Yoshinobu Yamamoto Still Hasn’t Started Throwing Program for Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are missing Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was placed on the injured list back on June 16 with a strained rotator cuff. Yamamoto is improving and he is pain-free now, but he has yet to begin a throwing program.

“I think he’s pain-free, so that’s a good thing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, via Doug Padilla of the O.C. Register. “Granted, he’s not throwing a baseball. So our hope is he starts playing catch soon. But the No. 1 thing is that he’s pain-free.”

For now, Yamamoto is focusing on shoulder exercises and getting better before he begins baseball activities and his throwing program.

“He’s getting worked on, he’s doing a lot of shoulder exercises, non-throwing stuff,” Roberts said. “But I don’t know when that time is he’s gonna pick up a baseball.”

Yamamoto last started for the Dodgers back on June 15, when he pitched just two innings against the Kansas City Royals before he was removed due to his lingering shoulder issue. There is no certain timetable for his return.

When healthy, the Dodgers’ 12-year, $325 million free agency signing has been one of the team’s best pitchers. He is 6-2 this season with a 2.92 ERA and 84 strikeouts. He did not allow a single earned run in each of his last two starts, and has had six different starters without allowing an earned run throughout the year.

Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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