The Dodgers focused on building up enviable starting pitching depth over the offseason, and it’s a good thing that they did. As May approaches, Los Angeles has just four starters left in their rotation. One of them — Tyler Glasnow — might not be there for much longer, either, as a trip to the injured list is a possibility for him per manager Dave Roberts, after he was removed from Sunday’s start against the Pirates with shoulder discomfort. 

It’s worth thinking about, as well, that the Dodgers’ bullpen already leads the league in innings, and their starters have thrown the fewest of them, as noted by MLB — Tuesday’s start against the Mariners will be handed by the pen, as well, which will bump that lead up even further. Things simply can’t go on like this forever, especially not in the crowded National League West, but they also might not have to for long.

Here’s a breakdown of the current state of Dodgers’ starting pitching, following Glasnow’s removal. Help is on the way, eventually.

Active

Yoshinobu Yamamato

The 26-year-old Yamamato is coming into his own at just the right time. While limited to just 90 innings in his rookie 2024 campaign thanks to a rotator cuff strain that took 86 days of his summer away from him, he has shown no worrisome signs early on in ‘25, and leads the majors in both ERA and ERA+ while putting up better peripherals than his already impressive rookie figures.

Roki Sasaki

Sasaki is healthy, as well, but he’s also struck out 20 batters against 18 walks, and overall seems pretty lucky to have a 3.55 ERA. It was always going to take some time for the rookie, in his first season away from NPB, to adjust to MLB, however, so, as long as Sasaki is healthy, there are plenty of reasons to stay optimistic in the long run.

[MORE: MLB Roundtable: Is it time to worry about Roki Sasaki?]

Tyler Glasnow

Glasnow’s 2024 season was interrupted by lower back tightness in July that cost him 18 days, and then in August his season was cut short thanks to elbow tendinitis. Before then, though, he threw a career-high 134 innings in 22 starts, with an ERA+ of 111. The Dodgers have to hope his shoulder either doesn’t require another IL stint, or that it’s a short one, so they can get that version of him back in the rotation.

Dustin May

The Dodgers have avoided using May every fifth day to this point, with his starts coming on April 1, 7, 14, and 22, and the right-hander slated to pitch on April 28, as well, against the Marlins. The problem is that Los Angeles is now down more starters than they were when the season began, so May might end up having to pitch more regularly. They can’t all be bullpen games.

Returning sooner than later

Tony Gonsolin

The Dodgers might lose Glasnow for a time, but they are, at least, getting one arm back soon. Gonsolin, who underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2023, will make Wednesday’s start against the Marlins. Gonsolin would have been back already, but he was dealing with some discomfort in his back during spring training that kept him on the 60-day IL. While Gonsolin was below-average in 2023, he was highly effective in the preceding seasons that weren’t cut short by Tommy John, so, there’s some reason for the Dodgers to hope that he can help out.

Blake Snell

Blake Snell is on the IL with shoulder inflammation, which isn’t good news, of course, but the fact that he’s only on the 15-day IL and wasn’t transferred to the 60-day tells you that the Dodgers believe he’ll be able to return sooner than later. Given Snell is a two-time Cy Young Award winner whom the Dodgers signed to a five-year, $182 million deal this past offseason for a reason, his return will change the shape of their rotation the moment it happens. The when of things is the real question.

Clayton Kershaw

Kershaw has made a pair of rehab starts in the minors, but won’t be eligible to come off of the 60-day IL until May is nearly over. Whether he’s going to be reinstated once he’s eligible remains an open question, however. It all depends on how his surgically repaired toe feels, but, as the lefty told MLB prior to his first rehab appearance, his arm is feeling better than his toe. Kershaw won’t return before he’s ready, but at this rate the Dodgers might be ready for him sooner than anticipated.

Returning later than sooner

Shohei Ohtani

There is no date set for Ohtani’s return to being a two-way player, as the Dodgers are intentionally taking things very slow with him in his recovery from his second Tommy John surgery. Earlier in April, he was “limited to fastballs” in his bullpen sessions as part of this slow ramp-up, with the ultimate goal being that Ohtani would be back and already having shaken the rust off by the time the postseason push and actual postseason are upon Los Angeles. Which is to say that the Dodgers can’t rely on him coming back soon, but at least they’ve got his bat in the meantime.

Kyle Hurt

Hurt underwent Tommy John surgery last July, and is on the 60-day IL as he recovers from that. He won’t be back in the first half of the season, and it will take time to stretch him out as a starter if that’s what the Dodgers need in the second half, but he could come back as a reliever sooner if that’s where there is space for him. And given how many innings the pen is already racking up, it’s not just the rotation that’s going to need reinforcements come that point in the season.

Emmet Sheehan

Sheehan had his own TJ in May, and the plan was for him to start making rehab starts before the summer begins, in May or June, depending on how his rehab and recovery is going by that point. Sheehan was below-average in his 13 games with the Dodgers in 2023, but he was also just 23 years old and in his first big-league action. He was dominant in the high minors before his aggressive promotion — one necessitated by, you guessed it, Dodgers’ injury woes — so there’s hope he’ll be better than that initial start, whenever he does end up coming back.

Unlikely to return in ‘25

River Ryan

As a 25-year-old rookie, Ryan threw 20.1 innings with a 1.33 ERA and 18 strikeouts against nine walks for the Dodgers in 2024. He entered this season as a top-10 prospect in the Dodgers’ system, but he also had last season ended by Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in late-August. Given that timing, all of 2025 is likely wiped out for him.

Gavin Stone

Stone was a key piece of the 2024 Dodgers’ rotation, with 140.1 innings over 25 starts and an above-average 3.53 ERA. He underwent shoulder surgery in early October, however, after missing the entirety of September. There were multiple reasons the ‘24 Dodgers went the bullpen game route so often in the postseason, and Stone’s absence was one of them. He’s not expected to return in 2025, either.

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