Twelve runs, one healthy bullpen arm back, and Jon Heyman quietly nudging Skubal toward the Bronx. Busy Thursday. If you're just joining us: Will Smith's neck stiffness started as a day-to-day thing after he, quote, slept wrong. It hung around long enough that the Dodgers put him on the IL retroactive to June 8th. Dalton Rushing and Chuckie Robinson have been splitting time behind the plate since, so Smith's return is a roster-and-workload question now, not just bench housekeeping. This is the Dodgers Daily Podcast — a 12-3 rout, Brock Stewart back off the IL, and Emmet Sheehan getting a, quote, plan after another meltdown. Let's get into it. Yahoo Sports, with Adrian Medina:
The slight rain delay at Target Field did not deter the Los Angeles Dodgers, who took the series on Tuesday afternoon against the Minnesota Twins by a final score of 12-3. Unlike Monday's series opener, where the Dodgers could only get two runs across, Freddie Freeman led the offensive surge with a 3-for-5 night at the plate with two RBIs.
Twelve to three! Monday they scratch out two runs and we're all staring at the lineup like it owes us money — Tuesday they drop a crooked dozen on Minnesota. And the offense did it on a day the rotation didn't have to be perfect. Tuesday showed they can carry a so-so start. Freeman's the engine — 3-for-5, two RBIs, first three-hit night since June 2nd. The man was overdue. And that sixth-inning double slid him past Carlos Beltran into 28th all-time — 566 career doubles. Freeman said it himself, hard not to step back and appreciate it. You're watching a Hall-of-Famer compile in real time. Then there's Chuckie Robinson — hitless in his first twelve since the call-up, finally gets two knocks. Even the guy buried at the bottom of the box score got in on it. From Katherine Wacker at Last Word On Baseball:
Will Smith who has been missing f or a couple of weeks now may rejoin the club soon. Smith, who has been dealing with a neck issue, could rejoin the Dodgers as soon as the next home stand. The veteran who “slept wrong” was originally day-t0-day until the discomfort persisted.
Best record in baseball, and yet Katherine Wacker's rundown reads like a hospital chart. Graterol — almost two years off a big-league mound, shoulder surgery in '24, now back surgery on top of it. No timeline, because how could there be? Two years, man. I forget Graterol's even technically on this roster. And Glasnow — dude was pitching like an ace, leaves Houston with the back, and now he's 'frustrated' just trying to play catch. Roberts called it minimum time. The minimum keeps moving. So yeah, the depth talk has to adjust — you can't bank arms that aren't throwing off a mound yet. Right, and this is where I lose patience — everybody's penciling in this deep rotation like it's healthy on paper. On paper. Glasnow's playing catch and grimacing. One bright spot in here, though — Will Smith's neck stiffness. The list now points to a possible return next homestand. That's an actual date, not a 'we'll see.' Blake Williams, writing in Dodger Blue:
The Los Angeles Dodgers activated Brock Stewart off the 15-day injured list and optioned Chayce McDermott to Triple-A Oklahoma City ahead of their series opener against the Minnesota Twins. Stewart had been on the IL since May 9 due to a bone spur in his left foot. The original hope was that Stewart would only miss three weeks, but his foot initially did not respond to the treatment and rest, and his return was delayed.
Brock Stewart's back! And right on cue, Chayce McDermott gets optioned to Oklahoma City. Somebody had to clear the runway. Slow down on the parade, Joey. This guy's pitched twice for the Dodgers all year. Bone spur in the left foot since May 9, and the foot didn't respond to the original three-week plan. Yeah, but he hit the final checkpoint — back-to-back games on the rehab. That's the box you have to tick before they trust the foot. The box he ticked at Single-A Ontario for the Tower Buzzers. Forgive me if one inning against A-ball hitters doesn't fully settle the bone-spur question — rest managed it, it didn't fix it. Kirk, the man avoided surgery. Shoulder last September, foot this spring — two procedures in under a year and he's vertical and throwing. I'll take vertical and throwing. Vertical and throwing is the floor, Joey, not the ceiling. I need to see whether that spur is actually behind him, or just quiet enough to activate. Ask me again in three weeks. From Charlie Wright at Heavy.com:
Sheehan will receive one more opportunity as a starter before the club makes a decision on his rotation spot, manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game, including Katie Woo of The Athletic. “It just hasn’t been where we needed to be, where (Sheehan) wants it to be,” Roberts said. “And I think right now he’s probably searching a little bit. But he’ll get a start this next one, and we’ll see where it takes us.”
The plan, per Katie Woo of The Athletic, is the least committal plan imaginable: Roberts says Sheehan gets one more start, and then — quote — we'll see where it takes us. Six earned in three-and-a-third against Baltimore, ERA up to 5.32 — thirteen runs in sixteen June innings. That's a guy getting his confidence sandblasted off in real time, Kirk. And note the next start lines up against San Diego on the 28th — the same Padres who tagged him for four in four back in May. If you're trying to engineer a soft landing, that ain't it. You're sending the searching guy back to the team that already roughed him up? Roberts even said it — he's searching. Searching guys do not find it in San Diego. Here's what I keep circling: we just put up twelve on Minnesota without him. The offense told you what the rotation can survive — so is this 'plan' a real evaluation, or just PR before a demotion they've already decided on? Dodgers Way, with Jordan Campbell:
But lost in the reporting of some actual names that the Tigers have interest in is the fact that Heyman called the Yankees a "long shot" to land Skubal. In other words, the Dodgers are still sitting in the driver's seat. The Dodgers have four prospects in MLB Pipeline's top 50, and seven in the top 100. LA can trade multiple prospects from that group, and still walk away with one of the best farm systems in baseball.
Jon Heyman moved the Skubal needle over the weekend — momentum toward the Yankees. But read past the headline: Heyman himself calls New York a long shot. So the momentum's running into a wall. Lombard Jr., number 18 prospect in the sport, plus a kid throwing 103 — that's the Yankees' best pitch. And it's still a long shot? Come on. It's really leverage math. LA's got four prospects in Pipeline's top 50, seven in the top 100. They can build multiple packages and still keep the farm functional. And here's what I love — this is the first time a named reporter floats anyone but the Dodgers, and the conclusion is still 'yeah, the Dodgers.' Tell me again who the haters envy. I'd just note things did move, even a little. A week ago this was a luxury question for LA. Now there's an outside name in the frame. Doesn't change the favorite, but it's a real data point. If Dodgers Daily is part of your routine, take a second to subscribe or leave a review wherever you’re listening. It really helps other Dodgers fans find the show, and it keeps us coming back every day.
Looking ahead, we’re watching the next Dodgers homestand to see whether Will Smith is activated after the neck issue. And Sheehan’s next scheduled checkpoint is Sunday, June 28, against the Padres.
You’ll find links to every story we touched on today in the show notes, so if something caught your ear, that’s the place to dig in. That’s Dodgers Daily Podcast for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.