Jun 16, 2024, 17:38 ET
Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was placed on the 15-day injured list by the Los Angeles Dodgers due to triceps tightness.
LOS ANGELES — The right-handed pitcher Los Angeles Dodgers, Yoshinobu Yamamotowas placed in the injured list of 15 days before Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, with rigidity in it triceps from his throwing arm.
Manager Dave Roberts said Yamamoto, 25, would undergo tests on Sunday to determine the severity of the injury and recovery timeline.
“He’s a guy we’re still trying to learn a lot from and we appreciate the fact that the biggest moment of the season is yet to come,” Roberts said. “His health is paramount. So for us to be proactive and put him on the injured list seems like the smart thing to do.”
Yamamoto, playing his first year in the majors after leaving his native Japan and signing a record $325 million, 12-year contract, is 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA.
Yamamoto left Saturday’s loss to Kansas City after two innings. He said through an interpreter after the game that his scheduled start the previous Thursday against the Texas Rangers had been postponed because of tension.
He also said the tension went away for most of Saturday, but he started feeling it again when he was warming up before the game.
Yamamoto pitched two-hit ball in seven innings against the New York Yankees on June 7. He threw 106 pitches, the fourth consecutive time he threw more than 100.
Roberts said he has been aware of Yamamoto’s pitch count, but also noted that Yamamoto was accustomed to throwing 120 pitches or more when pitching in Japan.
With Bobby Miller returning to the rotation for Wednesday’s road game against the Colorado Rockies, the Dodgers will still have a five-man starting coaching staff. Clayton Kershaw will also make his first rehab start this week.
Los Angeles’ rotation entered Sunday’s game with the seventh-lowest ERA in the majors at 3.49.
The Dodgers also placed right-hander Michael Grove on the disabled list with a right intercostal strain. Right-handers JP Feyereisen and Michael Petersen were called up from Triple A Oklahoma City. To make room for Petersen on the 40-man roster, right-hander Joe Kelly was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
