Former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner (aka: The Boss) frequently reminded fans, journalists, and his baseball operations staff of that adage, noting that pitching was vital to a team’s success, but also fragile.
(Eliot J. Schechter)
The 2025 Dodgers were a textbook case of Steinbrenner’s caution, as they used 17 different pitchers to start games during the regular season. At times it seemed as though the Dodgers had more pitchers on the IL (including 60 and 15 day) than available on the active roster.
There is no doubt that the 2026 squad will be one of deepest and most talented group of starters in the Dodgers long history of pitching excellence. And, a new season comes with the optimism of better health for the team’s pitching staff. Nevertheless, optimism must be tempered with the team’s recent injury history – “You can never have too much pitching.”
If the season were to open tomorrow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (27 years old), Blake Snell (33), Shohei Ohtani (31), and Tyler Glasnow (32) would be the first four starters, with Roki Sasaki (24) and Emmet Sheehan (26) completing the expected six-man rotation. Highly regarded right-handed pitching prospects River Ryan (27) and Gavin Stone (also 27) who missed the 2025 season due to their respective pitching arm surgeries will be fully recovered when pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training on February 11, 2026.
(Chris Young)
Other pitchers on the current 40-man roster with Major League starting experience include: right-handers Ben Casparius (26) and Landon Knack (28), and southpaw Justin Wrobleski (25). Left-handed pitching prospect Jackson Ferris (21) and minor league right-hander Paul Gervase (25) could be on-call if/when needed.
Look for the Dodgers to add more pitching before Spring Training, perhaps another southpaw starter. It would not be a surprise if the Dodgers traded Glasnow to open a rotation spot for free agent Ranger Suaréz (30) or Framber Valedez (32). Glasnow could net either a third baseman or center fielder, or future pitching prospects.
Other intriguing free agent starters include Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) star pitcher Tatsuya Imai (27), who was recently posted and has until January 2, 2026 to sign with an MLB team. Imai is a right-handed pitcher, but that will not deter the Dodgers from pursuing him. MLB free agent right-handers the team may pursue include: Dylan Cease (29), Zac Gallen (30), Brandon Woodruff (32), Michael King (30), and possibly the return of now-free-agent Dustin May (28).
“You can never have too much pitching.”
Next up – the bullpen.
* * * * * *