The Los Angeles Dodgers reassigned right-hander River Ryan to minor league camp Wednesday, seemingly setting their Opening Day rotation.
With Ryan out of the picture for the time being, Blake Snell still wrestling injury and Gavin Stone still dealing with soreness in the shoulder he received surgery on, the Dodgers will likely have five returning rotation pieces as well as a surprise player joining them.
If the Dodgers choose to keep the six-man rotation they utilized for most of last season, those players are Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and dark horse inclusion Justin Wrobleski.
Yamamoto, Glasnow and Ohtani are the big names remaining in the Dodgers plans for the beginning of the regular season, and it’s no wonder they kept their spots.
Yamamoto is coming off of one of the best postseason pitching performances of all time and a strong World Baseball Classic campaign, Glasnow has had a strong spring and has pitched into the fifth inning in both of his last two appearances and Ohtani is back on track after a lengthy break from pitching, making a 4.1 inning start Wednesday and holding the San Francisco Giants scoreless.
What do Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and Justin Wrobleski Bring to the Table for the Dodgers?
That leaves Sasaki, Sheehan and Wrobleski, who won a closely contested battle to grab the remaining spots in the rotation during spring training.
Sasaki proved he could be effective in the majors last season with an impressive bullpen stretch, allowing just one run through 12.2 innings pitched. Manager Dave Roberts insisted the right-hander would be in the starting rotation come the beginning of the season despite his struggles during the spring.
Sheehan had a quiet spring, making just three appearances, but only allowed four runs through 7.1 innings pitched and struck out four batters in his most recent outing against the Chicago Cubs. He returned from Tommy John surgery in 2025, and served as an important arm towards the back end of the rotation — especially towards the end of the season.
Wrobleski isn’t a name many people considered for the starting rotation at the beginning of spring, especially not with Stone and Ryan returning, but he turned heads throughout the preseason with some impressive showings. He didn’t allow an earned run through any of his first three outings, which spanned six innings.
He had a minor collapse against the Chicago White Sox over the weekend, allowing five runs through 2.1 innings pitched, but the Dodgers clearly hold him in high regard and trust him to deliver in the regular season.
“I think his ability to grow and mature and learn how to harness his stuff and compete in those moments will serve him well as he tries to navigate a lineup two, three times,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said earlier in the spring. “He’ll certainly be a candidate. He was also so good out of the ‘pen, we have to weigh that.”
What do you think of the Dodgers’ rotation for the beginning of the season?
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We got this.