Tony Gonsolin injury: Dodgers starter lands on 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort

Gonsolin becomes the eighth starting pitcher on the IL for Los Angeles

While it's hardly the biggest pitching injury to afflict the National League West this week, the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday placed right-handed starter Tony Gonsolin on the 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort. Yes, that's yet another rotation injury for the Dodgers. 

In a sequence of corresponding moves, the Dodgers also activated right-handed reliever Kirby Yates from the 15-day IL and right-handed reliever Michael Kopech from the 60-day IL. To make room for Kopech on the 40-player and active rosters, right-hander Chris Stratton was designated for assignment. 

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Gonsolin's elbow injury is especially concerning since this is his comeback season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August of 2023. An All-Star in 2022, this season the 31-year-old Gonsolin has pitched to a 5.00 ERA and a 5.97 FIP in seven starts. As noted, the Dodger rotation has been waylaid by injuries this season. Gonsolin becomes the eighth starting pitcher on the IL for L.A. Here are the others: 

• LHP Blake Snell (shoulder inflammation), out since April 2;
• RHP Tyler Glasnow (shoulder inflammation), out since April 27;
• RHP Roki Sasaki (shoulder impingement), out since May 9;
• RHP Gavin Stone (shoulder surgery), out since Oct. 9, 2024;
• RHP Emmet Sheehan (Tommy John surgery), out since May 16, 2024;
• RHP River Ryan (Tommy John surgery), out since Aug. 25, 2024;
• RHP Kyle Hurt (Tommy John surgery), out since July 30, 2024.

That's a full big-league rotation and then some, including a formidable front end. The Dodgers and manager Dave Roberts are no strangers to such straits -- last year, they barged through the playoffs and won the World Series despite having three (mostly) healthy starters -- and they've put together the deepest stable of starting pitchers in all of MLB for this very reason. They've once again needed that depth. In 2025, they've already given at least one start to 13 different pitchers and given multiple starts to nine different pitchers. In related matters, the Dodgers this season rank 23rd in MLB in rotation ERA and 28th in rotation FIP. 

The loss of Gonsolin means that the Dodgers right now have a rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Justin Wrobleski. Gonsolin's replacement, at least for the time being, might be Ben Casparius, who's free to shift out of the bullpen with the returns of Yates and Kopech. Looking further ahead, two-way superstar and reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani continues to work his way back toward resuming his pitching duties. However, he still has no clear timetable for his return to the rotation. 

Amid the injury uncertainty surrounding their pitchers, the Dodgers still have the best odds at FanDuel (+250) of reaching the World Series. They are followed by the Yankees (+500), Tigers (+950) and Mets (+950).

Lead decision-maker in Los Angeles, Andrew Friedman, built all this pitching depth in part because he doesn't like paying the high trade-deadline prices for talent. Will what's happened in 2025 test that philosophy? If the Dodgers' playoff standing is fairly strong leading up to the deadline, then they may depend on those internal options to get healthy and trickle back in, all with the hopes of a formidable playoff rotation. If, however, the Dodgers struggle over the next six weeks or so, then Friedman's hand may be forced. 

The reigning champion Dodgers are atop the standings in the NL West despite all the pitching carnage. Going into Saturday's slate, the Dodgers are 38-36 with a one-game lead over the San Diego Padres and a two-game lead over the third-place San Francisco Giants. Those are tight margins, and they bear close monitoring in light of the latest Dodger pitching injury.