Stone to IL as Dodgers rotation takes another hit
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — Gavin Stone, the only Los Angeles Dodgers starter to take every turn this season, was placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation Friday, adding more uncertainty to a star-studded rotation that has been in flux all year.
Stone hasn’t been ruled out for the rest of this season, but the calendar makes a potential return extremely challenging. Stone will shut down his throwing for “10-ish” days, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said, after which he will hope for the best.
“I’m optimistic he is going to do everything he possibly can,” Friedman said. “There’s just so much unknown around it that we’re going to do all we can to dominate each day, and hopefully when he starts throwing, he can ramp up from there. It’s just hard to speculate right now.”
With 25 days remaining until the start of the postseason, the Dodgers have four key starting pitchers waiting to come off the IL: Stone, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw.
Yamamoto will be activated to start Tuesday’s game, but he has been out since the middle of June with a strained rotator cuff and isn’t expected to be stretched out to more than four innings. Glasnow, out since Aug. 11 with elbow tendinitis, will throw a bullpen session Saturday that will go a long way toward determining his readiness for October. Kershaw, meanwhile, exited his Aug. 30 start against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a bone spur in his left big toe. His timetable is uncertain.
Jack Flaherty seems to be the only lock to start postseason games for the Dodgers at this point, though Walker Buehler has also shown promising signs of late. The Dodgers called up right-hander Landon Knack and left-hander Justin Wrobleski for temporary relief, optioning right-hander Michael Peterson to create the extra spot on the active roster. Knack and Wrobleski are two of 12 pitchers who have made traditional starts for the Dodgers this season (not counting openers).
The aforementioned injuries don’t even account for promising young starters who have undergone major arm surgeries over the past 14 months, a list that includes Tony Gonsolin, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan and Dustin May.
“It’s been a really challenging year on that front and something that we’re going to need to spend a lot of time on this winter to really dig in on — from when we onboard a pitcher, when we draft or trade for him, through the development path, at the major league level,” Friedman said.
“Obviously it’s a problem in the industry. And the injuries that are happening to us, we feel. The injuries that are happening to other teams, we don’t feel as much. They don’t quite hit home the same way. And so, we’re going to do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position going forward. But obviously all of our focus right now is to do what we can to finish the regular season strong, be in the best position to go out and win hopefully 11 games in October.”
Stone, 25, has made 25 starts in his first full season in the major leagues, going 11-5 with a 3.53 ERA in 140⅓ innings. Friedman said Stone felt “discomfort” in his right shoulder coming out of his Saturday start against the D-backs, prompting imaging and a subsequent visit with team doctors who recommended rest. An MRI, based on Friedman’s comments, was inconclusive.
“It’s really more symptom-based,” Friedman said. “It wasn’t something that it was like, ‘Oh, we need to have surgery.’ It was, ‘Hey, let’s let everything calm down, let’s pick back up a ball and see where we’re at.’ And to the extent that he comes back and feels good and doesn’t have symptoms, I think we’re in a good spot. If he does pick up the ball and has problems, then we’re in a tough spot. We’ll have a much better feel for that once we get back to the throwing phase of where we are.”
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is not expected to play against Mississippi State on Saturday, per sources, as the Longhorns staff is expected to sit him out in order for him to be fully healthy for the game against Oklahoma on Oct. 12.
A final decision on Ewers is expected later Saturday, per sources, but the decision is trending toward allowing him to use Texas’ week off following the Mississippi State game to get healthy. Ewers has been considered week-to-week since injuring his oblique against UTSA on Sept. 14.
Ewers finished the week at nearly 70%, as he practiced Tuesday, was limited Wednesday and ended up limited in practice Thursday to allow him to fully heal. Per sources, the Texas coaching staff wanted to give Ewers the extra rest to ensure he’d return at full strength.
The decision means that Texas will against start backup quarterback Arch Manning, who will make his first career start in an SEC game. Manning made his first start against Louisiana Monroe, completing 15 of 29 passes for 258 yards. He had two touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Ewers’ oblique injury came in the wake of him displaying one of the season’s best performances at Michigan in Week 2, as he threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout Texas win in Ann Arbor.
Mississippi State enters the game on a three-game losing streak, which includes back-to-back blowout home losses to Toledo and Florida. The Bulldogs are trending toward finishing at the bottom of the SEC, as they have one of the country’s worst defenses. They are No. 111 nationally in total defense and No. 107 in scoring defense.
Mississippi State will also be without its starting quarterback, as starter Blake Shapen is out for the year after suffering a shoulder injury against Florida. Michael Van Buren, a true freshman, will make his first career start for the Bulldogs.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams is a “true game-time decision” for the No. 2 Bulldogs at No. 4 Alabama on Saturday night, according to ESPN sources.
Williams has missed the previous two games with a Grade 2 ankle sprain, which he suffered against Clemson in the opener. He’ll be evaluated in pregame warmups and a decision will be made on his status.
Williams has been limited in practice this week, and it’s expected that if he does play it’ll be at less than 100 percent. He’s also unlikely to play a heavy snap count if he does play, as he’s working his way back.
Williams is a marauding defensive end who is the best player in Georgia’s front seven and is a high-end NFL prospect. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has him ranked No. 4 overall player for the 2025 NFL draft.
Williams started the season hot before injuring his ankle against Clemson, as he had two tackles for loss and three quarterback pressures in that game.
They will be an onus on Georgia’s defensive line, especially on the ends, to help slow Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe in Tuscaloosa.
Georgia’s defensive line will benefit from the return of senior Warren Brinson, who is listed as probable after missing the past two games. Sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Hall is questionable for the SEC showdown.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Utah quarterback Cam Rising, who has been snakebit by injuries the past two years, is again expected to be a game-time decision against Arizona on Saturday night, sources told ESPN.
Rising has missed No. 10 Utah’s past two games after an injury to his throwing hand that he suffered against Baylor on Sept. 7. He missed all of last season after an ACL tear in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season.
Rising’s status will undergo the same evaluation process with the Utah staff as before the Oklahoma State game last week. He’ll throw the ball pregame, and his ability to deliver spin and velocity on the ball will determine whether he’ll play, per sources.
As Rising has struggled to recover and get back on the field, one factor that could weigh into the decision is the chance to get him back fully healthy in two weeks. Utah has a bye before they play at Arizona State on Oct. 11.
Rising has practiced this week but remained limited as the staff has attempted to rest his finger.
Freshman Isaac Wilson has started the past two weeks, leading the Utes to victories over Utah State in Logan and in Stillwater against the Cowboys.
Wilson has shown both moments of promise and interspersed those with moments that have illuminated his youth. He threw for 207 yards on 17-of-29 passing against Oklahoma State. He also threw two interceptions. He threw for three touchdowns and 239 yards against Utah State.
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