Emmet Sheehan close to return as Dodgers eye Padres series

LOS ANGELES — Let the parade of returning starters begin, with the Dodgers set to welcome back right-hander Emmet Sheehan as soon as the upcoming four-game home series against the San Diego Padres.

Sheehan has not pitched for the Dodgers since the end of his rookie season in 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The club will wait on making his return official at least until he throws a between-start bullpen Sunday.

“This year and last year, the team being so good, I just wanted to be able to contribute and do my part and not be able to do that, it did suck, but now it’s nice to be at the end of the process,” Sheehan said in the locker room Saturday.

Quiet when he arrived in 2023 while making 13 appearances (11 starts), Sheehan has an added air of confidence about him now and he appears to have more bulk on his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame.

“He’s much more physical than he was, and I think it’s part of the rehab process,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s been over a year, and you start to kind of put mass on, and he is very physical right now.”

More importantly, his right arm is pain-free. He had four minor league rehab outings, including three with Oklahoma City and pronounced himself ready to go, even if his most recent outing looked more like a struggle.

In a 3⅓-inning start Thursday at Albuquerque, Sheehan gave up four runs on six hits, but did not walk a batter and had seven strikeouts.

“I mean, the throwing-strikes part was pretty good,” Sheehan said. “I had no walks, which I was pretty happy with.”

The expectation is that Sheehan could face the Padres on Wednesday or Thursday.

“Coming off Tommy John, you just really don’t know what to expect, but I think that we saw a little bit of it in spring training,” Roberts said. “And then all of the reports from that point to now have just been really positive every time out. And yeah, he’s been holding his stuff, and with the physicality we talked about, it’ll be a nice infusion, if it works out.”

A realistic expectation for Sheehan’s first major league start would be four innings and/or 60-65 pitches. It doesn’t seem like much at the outset, but from where Sheehan was while watching the World Series instead of participating in it, he is in a much better place now.

“Obviously, it was really painful not to be able to contribute to that, but you also have that to look forward to, to come back to this special of a group,” Sheehan said. “It really helped a lot of us who were rehabbing out in Arizona.”

BACK AGAIN

Left-hander Garrett McDaniels was returned to the Dodgers’ organization on Saturday after he was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Angels in December. He has yet to be assigned to a minor league club.

As a pitcher in the Dodgers’ system for five seasons and not on the 40-man roster, the Angels were able to pry him away for a $100,000 claiming fee. But since the Angels did not keep him on the major league roster the entire season, he had to be offered back to his original club.

McDaniels, 25, advanced as high as Double-A in the Dodgers’ system but returns with some major league experience after posting a 5.91 ERA in 10 relief outings with the Angels. His stay across town ended after a trip to the injured list with biceps tendinitis.

MIGHTY BRUINS

Roberts was performing double duty Saturday afternoon, getting ready for the matchup with the San Francisco Giants, while also keeping track of his alma mater, UCLA, which won its opening game at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Roberts, who was drafted in the 28th round out of UCLA by the Detroit Tigers in 1994, said he sent well wishes to Bruins head coach John Savage this week.

No. 15 seed UCLA held on for a 6-4 victory over unseeded Murray State in its opener and will face No. 6 seed LSU in a winner’s bracket game on Monday at 4 p.m. PT.

ALSO

Right-hander Shohei Ohtani threw a between-start bullpen and is set to throw his next live batting practice session either Wednesday or Thursday. … Right-hander Joe Kelly, who is not in a major league organization this season, received his World Series ring on the field before Saturday’s game, surrounded by the team. … Roberts was presented the “Citizen Honor Award” from the Okinawa Prefecture, where he was born in 1972. The award is given to the people of Okinawa who have brought “hope and vitality to its citizens.”