. Roberts said Taylor used the eight days out of the lineup to work on his swing mechanics and hopes to see improvement as a result.