Eric Lauer hits IL with elbow inflammation

It’s a tough break for fantasy managers hoping to see Sheehan take the ball against the Giants later this week. The 26-year-old righty posted five strikeouts over six scoreless frames in a no-decision against the Marlins on Sunday. He allowed just one run over 11 2/3 frames in a pair of starts after returning to the majors back on September 7. It appears that his rotation spot will be going to Roki Sasaki (blister) in a couple days. The Dodgers also have former Royals starter Kris Bubic joining their pitching equation later this week.

After striking out 10 batters in his return to the majors on Monday, Sheehan feasted in a favorable matchup. He gave up just two hits — both of them singles — while walking one and striking out five. He induced 14 swinging strikes in his 81 pitches while getting multiple whiffs on all four of his pitches. Unfortunately, the Dodgers’ bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Nevertheless, it was another impressive outing for someone who was regarded as a breakout candidate in fantasy leagues coming into the year. This doesn’t make up for the disappointment earlier in the year, but Sheehan is back on the radar. If the Dodgers decide to keep him in the rotation, it would likely be against the Giants next weekend.

This move officially ends Lauer’s 2026 season. The 31-year-old southpaw landed on the injured list last week due to inflammation in his pitching elbow. Josue De Paula was promoted from Double-A Tulsa on Friday to take Lauer’s spot on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.

The lone run came on Elly De La Cruz’s homer in the first. Sheehan allowed only two other hits and walked one in the 82-pitch outing. Manager Dave Roberts said after the game that Sheehan would get a chance to remain in the rotation. That probably puts him in line to face the Marlins on Sunday, making him a worthy streaming option.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters it might not be a one-and-done spot start for Sheehan, but he’ll presumably need to perform to keep his rotation spot until the playoffs begin. The 26-year-old gets the ball for Monday’s series opener against the Reds in Los Angeles after looking extremely sharp in a handful of recent outings at the Triple-A level where he’s allowed one run with a 16/4 K/BB ratio across 11 2/3 innings of work. It’s a bit of a challenging matchup given how Cincinnati is performing recently, but there’s some streaming appeal in deeper mixed leagues.

This has been assumed since Eric Lauer went on the IL, but it’s now official. Sheehan’s outing might come behind an opener, but he is stretched out to go long; he’s allowed one run over 17 1/3 innings in his last three starts for Oklahoma City. Those prioritizing wins could give him a try.

Lauer stranded a runner in the first inning, then gave up back-to-back solo homers to Thomas Saggese and Ramón Urías in the second. The Cardinals piled on five more runs on five hits, a walk, and a hit batter in the third inning. Lauer wouldn’t make it out for the fourth, ending his day at 63 pitches. He struck out two. The 31-year-old left-hander will look to bounce back when he takes a 5.23 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and a 72/35 K/BB ratio across 108 1/3 innings into a start against the Nationals in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Sasaki was pulled from Wednesday’s start against the Braves after the blister issue cropped up. No word yet on how long he’ll be shelved for, but he’ll miss at least one trip through the Dodgers’ rotation. Eric Lauer will move back from the bullpen to take his place in the club’s six-man rotation for the time being.

Sheehan threw 68 percent of his pitches for strikes, while posting an 18 percent swinging strike rate and 37 percent CSW. His four-seamer averaged 94.2 mph, and his slider carved batters up all day. There’s no room for him in the Dodgers’ rotation right now, but it’s nice to see him continuing to pitch well.

With Tyler Glasnow back and Shohei Ohtani nearing a return as well, there simply isn’t room to keep the 31-year-old southpaw in the club’s six-man rotation. He’ll be available out of the bullpen beginning on Tuesday.