Dodgers pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for spring training on Feb. 10. As we count down the days until camp begins, we are going through the various position groups to give a breakdown of where the roster stands. Today, we look at the starting rotation. Previously, the catchers, the outfielders and the infielders.
2024 RECAP
A year ago, the Dodgers added Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and James Paxton and felt they had adequate depth in starting pitching to see them through the 2024 season. Seventeen different pitchers started at least one game for the Dodgers last season (including relievers in ‘bullpen games’). Eleven of them spent time on the injured list and by the time they started their postseason run they had just three healthy starters – Yamamoto, Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty (obtained in a midseason trade). Glasnow pitched a career-high 134 innings, but only 31 of those came after June. His season ended early with an elbow injury. Yamamoto missed three months with a shoulder injury. Buehler struggled to regain his form in his return from a second Tommy John surgery. Bobby Miller regressed badly in his second season and wound up back in Triple-A. Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan and Kyle Hurt each had surgery. Clayton Kershaw returned from shoulder surgery but only made seven starts before foot issues ended his season before October.
HOW IT LOOKS RIGHT NOW
The Dodgers went back to the market this winter, looking for starting pitching. They found it in two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (signed for five years and $182 million) and prized Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki. Added to the in-house group, the Dodgers have potentially the best – and certainly the deepest – group of starting pitchers in the majors. Snell and Sasaki join Glasnow, Yamamoto, Tony Gonsolin (returning from Tommy John surgery) and Shohei Ohtani expected to return to two-way play in 2025.
THE NEXT LAYER
The starting pitching group could get even deeper if Dustin May returns from his health issues and Kershaw returns from foot and knee surgeries. Sheehan could return from his Tommy John surgery late in the year. Miller will be given a chance to re-set his development and Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski both gained big-league experience last season.
MOVES THEY COULD MAKE
The Dodgers plan to go with a six-man rotation in 2025 to accommodate the trio of Japanese pitchers (Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki) who were used to a lesser workload in their home country. That should mean a constant juggling among the deep group of starters. If someone like Miller re-establishes his value, he could be a trade chip at midseason if the Dodgers look to address another need at that time.