Gavin Stone, Bobby Miller and other injured Dodgers pitchers still trying to work back to full health

PHOENIX –– It was a reunion of sorts for the Dodgers on Tuesday.

With the club in town to face the Arizona Diamondbacks, a group of injured pitchers currently rehabbing at the team’s Camelback Ranch spring training facility were in the visiting clubhouse at Chase Field to visit with teammates, check in with coaches, and get at least one day back around the big leagues while they work towards their return to action. 

“It’s good seeing those guys,” manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s a nice kind of reprieve or break for them while we’re in town to pop over.”

The most notable familiar face: Starting pitcher Gavin Stone, who remains sidelined with shoulder problems that date back to a season-ending surgery he had at the end of his breakout 2024 rookie campaign.

Entering this year, the Dodgers were hoping to have Stone at full health. Through the early weeks of spring training, he was one of the standout performers in camp, recapturing the form he showed while going 11-5 with a 3.53 ERA in that 2024 season.

Alas, his surgically repaired shoulder flared up on him after his first Cactus League start. And since then, attempts to ramp him back up have been scuttled by more setbacks in what has now become a year-and-a-half-long injury saga.

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“He’s one that I’m really bummed out about,” Roberts said. “I think his makeup is off the charts, good, compete. Right now, his body’s just letting him down a little bit. There’s nothing else he can do. When he … ramps it up, it sort of shows itself again. So right now, I’m not sure exactly where he’s at in this progression. But I’m looking forward to seeing him, though.”

The other injured pitchers around the team Tuesday included Ben Casparius (who started the year in the Dodgers’ bullpen before going down with a shoulder injury that has since landed him on the 60-day injured list) as well as Bobby Miller and Landon Knack (who have both been sidelined since the start of the season).

Miller spoke to reporters in the clubhouse Tuesday, and revealed that in addition to the shoulder injury that initially landed him on the IL to begin the season, he also had a back issue that forced him to slow-play his throwing progression in the early weeks of the season.

“It was shoulder at first. I had some injections right before spring training. It was pretty good. Then I had a setback with a back injury,” Miller said. “But it’s all great right now. I haven’t had any setbacks since that. I’ve been getting stronger and stronger.”

Like Stone, Miller was once a breakout rookie star for the Dodgers, going 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 2023.

Since then, however, injuries and underperformance (he had an 8.65 ERA in 15 MLB outings the last two years) have put his role with the organization in flux.

While Miller –– who said he is scheduled to begin throwing off a mound again this week –– still believes he can be a starting pitcher, he is also open to relief duties, something the Dodgers had him try in triple-A at the end of last season.

“There’s a lot to learn from the struggles that I had,” he said. “I think I ended the season very well last year in the role that I was in. But I also know I can be a starter, as well. Like I said, I’m not going to hold myself to any role with this team. I’ll take any role I can get, just to contribute.”

As for what life is like these days at Camelback Ranch, where the Dodgers have their pitchers facing long-term injuries go for their recovery work, Miller described the vibe as upbeat.

“We’re grinding,” he said. “It’s a tough grind, but it’s a good group of guys.”

On Tuesday, at least, they got to be back around their big-league teammates again –– representing a light at the end of the elongated tunnel each of them are facing to return to full health.