What Does the Dodgers Rotation Look Like With Roki Sasaki, Shohei Ohtani?
The Los Angeles Dodgers did it again.
On Friday, Japanese superstar Roki Sasaki officially announced he’s signing with the Dodgers over the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres.
Read more: Roki Sasaki Signs With Dodgers Over Padres, Blue Jays in Monumental Signing for LA
With Sasaki in Los Angeles, the Dodgers now have the best rotation in Major League Baseball, and what could turn out to be one of the greatest rotations in MLB history.
Here’s a first look at what the Dodgers rotation could look like next season when everyone is healthy:
- Shohei Ohtani, RHP
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP
- Blake Snell, LHP
- Tyler Glasnow, RHP
- Roki Sasaki, RHP
- Tony Gonsolin, RHP
In addition to Gonsolin, the Dodgers have plenty of other options for that sixth spot.
The Dodgers also have Bobby Miller, Dustin May, and Landon Knack. Moreover, the team is expected to re-sign Clayton Kershaw at some point this offseason.
The Dodgers rotation is full of top-level talent and incredible potential.
Ohtani, in his last season as a pitcher in 2023, had a 3.14 ERA with 167 strikeouts across 132 innings pitched. The year prior, he had his best season as a pitcher, going 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts across 166 innings pitched en route to a fourth place Cy Young finish.
Yamamoto had a 3.00 ERA with 105 strikeouts across 90 innings in his first season in MLB last year. He then came up huge in the postseason, pitching five shutout innings against the San Diego Padres in NLDS Game 5 and 6.1 innings of one-run ball against the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Alongside Ohtani and Yamamoto is Glasnow, a 2024 All-Star who had a 3.49 ERA with 168 strikeouts across 134 innings last season.
Then there’s Snell, a two-time Cy Young award winner who joined the Dodgers this offseason to put together the most formidable top four in the league.
Now, you can add Sasaki.
Sasaki went 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts to just 88 walks across 394.2 career innings in Nippon Professional Baseball. He throws triple digits with devastating secondary pitches, and will only get better with the Dodgers’ pitching development.
“Roki is by no means a finished product. He knows it and the teams know it,” his agent Joel Wolfe said this offseason. “But he is a guy that wants to be great. He’s not coming here to be rich or to get a huge contract. He wants to be great. He wants to be one of the greatest ever. I see that now and he has articulated it.”
Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Bad news for Flaherty.
Another relief pitcher? Tanner Scott? Would he take less than he could get elsewhere to join the Dodgers? Perhaps Dustin May fills out the bullpen at the start of the season, or someone else who can pitch multiple innings like Casperious or Knack takes the 8th spot in the bullpen. With 8 relievers, they could tell 3 of them – you will pitch the 7th inning every third day, for one inning, unless the starting pitcher on your day pitches 7 innings in which case your turn will be passed. They could tell 3 others – you will pitch the 8th inning, one inning only, every third day. They could tell 2 closers, say, Kopech and Treinin — you will pitch the 9th inning, except when as a visiting team, if behind, there is no bottom of the 9th to pitch (40-50 times per year). And the very, very rare blowout when a non-pitcher pitches in relief. So Kopeck and Treinen each pitch 55 times, one inning only, not back to back. If there is extra innings, one of the 7th or 8th inning guys who is most rested pitches the 10th inning. No one pitches back to back. No one pitches more than one inning at a time — unless a starter cannot complete 6 innings. Reduce the number of injuries this way. Only 1 inning at a time. No back to back days.
I still would like to see Luis Robert, Jr. in center field, (instead of Pages platooning with Edman) but right now it appears that the Dodgers should give up close to the fewest runs in MLB and score close to the most runs in MLB (a good combination of offense and defense), win over 100 games, win the Division, have 4 great starting pitchers for the playoffs, if they can just stay healthy. Possible playoff starting pitchers: Snell, Glasnow, Yamamoto, Ohtani, Sasaki, Gonsolin, May, Kershaw. Can 4 of them be healthy in October? Will some of them go to the bullpen in the playoffs? Piggy-back some of them in the playoffs? Will some be disappointed?
Murakami next year to replace Muncy at 3B. I still don’t get the Hye-Seong Kim signing nor the trade of Lux. I’d rather have Lux at 2B than Hye-Seong Kim as utility player. They have a lot of utility players with Kike still to be signed.