SEATTLE — When the Dodgers traded for Brock Stewart at the deadline in July, they were gambling on the upside a healthy Stewart could provide.
They lost the gamble.
Stewart’s attempt to return from a shoulder injury before the end of the regular season came to an end Friday after a visit with Dr. Neal ElAttrache. ElAttrache recommended a shoulder debridement to relieve the pain Stewart has continued to feel in his shoulder.
The procedure is expected to sideline Stewart into the first half of the 2026 season.
Stewart made three appearances on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City last week and joined the Dodgers in Arizona for the series against the Diamondbacks. He threw in the outfield and then in the bullpen before the games with General Manager Brandon Gomes and the Dodgers’ training staff watching.
“We had a lot of conversations with Brock and he’s like, ‘Hey, I want to help this team in any way possible,’” Gomes said. “But watching him throw and just having the conversations with him … something was just bothering him that we just felt like, we don’t want to – as much as we would love to have him right now we don’t want to put his long-term health at risk.
“So kind of going back and seeing Dr. ElAttrache, we felt like this was the best course of action. Our expectation is that he pitches the majority of next year.”
The 33-year-old Stewart has a long medical history that includes Tommy John surgery in 2021 and arthroscopic shoulder surgery in August 2024. He made just four appearances after being acquired from the Minnesota Twins and then went on the injured list. He received two cortisone shots and a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat bursitis in his throwing shoulder.
“I think it’s one of those things where, any time you’re taking on a pitcher we understand that there are risks,” Gomes said. “Unfortunately he was pitching great before and was being used like a normal reliever and he got here and just, it flared up. So it’s unfortunate.
“It was a risk we were willing to take because it’s a high-end talent. The positive is that we still have him for next year and beyond.”
INJURY UPDATES
Utility man Tommy Edman and third baseman Max Muncy were not in the lineup Thursday or Friday. Edman is still bothered by the same ankle injury that landed him on the IL twice this season but is expected to be available when the Dodgers start the postseason on Tuesday.
“I think it’s what we thought it was gonna be like, in the sense of, it’s not gonna be 100 percent throughout the rest of the season,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Edman. “It is something we’re going to have to keep managing. That play out in center field the other day kind of flared it up a little bit. That’s why he’s not in there today. But my thought is he’ll be back in there tomorrow.”
Muncy, meanwhile, is dealing with “a couple things” that are unspecified. Roberts referred to it as “a lower body part.” Muncy was on the IL with a rib injury and a knee injury this season and has been hit by pitches in the head and wrist recently.
“He’s just not right,” Roberts said. “I’m just trying to give him a little bit more time for the body, want to make sure he’s in a good spot.”
A day after clinching the division title, the Dodgers did not take batting practice on the field but Muncy took ground balls at third base for quite awhile and seemed to be moving freely.
“It’s not so much with the ground balls. It’s more with the swing,” he said. “Just a couple things I’m not able to do right now.
“These last three games, we can’t lose or gain any ground. So for us, Tuesday is what we’re talking about.”
SMITH UNLIKELY
Will Smith continues to catch bullpen sessions and might start swinging a bat this weekend. But Roberts acknowledged it doesn’t seem likely the All-Star catcher will be able to play in the best-of-three Wild Card Series.
“I’m still hoping. I wouldn’t say hopeful. I’m hoping,” Roberts said. “But obviously, if he’s not doing a whole lot, it just looks more unlikely.”
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Tyler Glasnow, 4-3, 3.30 ERA) at Mariners (RHP Logan Gilbert, 6-6, 3.43 ERA), Saturday, 6:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM