The Los Angeles Dodgers is the latest and most inaccurate team among the 30 MLB teams this season. A player who had been announced as a starter on the day is suddenly canceled, and an opener often appears. I didn’t do it intentionally, but there is a reason for everything.
A representative game was against Kansas City at Dodger Stadium on June 14 (Korea time). Originally, the Dodgers were scheduled to start as Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It was also Yamamoto Yoshinobu’s Babblehead Day, so fans’ attention was focused. However, after the game the previous day, the replacement of the starter was decided, and opener Mike Grove started. Yamamoto’s starting date was pushed back. Tyler Glasnow’s starting date was also pushed back.
The Dodgers were reluctant to start when Yamamoto had been throwing more than 100 pitches in four consecutive games, and was not in 100 percent physical condition. After all, he tried to protect Yamamoto’s arm even if he threw one game as an opener. Yamamoto played in the six-man rotation in Japan. He was used to throwing a little more pitches in one game a week. The Dodgers didn’t go back to the Major League Baseball’s typical rotation to protect Yamamoto’s shoulder and elbow. Major League starting pitchers usually take the mound after taking four or five days off. However, it was common for Yamamoto to take six days off.
In fact, Yamamoto had to be protected as well as other players. Tyler Glasnow had a history of elbow surgery, and James Paxton was a veteran. Young pitchers such as Bobby Miller had no full-time experience yet. Walker Buehler, who will return, as well as Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, were among the returning players from elbow surgery, while Clayton Kershaw, who returned in the second half, was returning from a shoulder injury. In other words, the entire rotation needed some extra rest.
In fact, Yamamoto played in 12 games this season, but never took the mound after taking four days off. Eight games were taken after taking five days off, and three games were taken after taking six days off. He managed the game thoroughly in his own way. Despite this, he ended up on the injured list due to rotator cuff injury on Friday and Saturday. It was a frustrating moment for the Dodgers, which managed Yamamoto thoroughly. 토토사이트 순위
The Dodgers signed a 12-year contract worth a total of 325 million U.S. dollars ahead of this season. As it signed a 12-year contract, the Dodgers wanted to thoroughly manage and train Yamamoto to adapt itself to the Major League. It did the same in the first season. Despite this, Yamamoto is physically ill. No one knows when he will return, but no one knows if he will be able to play the rotation again.
Some say that next year is a bigger problem. Shohei Ohtani (30) will return to the starting rotation. After undergoing elbow surgery at the end of the 2023 season, Ohtani will play only as a batter this year. However, in order to resume pitching and hitting jobs starting next year, he is taking the process calmly. The problem is that Ohtani is not a player who can play in the rotation as well. Ohtani, who also plays pitching and hitting, pitched only about once a week when he was with the Angels. There was a judgment that he could not afford to exercise more than that.
As he returns from his second elbow surgery, chances are close to zero that the Dodgers will include Ohtani in the normal rotation. There is also a high possibility that he will start with enough rest. Even if he is in good physical condition, he is likely to take the mound once a week. If Yamamoto is not sure about his body, the Dodgers have two pitchers who take the mound only once a week. That’s how complicated rotation management is needed to take care of additional rest days for other players.
Some analysts say that if both Yamamoto and Ohtani are included in the rotation, the Dodgers will have to change its starting lineup to six. It is because Glasnow and Buehler also have a lot of injury history and need management in their own right. Bobby Miller, who throws fastballs, is also on the injured list this year, which is not very welcome news. In fact, it is not easy to rotate the starting lineup six times in the Major League, where the roster is smaller than that of Japan or Korea. As such, there must be sacrifices from other teams, and even if most teams temporarily implement it, it rarely continues throughout the season. Attention is focusing on what kind of moves the Dodgers will make.