Dodgers’ Brock Stewart describes the “mental warfare” of latest shoulder surgery

PHOENIX –– Dodgers reliever Brock Stewart described the shoulder surgery that ended his 2025 season last September as a “fairly simple procedure.”

But speaking to The California Post at Camelback Ranch on Friday, the right-hander basically explained everything team surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache did to correct his chronic shoulder problems.

“I shaved a bone spur, removed part of my collarbone, took out the bursa,” Stewart said nonchalantly, hoping that the rather gory details of the surgery will eventually lead to better health.

“It essentially just gave me a lot more room for the head of my humerus to rotate,” Stewart added. “Feels much better. I can tell it’s really cleaned up. The throw feels good.”

Stewart doesn’t like the fact that he can handle such complicated medical details so fluently. He would rather not be missing his bursa (a fluid sac that protects the shoulder tendons) and part of his collarbone (also called his collarbone).

But throughout a rollercoaster professional career — which originally started as a deep starter for the Dodgers a decade ago, plummeted to the depths of independent league ball in 2020 and has since reinvented himself as a high-leverage reliever that the Dodgers reacquired at last year’s trade deadline — — recurring shoulder problems have left him little choice.

If pitching pain-free now helps, so be it.

“I’ve pitched 13 pro seasons and it seems like half of those seasons I’ve dealt with something in my shoulder,” he said. “So it is what it is. Hopefully this has solved these chronic problems.”

Stewart is indeed looking for new beginnings this year.

When the Dodgers traded for him last July, the hope was that he could stabilize the club’s struggling bullpen. Despite undergoing a shoulder scope procedure in 2024, he had returned as one of the better right-on-right relievers in the majors by the first half of 2025, posting a 2.38 ERA in 39 appearances with the Twins.

But after just four appearances with the Dodgers, Stewart’s shoulder flashed back, making every pitch feel “like a knife was stabbing me.”

He missed the rest of the year and watched from a distance as the Dodgers won the World Series without him.

“Last year was bad, you know, mental warfare,” he said. “The team traded for me, and then I come here, and I didn’t really help, especially in the postseason.”

This time, Stewart hopes to play a key role in the team’s three-peat pursuit.

While he likely won’t be ready for Opening Day, which starts the spring behind most other Dodgers pitchers as he slowly climbs the ranks and completes his recovery process, he is confident that “I’ll be able to pitch most of the season.”

He said he started his throwing progression in early December. He’s cleared a lot of the “cobwebs” that came with his last surgical rehab (he also had Tommy John in 2021). And he’s already hitting 90 miles per hour on long throws, putting him on track to throw off a mound again within the next two weeks.

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“I think I’m on track. ElAttrache spoke to him yesterday and he was happy with where I am now,” he said. “I feel like I can be loose and swingy (with my throws). It just feels clean to work through all those ranges.”

The Dodgers won’t rely on Stewart the same way they did last year. This winter, they signed new closer Edwin Díaz to anchor the back end of their relief corps. They’re also counting on fellow right-hander Blake Treinen to mount a recovery campaign and Brusdar Graterol to make a strong return after his own shoulder surgery (an operation that sidelined Graterol for all of last season).

Still, Stewart believes he is important. If he returns soon enough, he would provide right-handed depth as Evan Phillips works his way back from Tommy John surgery. And if more injuries crop up as the year progresses — as will likely be the case for a Dodgers pitching staff coming off two long postseason runs — his presence would give the club some veteran stability.

“To be part of a team going for a three-peat and hopefully help them a lot, couldn’t be more excited,” Stewart said. “Hopefully when I look up at the end of the season I can say I helped a lot. Hopefully I can hold up the World Series trophy for a three-peat.”