The Los Angeles Dodgers are off to another great start to the season, as their 9-3 record is the best in MLB. They’re also doing this without star pitcher Blake Snell throwing a single pitch this season.
Despite the early-season dominance, the Dodgers are always looking to improve. Unfortunately, that meant two pitchers getting let go. Los Angeles released right-handed pitchers Nick Nastrini and Angel Tello.
Nastrini was on the Double-A Tulsa Drillers and didn’t get a chance to play for the Dodgers this season. He was originally drafted by the team in 2021, but didn’t ever make the MLB roster. He eventually went over to the Chicago White Sox, but that only lasted a season.
He came back to the Dodgers last year, but will now have to look elsewhere. Tello was on the Dominican Summer League Dodgers and hasn’t played at the MLB level yet. He hasn’t been able to play since 2024 due to injury, which likely factored into why he was released.
Dodgers Have No Regrets From Offseason?
Once again, the Dodgers were big spenders in the offseason, giving huge contracts to Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz. However, everything is paying off so far.
Tucker hasn’t done anything too impressive, but he’s been solid. Diaz has been lights out and already has four saves in five appearances. Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report went through and named one regret every team could have from the offseason, but he couldn’t find one for the Dodgers.
“One of the things about having the resources the Dodgers do is that they can afford to miss. A year ago, they won their second World Series title in a row, despite the first season Tanner Scott’s four-year, $72 million deal going terrible,” Kelly wrote. “It’s concerning that Roki Sasaki is off to a poor start, but if the worst-case scenario is that he ends up as a weapon out of their bullpen again in the postseason, that doesn’t seem to be that bad.
“The major difference between the Dodgers and clubs that don’t spend money is if they miss on a signing or overevaluate one of their players, ownership won’t pinch pennies around the trade deadline in terms of giving president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman the resources to make corrections.”
Shohei Ohtani Not Feeling Great to Start Season
The one concern the Dodgers could have to start the season is that two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani isn’t feeling great about his pitching. While he hasn’t given up an earned run in two starts, he hasn’t been hitting the strikeout numbers he’s used to.
According to Ohtani, he might need to fix his mechanics.
“I’m not sure if that was the main cause,” Ohtani said, “but I want to make sure that I’m addressing, if any, some mechanical changes.”
Ohtani is one player the Dodgers likely don’t have to worry about in the long run. Even if his pitching continues to struggle, he’s still an MVP-level player as a batter. Plus, he is proving that he’s still an effective pitcher even when he’s not confident in his mechanics.
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