I wrote a while back that I was concerned with whether RHSP Gavin Stone fully recovered from shoulder surgery. They generally take longer to recover from than TJ surgeries. I was intrigued by his first outing. He pitched very well, but I added that the test will be when he throws his next bullpen. Well, he threw his next bullpen and the results were not kind.
#Dodgers Gavin Stone threw a bullpen session after his start last Tuesday. Experienced pain in his surgically-repaired shoulder and has been shut down. Dave Roberts acknowledged it is "a setback" in Stone's recovery. No time table for him to start throwing again.
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 2, 2026
I may have been in the minority, but I never expected to see Stone all the way back this year. He has to go out and test the shoulder, but now we know he just was not fully recovered. He will be slowly ramped up again. I cannot speculate as to when he will be healthy enough to start in MiLB, much less MLB. But he could be special, and the Dodgers will be patient with him.
The other potential starter coming back from an injury is RHSP River Ryan. He has only appeared in one game and pitched a scoreless inning with one BB and one K. The Dodgers will be patient with him as well. OTOH, his brother Ryder has now pitched in 4 games, 5.0 IP (most on team). He has allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, 0 BB, and 4 K. He has virtually no chance of making the OD roster, but he has given notice that he should be in the discussion for a chance during the season.
Another pitcher who is returning from TJ surgery is RHP Kyle Hurt. Some speculated that he would be considered for the rotation. Doc has said that Kyle Hurt will not be a starter, but has a chance at making the opening day roster from the bullpen. He has had a good spring…3 games, 3.0 IP, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 BB, 6 K. Hurt has always been a terrific strikeout pitcher.
It appears that Kyle has moved past at least one reliever, RHRP Edgardo Henriquez. Henriquez is playing himself well off the roster. In 3 games and 3.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 7 runs, 6 earned, 1 HR, 1 K. In Monday’s game, he let the runner on first almost get half way to 2nd before he threw the pitch. Never looked over. To be fair, I have no idea what James Tibbs III or Dalton Rushing were saying about stepping off. I am not a decision maker, but it sure seems incredulous that Henriquez will make the OD roster.
Emmet Sheehan still has not yet pitched in a ST game. He has been held from pitching due to an illness. It remains to be seen if he will be ramped up enough to join the rotation at the start of the season. The team will not need a 6th starter for a couple of weeks, so he could ramp up enough for when they do need one.
Payton Martin showed off his infield arm on a ground ball hit in front of the mound, throwing a dart to 2B and turning a double play to end his 2nd scoreless inning.
I was glad to see Drew Avans get another chance, this time with the Rockies.
Dodgers put the slug back into their play. Four HRs, including two monster HRs from Dalton Rushing (450 feet) and James Tibbs III (458 feet). Elijah Hainline and Joe Vetrano also hit HRs. 4 HRs scored all 7 runs. We will see that again. Rushing and Tibbs III now lead the team in HRs with 2 each.
It will be a long time before Boston trades with the Dodgers. Their two last trades were Dodger steals:
- Mookie Betts, David Price and cash for Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs, and Connor Wong. Who would have thought that Connor Wong would have been the longest tenured Red Sox.
- James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard for Dustin May.
For ST, Tibbs III and Ehrhard lead the team in PA and AB. Tibbs has 24 PA and 21 AB. Tibbs III is hitting .286/.375/.667/1.042, 1 triple, 2 HRs, 5 RBI, 3 BB, and 8K.
Ehrhard has 23 PA, and 20 BA. Ehrhard is hitting .350/.435/.500/.835, 3 doubles, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 HBP, and 5 K.
It is tough to see what Boston saw in Dustin May to give up both Tibbs III and Ehrhard.
Yes, still too early, but it looks like Santiago Espinal is opening a lead for the backup infielder role. Two more hits today with his 2nd double. He now leads the team with 8 hits in only 14 AB. He now has 4 BB and just 2 K. He has also sparkled defensively. I am an Alex Freeland advocate, but he is not outplaying Espinal, and he has options. The downside is that Espinal has zero options, so when Edman is back, unless there is another MLB roster move Espinal could be DFA and the team will definitely lose him. Oh well, worry about that later. Get the best option now.
One player who is not going away is SS Noah Miller. He is 7-14 with 2 doubles, 5 BB and just 1 K. He has reached base 12 times in 19 PA.
And while Nick Senzel has no chance to make the OD roster, he is having a good ST. Will he get moved before OD, or does he go back to OKC as insurance?
Today we learned of the first spring cuts.
The Dodgers reassigned the following players to minor league camp: pitchers Patrick Copen, Luke Fox, Jerming Rosario, Adam Serwinowski, Nick Frasso and Jose Rodriguez, catchers Nelson Quiroz and Chuckie Robinson, infielders Keston Hiura and Matt Gorski and outfielder Chris Newell
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 2, 2026
Not one of these was surprising. While I never expected Keston Hiura to make the club, I expected more from him. At least I was hoping he would make it hard for the team He made the decision easy and early. Not what I expected from the player who was selected 9th overall. I am always saddened when a local young player is bounced.
Good stuff, Jeff.
If Tibbs were on a lower echelon team he might be making a run at an opening day job.
feel bad for Gavin, he looked so good his first outing.
I absolutely love watching Noah Miller play SS. 20 years ago, he’d be a sure fire starter for many teams, and you just let him bat 9th and grow into his offense while he solidifies your defense.
I still think on a team like our, with our offense, a guy like him at SS is not a bad thing at all. Granted we’re currently busy at SS with a future Hall of Famer, but still.
Hopefully Miller keeps improving his offense and gets a shot
One good thing about the WBC is that it’s giving guys like Espinal, Miller, Tibbs and Ehrhard more at bats than they would have seen in a normal spring. They’re all making very good impressions on the front office and even if none of them makes the opening day roster, their performances will be noted.
Espinal looks to me like the second coming of Miggy Ro. Just something about him makes me think he brings more than just his numbers.
Love what I see from Miller. Hope it continues.
And we are really blessed with a boatload of excellent outfield prospects.