“Noooo just take my arm I don’t need it” – Dodgers fans distraught as pitcher Emmet Sheehan set to undergo season-ending UCL surgery

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan was starting to make a name for himself. In a stable full of big-time arms, he set himself apart with a 4-1 record and a 4.92 ERA last season.

Unfortunately, Sheehan's 2024 season has come to a close without him throwing a single inning. On Wednesday. the hard-throwing righty underwent surgery to repair his right ulnar collateral ligament. It was not specified whether he had an internal brace or if it was full-blown Tommy John surgery.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a surgeon who often performs surgeries on superstar athletes. The surgery comes after Sheehan experienced some forearm inflammation in March.

The Dodgers have kept Sheehan's status under wraps as they were hoping he would return to the rotation without surgery. However, that did not come to be, and Sheehan will be out for quite some time.

"Noooo just take my arm I don't need it" - one fan posted.

"Of course he did because all of our young pitcher's have to have elbow surgery for some reason" - posted another fan.

"Pain and suffering" - posted another.

This was not something Dodgers fans were embracing themselves for. It is such a shame, too, because Sheehan was starting to get his feet underneath him in the big leagues.

"I don’t understand why they didn’t do this earlier. They knew in spring training that his elbow was not doing well" - said another fan.

"Why did they wait till now?? See you in 2026" - said another.

"It never stops" - said another.

Fans are trying to understand why the reorganization waited until now to have the surgery. They knew his condition in Spring Training, but again, the club was hoping the injury would heal itself.

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Emmet Sheehan is now the 11th active Dodgers pitcher to join the IL

Los Angeles Dodgers - Emmet Sheehan (Image via USA Today)

The Dodgers, like a handful of other clubs, have seen plenty of pitchers hit the IL. With Emmet Sheehan being the latest IL victim, the club now has 11 pitchers currently on the injured list.

While that is quite a lot of arms on the IL, it has not hurt the club. They hold the third-best record across the big leagues at 29-16. It begs the question, how much better could this team be if they did not have over 10 arms on the IL?