Emmet Sheehan’s season has turned into a search, and the Dodgers want that search to stop.
After looking like a possible piece of Los Angeles’ future with a mini-breakout in 2025, Sheehan has not carried that form into this year. Through 95.1 innings, he’s sitting on a 5.29 ERA, a sharp drop from the 2.82 ERA and 0.97 WHIP he posted over 73.1 innings last season.
The rough start began early. Sheehan entered Spring Training behind schedule after an illness slowed him at the outset of camp, and he has been trying to make up ground ever since. Along the way, the right-hander has been chasing both velocity and his mechanics, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes that focus has worked against him.
“That’s a good question. I don’t know the answer,” Roberts said regarding Sheehan’s search for velocity and sharpness.
“I do think from the outset there was a lot of talk on his velocity, so I think that might’ve bled in a little bit to his North Star. Which some could debate that should be, some would say that shouldn’t be.
“I just think this year, up to this point, it’s been very mechanics-driven. When you’re in the competition, the season, that quite frankly should be the last thing on your mind as a hitter or a pitcher. But that’s been forefront for him, so we’ve got to get him back to being an athlete, being in compete mode.”
The velocity dip has been noticeable. Sheehan’s average fastball is down to 94.4 mph after sitting at 95.6 mph last season, and it fell to 93.3 mph in his start against the Red Sox. The mechanics have been a moving target too, which has only added to the uneven results.
That said, the Dodgers aren’t closing the book on the 26-year-old. There have been bright spots, and Sheehan is still part of the organization’s future picture. But the team clearly believes he needs a reset before he can get back on track.
That reset now comes in Triple-A. The Dodgers optioned Sheehan to Oklahoma City on Monday as the corresponding move to Tarik Skubal being added to the active roster.
Los Angeles is hoping the change of pace helps him clear his head and find something closer to his old form. Sheehan’s first chance to do that comes Saturday, when he is scheduled to start for Oklahoma City.
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