MLB Network Insider Isn’t Sold On Dodgers' Starting Rotation For 2024
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Early in the offseason, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman made it known that he and his front office staff would address the starting rotation. After early exits in the playoffs, largely due to the starting pitching, everyone could see why the Dodgers needed to attack this area.
Actions speak louder than words, and for a couple months it remained to be seen just how badly the front office wanted to upgrade the team's rotation.
In December, Friedman answered that question in spades. He first brought in Shohei Ohtani, who cannot pitch this year but will pitch in 2025. The team also traded for and extended the contract of Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow. Lastly, the Dodgers signed the most exciting pitcher to ever come from Japan, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, to the largest contract ever in total value given to a pitcher.
After all these moves, had the Dodgers done enough to improve their 2024 rotation?
Steve Phillips, the longtime analyst and former New York Mets general manager, recently joined MLB Network's radio show to air his concerns regarding L.A.'s starting rotation:
They probably need another starter. You know, because you don’t know what Buehler’s ability to go deep in innings during the course of the season, so they are gonna have to protect him. Miller’s young, they are gonna have to protect him. Emmet Sheehan’s young so they are gonna have to protect him
Phillips brings up excellent points in his quote. No one knows what Walker Buehler will look like when he returns, and manager Dave Roberts tends not to let pitchers go long in games — especially young ones.
Phillips would go on to provide a possible solution to this problem:
You start to look at it and think okay, they’ve got a lot of guys, It does scream six-man rotation. They have a lot of unpredictability there, whether it’s health-related. Yamamoto should be predictable, but he’s probably a six-man rotation guy coming in, which is fine for them.
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes hinted at the team possibly going to a six-man rotation during Yamamoto's introductory press conference last week. The Dodgers took a similar approach last year when starter Clayton Kershaw came back from injury. He pitched only once a week and even jested that he felt like a college pitcher.
So, this route would not be unfamiliar territory for the team. However, going to a larger rotation means fewer arms in the bullpen. This heightens the importance of each individual starter pitching deeper into games, as fewer relievers are available on any given night.
Whether it's to make a six-man rotation easier or just for insulation against injury, the Dodgers need one more arm in the rotation to make everyone feel comfortable about it.
