To say the Los Angeles Dodgers have put themselves in a position for another strong playoff run in 2025 would be an understatement. By adding top-shelf pitchers like Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and most recently reliever Tanner Scott, the team is poised to be a legit postseason contender for the foreseeable future.
Heading into the winter, many fans had their fingers crossed that a starting rotation led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be good enough to win a fourth-straight NL West title. At the time, there were many question marks — whether Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May could finally stay healthy, if Clayton Kershaw had any gas in the tank, and whether Shohei Ohtani would be able to contribute to the pitching staff by Opening Day.
However, front-office boss Anderew Friedman and his troops snagged two of the winter’s biggest starting pitching prizes in Snell and Sasaki, giving the team plenty of cushioning to utilize a six-man rotation while easing Ohtani back into a two-way role.
What we know right now is that Yamamoto, Sasaki and Snell will be the headliners in the rotation when the club kicks off the regular 2025 season in mid-March against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo. A week later, when the team returns for the home opener against the Detroit Tigers, the Dodgers hope that Glasnow will be healthy enough to join the rotation. The remainder of the crew will likely be selected from a group consisting of Gonsolin, May, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski and Bobby Miller.
Skipper Dave Roberts last spoke about Ohtani’s pitching status in early December, stating that the superstar would be unlikely to pitch in the Japan Series on March 18-19. Additionally, there’s still hope that the veteran lefty Kershaw will rejoin the team at some point later in the season, likely at a date past the All-Star break.
To boot, the Dodgers still have control of arms like Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan and River Ryan, although all three will miss 2025 entirely with surgeries.
Just like the starting rotation, the success of the Los Angeles bullpen will revolve around health. The 30-year-old Scott joins the team on a reported four-year, $72 million contract, but the bonus is that he has been one of the healthiest full-time closers in the majors. The 6-foot, 230-pound righty has not been on the injured list since dealing with a sprained knee when on the Baltimore Orioles back in 2021.
Scott will be joined by a strong supporting cast that includes Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and others.
While many fans seem to believe that the Dodgers have finalized their player roster with about four weeks left before the beginning of spring training, the team certainly has a few high-quality trading chips if they want to add one or two finishing touches.