For a moment, the room held its breath. Then the Los Angeles Dodgers delivered the kind of update that brings cautious relief: Gavin Stone is dealing with shoulder inflammation, but imaging revealed no structural damage, manager Dave Roberts confirmed Tuesday.
Stone will be shut down from throwing for at least a couple of weeks and re-evaluated after that. For a pitcher coming off major shoulder surgery, those details matter.
Gavin Stone: A setback during a long-awaited return
Stone’s road back has not been short.
The 27-year-old underwent reconstructive shoulder surgery on Oct. 9, 2024, an operation that cost him the entire 2025 season and kept him sidelined during two World Series appearances by the Dodgers.
Last week was supposed to mark a fresh start. Stone made his first appearance since Aug. 31, 2024, tossing a scoreless inning in his Cactus League debut. The outing itself felt strong. The recovery afterward did not.
A few days later, discomfort crept back into his surgically repaired shoulder.
The MRI brought perspective.
“I think we dodged a bullet. We feel good about it…
Before surgery, Stone had quietly become one of the most reliable arms on the staff. In 2024, he posted an 11-5 record with a 3.53 ERA across 25 starts, leading the Dodgers with 140 1/3 innings. He was not just filling innings. He was stabilizing the rotation.
Now, instead of building toward Opening Day, he is pressing pause.
This delay does not undo his recovery, but it does slow his timeline.
The rotation picture tightens
Stone entered camp competing for a rotation spot and offering valuable flexibility. With this shutdown, Opening Day is now highly unlikely.
The Dodgers were already navigating uncertainty.
Blake Snell is not expected to be ready for the season opener, according to reports from MLB.com and the Los Angeles Times. Shohei Ohtani is returning to the mound but is not projected to carry a full starter’s workload immediately.
That leaves Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow as the only fully stretched-out certainties.
Behind them, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, and River Ryan are battling for opportunities. Roberts has mentioned the possibility of a hybrid approach early in the season, mixing traditional starts with piggyback outings to manage innings.
Stone would have fit naturally into that plan. For now, the Dodgers move forward without him.
Perspective around the league
Across Major League Baseball, shoulder injuries often come with long timelines and difficult decisions. Structural damage can derail an entire season. Inflammation, while frustrating, usually allows teams to reset without starting over.
That distinction changes the mood inside the clubhouse.
The absence of structural damage keeps Stone’s 2026 season alive and realistic.
A waiting game, not a crisis
The next step is simple. Rest. Reassess. Resume throwing when the inflammation settles.
If the shoulder responds well, Stone could still play a meaningful role early in the regular season. If not, the Dodgers will adjust as they always do.
For now, this feels less like a major setback and more like a reminder of how fragile a comeback can be. The Dodgers exhaled this week. And in a spring full of expectations, sometimes that is enough.
Sources: Statements from Dave Roberts during Spring Training media availability; reporting from MLB.com and the Los Angeles Times; publicly available MLB injury reports.
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