LOS ANGELES — Bobby Miller has had shoulder pain before. It was “nothing crazy” then and “nothing crazy” now, he insists.
“It’s kind of been a nagging thing for a few weeks,” the Dodgers right-hander said Sunday after being placed on the Injured List with shoulder inflammation on Saturday. “But it’s nothing crazy so I’m glad we got on top of it right now instead of me trying to push through it like I normally always do.
“At the end of the day, it’s good that I wasn’t hiding anything and trying to push through it. That probably would have caused me to miss more time instead of a short amount of time which we’re hoping for.”
Miller has been through this before. His 2022 season in Triple-A ended early due to shoulder pain. The following spring, the Dodgers eased him into things and he did not start until April 29 in Triple-A.
This feeling is “pretty similar,” Miller said. An MRI revealed no structural damage – which Miller found to be a relief.
“MRIs – they kind of suck. You never know what you’re going to find in there whether you feel 100 percent or not,” he said.
Miller has been shut down while the inflammation is treated but he’s hopeful to start a throwing program “within the next week.”
The Dodgers will have to deal with Miller’s absence from the starting rotation on Tuesday or Wednesday. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team will call up a pitcher from Triple-A to make a start either Tuesday or Wednesday. The other day will be another ‘bullpen game’ as the Dodgers elect once again to push Yoshinobu Yamamoto back. Yamamoto will make his next start on Friday, Roberts said. Yamamoto has basically pitched once a week with at least five days off between each of his first four starts.
Kyle Hurt and Landon Knack would seem to be the most likely to fill in for Miller this week. The two right-handers started opposite games of a doubleheader for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Hurt has only thrown two innings at a time, however. Knack went 5 innings in his first start, 5 ⅔ innings on Wednesday.
What the Dodgers won’t do, Roberts said, is rush Walker Buehler back to replace Miller. Buehler made his third rehab start on Friday for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga but only went two innings after he was hit in the hand by a comebacker. He is expected to make another rehab start on Thursday – potentially his final one, making Buehler an option to join the rotation after that.
“I don’t think it does (change that plan),” Roberts said. “I think that, most important is Walker’s health and the progression for him versus just reacting to Bobby Miller. I think that it was an abbreviated outing his last one, so for him to be able to get to 80-85 pitches on Thursday, then we can sort of have a real conversation about how he fits.”
TREINEN PROGRESS
Right-hander Blake Treinen threw to hitters in a simulated-game setting Sunday afternoon.
Treinen is now expected to throw to hitters again on Thursday and Saturday before going on a minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment some time next week.
Treinen was struck in the right side by a line drive during a Cactus League game on March 9. An examination revealed a bruised lung. Treinen traveled to South Korea with the team in hopes that he would be able to pitch in the Seoul Series. But a subsequent exam revealed two rib fractures.
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SHEEHAN STATUS
Right-hander Emmet Sheehan would be a prime candidate to fill Miller’s spot in the rotation. But his shoulder problem has proven to be more serious than originally anticipated.
Roberts said Sunday that Sheehan has been shut down from any throwing.
“(His shoulder) just hasn’t been responding. So right now, it’s non-activity as far as throwing,” Roberts said.
Sheehan is on the 60-day IL and not eligible to be activated until mid-May. But Roberts said the right-hander “is a ways away” from making a return to the mound.
“I just know it’s gonna be a longer-term situation,” he said.
UP NEXT
Nationals (TBA) at Dodgers (RHP Tyler Glasnow, 3-0, 2.25 ERA), Monday, 7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM