2025 Dodgers season review: Michael Grove

SB Nation

Michael Grove’s seven and a half years in the Dodgers organization was very much a portrait of a modern major league pitcher. But after shoulder surgery kept him out of action for all of 2025, his time

with Los Angeles has ended.

Grove had Tommy John surgery in 2017 while at West Virginia, but that didn’t stop the Dodgers from drafting him in the second round in 2018.

“We feel very comfortable and confident in our player development and medical staff’s ability to get these pitchers back to where they were,” Dodgers director of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino said at the time. “The Walker Buehler example is a good one, and we hope to repeat it with Grove.”

A starter in the minors, Grove started with the Dodgers intermittently after getting added to the 40-man roster in November 2021, and made his major league debut in 2022. He had a 6.07 ERA through his first 21 career games, all but two of them either starts or bulk relief following an opener, before getting shifted to the bullpen in August 2023, providing a glimmer of hope at a future.

First 21 games (2022-23): 92 IP, 6.07 ERA, 4.61 xERA, 18 HR, 21.1-percent K rate, 6.8-percent BB rate
Last 43 games (2023-24): 57 1/3 IP, 4.55 ERA, 3.32 xERA, 6 HR, 26.9-percent K rate, 7.1-percent BB rate

Grove pitched once in the 2024 National League Division Series but then his shoulder injury popped up and he was replaced on the roster by Ben Casparius. After giving it a go during spring training, Grove had surgery in March, wiping out his 2025 season before it began.

Heading into 2026, Grove has one option year remaining. With three years, 31 days of major league service time, he would have been eligible for salary arbitration for the first time, though he wasn’t expected to get an exorbitant salary. MLB Trade Rumors projected Grove to earn $800,000 and Cot’s Baseball Contracts projected $790,000 for Grove after missing a season, both only slightly above the major league minimum of $780,000, so the financial cost wouldn’t have been exorbitant.

But the Dodgers have a pretty robust pitching depth chart, and 40-man space is scarce. Grove was sent outright to the minors on November 6, and off the 40-man roster, but Grove had well more than the requisite service time to become a minor league free agent.