Dodgers Demote Red-Hot Starting Pitcher in Surprise Move

The Los Angeles Dodgers have optioned right-handed pitcher Emmet Sheehan to Triple-A in a surprise move ahead of Monday's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.

Sheehan has been dominant over his last two starts since returning to the MLB level, allowing a combined one run over 11.2 innings with 15 strikeouts. He pitched six scoreless innings against the Miami Marlins on Sunday.

However, the Dodgers wanted to bring up a fresh bullpen arm for the beginning of their four-game series in Cincinnati. Thus, Sheehan was the odd man out, with right-handed pitcher Paul Gervase being called up.

The Dodgers optioned Emmet Sheehan, Dave Roberts said. Paul Gervase is up as a fresh bullpen arm.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) September 14, 2026

Dodgers Option Emmet Sheehan

Sheehan has had a rollercoaster 2026 season that began with much promise. However, the right-hander struggled across his first 20 starts, and was optioned to Triple-A on Aug. 3 after allowing five runs on six hits over 2.2 innings against the Boston Red Sox.

At the time of the demotion, Sheehan's ERA was 5.29. However, he played well across four Triple-A outings and earned another opportunity at the MLB level on Sept. 7 against the Reds.

Sheehan allowed one run over 5.2 innings with a tied-for-career-high 10 strikeouts against Cincinnati. That led to him staying in the rotation for another turn, where he dominated the Marlins on Sunday.

Sheehan is now ineligible to return to the Dodgers before the end of the regular season barring an injury to someone else that would allow him to be called back up.

He'll look to continue to keep his game strong ahead of the postseason, where he could still factor into the team's plans.

“There was a lot of stuff, going down and trying to figure things out in a less stressful place which was nice,” Sheehan said after his start on Sept. 7. “Just getting my delivery locked in and really just making sure I’m hammering it during the week so I can just go out there and compete which I felt I was doing tonight.”

"I’ve been optioned before," he added. "It’s always, 'See what we can do down there, and see what we can do to bring it back up here.'"

Now, he'll have to do that once more.

Dodgers Calling Up Paul Gervase

As for Gervase, the right-hander has made four appearances for the Dodgers at the big league level this season, allowing two runs over 7.2 innings for a 2.35 ERA with eight strikeouts.

Across 38 appearances at Triple-A Oklahoma City, he has a 4.56 ERA with 66 strikeouts over 47.1 innings.

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