Stone will miss the entire 2025 season after undergoing shoulder surgery back in October. The track record for pitchers coming back from major shoulder procedures is a bit more checkered than elbow surgeries, which complicates his long-term outlook. The procedural move frees up a spot on Los Angeles’ 40-man roster for utility specialist Kiké Hernández.

Ouch. Stone was excellent before hurting his shoulder last month, going 11-5 with a 3.53 ERA and a 116/37 K/BB in 140 1/3 innings over 25 starts. The Dodgers could have Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May back to join Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Bobby Miller, but with so many question marks, adding pitching is going to have to be a priority this winter.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters last week that Stone’s season was likely over, but now it’s official. The Dodgers transferred him to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for top prospect Edgar Henriquez to be called up prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Padres.

Very unfortunate. Stone wasn’t going to be the NL Rookie of the Year this year even if he didn’t get hurt, but he was putting together a season that would have had him in contention many years. He was 11-5 with a 3.53 ERA in 140 1/3 innings when he went down Aug. 31.