Reassessing the Dodgers 2024 Starting Rotation After Latest Tony Gonsolin Update

What started off as a promising rotation at the beginning of the season has turned into complete chaos as another Dodgers pitcher is going to be out for a while with a major surgery.

It was announced Monday afternoon that Tony Gonsolin will miss the foreseeable future after he undergoes Tommy John surgery on Friday. Now that he’s most likely done until 2025, the Dodgers have a lot of question marks with their rotation heading into 2024.

The biggest question is, who will be a part of the Dodgers rotation?

As of right now, the Dodgers have a lot of impending free agents and players on the IL that will probably not be back for the 2024 season.

Before the team figures out what to do with theie rotation, they need to figure out what longtime ace Clayton Kershaw is doing with his career.

Kershaw is currently on a one-year contract that he signed last offseason. When his contract expires, there’s a possibility that the Dodgers legend might hang up the cleats.

Over the All-Star break, Kershaw discussed that the thought of retirement might come across his mind at the end of the season. If Kershaw decides to keep on playing, he will test free agency out once again and at that point, who knows where Kershaw will end up. It’ll likely be the Dodgers or the Texas Rangers.

No matter what Kershaw does, though, another key starter will most likely be exiting the team.

This offseason, Julio Urias is going to be a free agent. After spending the first eight years of his career with the Dodgers, he will test the waters and see who will give him a large contract. MLB insiders are expecting Urias to garner a five-year/$180 million contract from someone other than the Dodgers.

Other pitchers that started this season in the rotation will also not be back with the team.

Dustin May went down to Tommy John in May that will likely require him to miss all of 2024. Gonsolin is also in the same category as May as he will also likely miss the entire 2024 season.

The Dodgers can look towards their young guns to fill out the rotation for next season. In the midst of a strong rookie campaign, Bobby Miller is looking to solidify his spot in the Dodgers rotation for a long time coming.

After acquiring him at the trade deadline, the Dodgers have an option whether or not to keep Lance Lynn. In order to keep him for another season, the Dodgers will have to pay him $18 million which might be too steep for the front office.

There’s a good chance Miller is the Dodgers second or third best option on the mound next season.

In 2024, the Dodgers will also get a fully healthy Walker Buehler back, who is recovering from his own Tommy John surgery. Buehler has missed the entirety of the 2023 season, but is looking to come back sometime in September.

The Dodgers are going to have to look towards more young arms that have some major league experience.

Ryan Pepiot was supposed to start this season in the rotation, but due to injuries, he’s only been able to pitch in two games.

Emmett Sheehan was a guy who got called up straight from Double-A to make a couple starts during the months of June and July. While he started off strong in the big leagues, batters started to catch up to Sheehan and he was sent down after seven starts with a ERA well over five.

The Dodgers have other pitchers with some major league experience that could get some innings next season such as Gavin Stone and Michael Grove.

Whether or not these pitchers stay or leave, the Dodgers front office will have a busy offseason constructing the team’s rotation.

Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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