On the surface, the Dodgers have what should be far and away the best starting rotation in baseball, with aces up and down roster. Six of them, in fact: Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Clayton Kershaw and Shohei Ohtani.
But the terrible string of injury luck that whacked the Dodgers’ rotation last season has stayed with the team this year, both psychologically and realistically. The Dodgers want pitching depth because they saw what can happen to starters in 2024, and in part, because it’s happening again in 2025.
Thanks to injuries, the Dodgers have had just two pitchers reach double-digits in starts this season, Yamamoto and Dustin May. The team’s big offseason signings–Snell and Sasaki–have contributed little this season. Snell made two starts and has not pitched since April 2, while Sasaki was last seen on May 9, after eight starts.
Both have shoulder injuries, and their returns are indeterminate.
Dodgers Still Remember 2024 Experience
Though the Dodgers have gotten a resurgence from Clayton Kershaw and are ramping up Shohei Ohtani for a permanent rotation role, they’re still scrambling for arms. At 403.0, the Dodgers are dead last in baseball when it comes to innings from starting pitchers and their 4.15 ERA ranks 19th in the game.
With that, MLB insider Mark Feinsand projects that the Dodgers will be busy at this year’s trade deadline, looking for more starting arms.
“Tony Gonsolin (right elbow discomfort) is also on the IL, leaving Yamamoto, Kershaw and Dustin May to hold down the fort, with Emmet Sheehan due back soon,” Feinsand wrote. “Depending on what the medical outlook is for their injured arms, Los Angeles could very well scour the market for rotation help in its effort to become the first repeat World Series champions since the 1999-2000 Yankees.”
And the Dodgers could be in luck at the deadline. Just like last season, when they added Jack Flaherty at the deadline (he went 6-2 before struggling in the playoffs), the Dodgers should be able to find a quality starter on the market.
According to The Athletic, the top starter that could be traded this month is the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara, who could be available at a bargain price because he struggled early in the season. Mitch Keller of the Pirates is another possibility.
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