The Los Angeles Dodgers created a surplus in their starting rotation by signing Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, in addition to bringing back Clayton Kershaw for his 18th season.
Though in Kershaw’s case, he’s expected to begin the year on the 60-day injured list and thus not be available until May. The Dodgers also are waiting on Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound as he progresses through a throwing program and rehab process of sorts from right elbow surgery.
Despite having an abundance of starting pitching depth, the Dodgers rotation to begin the season is going to operate in a traditional sense.
According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team will begin the regular season with a five-man rotation and only expand once Ohtani is ready to pitch:
The most notable update from Andrew Friedman this morning: he expects the Dodgers to go with a traditional five-man rotation until Shohei Ohtani is back before going to a six-man.
So that would mean an eight-man bullpen.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 14, 2025
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has previously indicated Ohtani’s pitching debut is likely to come at some point in May. He also mentioned “it might be earlier” for Ohtani taking the mound in a game.
Given the off days on their 2025 schedule, the Dodgers can easily navigate a five-man rotation while at times still giving starters extra rest between outings — a preferred and seemingly standard approach the team operates with anyhow.
It’s not until April 4-9 that the Dodgers play more than three games in a row as that stretch calls for six consecutive contests without an off day. A Dodgers starter might need to take the mound on four days of rest just three separate times.
Dodgers starting rotation depth
Opening Day locks for the Dodgers rotation are Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Sasaki.
If the Dodgers are planning just a five-man rotation from the outset, that seemingly leaves Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Bobby Miller competing for the final spot during Spring Training. Gonsolin and May are returning from respective injuries while Miller is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 campaign.
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