Sheehan opened the season on the injured list and eventually underwent season-ending UCL surgery in his right elbow on May 15.
Going into spring training, Sheehan was the shoe-in for the fifth starting pitching job for the Dodgers in 2024. Sheehan was slated to fill in until Walker Buehler returned from his second career Tommy John surgery.
Spring training progressed, but Sheehan never pitched. At first, the team described his injury as general body soreness, but they later clarified to describe it as right shoulder soreness.
It was highly disappointing for Sheehan, who made his MLB debut with the Dodgers straight from Double-A in June 2023. As a rookie last season, Sheehan posted a 4.92 ERA and 3.50 xERA with 64 strikeouts in 60 1⁄3 innings. He continued to improve as the season progressed, and he even made the Dodgers roster for the 2023 NLDS.
The young right-hander’s injury was later disclosed as forearm inflammation and not anything to do with his shoulder. The Dodgers moved Sheehan to the 60-day injured list, and at that point it was clear his injury was significant.
Testing revealed a partial tear of Sheehan’s ulnar collateral ligament. They tried a conservative non-surgical approach with rest first. Sheehan ultimately decided on undergoing the elbow operation in May:
“Its super frustrating, obviously, being on a team like this. It’s really cool to be around these guys,” Sheehan said. “I don’t think there’s any point to being down in the dumps about it right now. There’s a lot of work to be done ahead of me. But I’ve been in situations before where it didn’t seem like I was going to make it to the big leagues, or get drafted, stuff like that. I don’t know, I always feel like there’s light at the end, so I’ll be alright.”
The procedure was a hybrid of Tommy John surgery and internal brace, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. That hybrid procedure has become pretty standard now. Tyler Glasnow underwent the hybrid surgery in 2021 while on the Tampa Bay Rays.
There isn’t an exact timetable on Sheehan’s return to the mound and the Dodgers, but it takes a pitcher approximately 13 months to heal, rehab, and get back to the major-league team. That means Sheehan will likely be out until at least midseason in 2025.
2024 particulars
Age: 24
Stats: did not pitch
Salary: $750,000
Roster status
Sheehan has one year, 80 days of service time, and two option years remaining.