Despite their successful two-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome, the Los Angeles Dodgers face a looming roster conundrum as they approach their stateside Opening Day on March 27th. The core of the issue lies in their abundance of starting pitching depth, prompting questions about how they will manage their talented roster.
Los Angeles Dodgers Face Pitching Numbers Problem But Also Need Injury Insurence
“What are they gonna do with all these guys? How are they going to pitch?” Ken Rosenthal questioned on Foul Territory. “And that might prompt them to do something at some point. You can’t stash Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin in Triple-A or in the bullpen necessarily. I guess you could put May in the bullpen. But they’ve got a numbers problem. And the numbers problem would indicate to me that at some point, yes, they would have to entertain things.”
Rosenthal then describes the other side of the same coin;
But, they also have an issue of, well, the Japanese pitchers, Sasaki and Yamamoto and Ohtani as well once he starts pitching again, will be on an every six-day program, if not more. And their pitchers, let’s face it, have gotten hurt over the years. It’s been a repeated problem for them. So, they’re going to be reluctant to trade off their depth, but at some point, it might be a situation where they are looking at it and saying, ‘what are we doing here? We’ve gotta get something for some of these guys and give them an opportunity to play and give us an opportunity to maybe rework our organization in other ways.”
The Dodgers’ challenge of having too many quality players is a unique, albeit enviable, position. As Rosenthal points out, the presence of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki, with their potentially extended rest schedules, complicates matters. Furthermore, the Dodgers’ history of pitching injuries adds a layer of caution to any potential trades. Players like Tyler Glasnow and Dustin May, among others, have well-documented injury records.
The Dodgers’ handling of this situation will be closely watched, as it presents a distinct challenge that sets them apart from other teams in baseball.