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<\/p>\nThe Los Angeles Dodgers introduced starting pitcher Roki Sasaki Wednesday and then reliever Tanner Scott Thursday. Both press conferences were at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, there is one more contract that needs to be finalized.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers reportedly agreed to a deal with Kirby Yates and the need for the right-hander came up when it was revealed that Michael Kopech would miss some time to open the season due to right forearm inflammation.<\/p>\n
General manager Brandon Gomes provided a brief update on Kopech\u2019s status Wednesday, seeming to downplay the report of the injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s throwing and playing catch,\u201d Gomes said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to see how he progresses. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything of concern at this point.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n According to Bob Nightengale, the hard-throwing right-hander has been dealing with forearm inflammation. While no structural damage has been identified, Nightengale notes that the Dodgers are expected to take a cautious approach with him at the start of the season.<\/p>\n Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also reported that Kopech pitched through some discomfort during the postseason.<\/p>\n Kopech was the steal of the trade deadline for the Dodgers in 2024. After being acquired from the White Sox in a three-team trade at the deadline, Kopech had an outstanding start with the Dodgers. Across 24 innings in the second half of the season, he posted a remarkable 1.13 ERA.<\/p>\n He struck out 33 percent of batters faced and generated swinging strikes on an impressive 15.8 percent of his pitches.<\/p>\n Kopech\u2019s playoff performance showed some signs of struggle.<\/p>\n While he allowed only three runs over nine innings, he walked seven batters while striking out 10. His 98-99 MPH fastball still had its usual life.<\/p>\n Currently, the forearm inflammation appears to be more of a concern to monitor rather than a major issue. Nightengale reports that Kopech could start the season on the injured list, although the team hasn\u2019t confirmed this publicly.<\/p>\n Even if he misses some time early on, the Dodgers\u2019 bullpen, now complete with Yates, is deep enough to manage his absence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Los Angeles Dodgers introduced starting pitcher Roki Sasaki Wednesday and then reliever Tanner Scott Thursday. Both press conferences were at Dodger Stadium. However, there is one… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n