Dodgers News: Ryan Pepiot’s Return Timeline Gets Pushed Back Again

Ryan Pepiot’s 2023 season has not gone according to plan.

Pepiot entered spring training free of expectations, knowing the Dodgers had five solid starters likely to fill out the rotation to start the year. Then, very early on, Tony Gonsolin went down with an ankle injury, and it became clear that the Dodgers’ rotation was going to have an opening.

The battle was mainly between two guys — Pepiot and Michael Grove — but in the end, it was Pepiot getting the nod, a moment he called the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Pepiot was on the highest of highs, but quickly came down to the lowest of lows.

Pepiot had some discomfort in his side during his final start of spring. He ended up opening the season on the injured list, and was left to be “disappointed” and “bummed” to start the year. Pepiot did hope that the fact that the Dodgers caught it early would mean that it wouldn’t linger too long, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.

Pepiot ended up going on the 60-day IL, pushing his return timeline back to June. And now, that timeline has been pushed back even further.

On Thursday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke to reporters, and said that Pepiot felt renewed discomfort in his oblique which has limited him to just playing catch. Roberts also said he now may not be available until after the All-Star break.

The All-Star break is in the middle of July, so this is yet another difficult blow to someone who was supposed to open the season on an MLB roster for the first time in his career. However, oblique injuries tend to linger, and that’s exactly what has happened with Pepiot.

We wish the best to Pepiot as he continues to recover, and hope that this is the last time his timeline gets pushed back. Hopefully, come the middle of July, Pepiot is finally fully healthy, and can get back on a baseball diamond.

Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!