Dodgers: 2020 starting rotation with (and without) question marks

The 2020 Core Four Starters

Obviously Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw will probably be the 1-2 punch for the Dodgers in 2020 (with Buehler fully becoming the team’s ace). Signing Gerrit Cole would certainly be ideal for fans, but it goes against what Andrew Friedman has done both in LA and in Tampa Bay with the Rays.

If the Dodgers opt to run the main core of four starting pitchers again in 2020, then there are two spots remaining. Last season, Ryu and Maeda held onto these slots for the first half with tons of success and they remained in these roles for much of the second half. Ryu’s dominate first half and year and a half run of being one of the best pitchers in baseball since the middle of 2018 means that he likely will be offered a deal the Dodgers will find too rich for their liking, especially for an older player with injury history (though that did not keep them from adding Rich Hill a few years back).

That leaves Maeda. While it seems like Maeda is certain to be traded before the start of 2020, if he does remain, he will be a starter thanks to his comments to the Athletic earlier this week. His future with the Dodgers hinges on how the team views his skillset and value in comparison to that of the younger arms present and available veteran free agents with more postseason starting experience like Madison Bumgarner or Cole Hamels.

With Maeda, the Dodgers could opt to pass on free agent Rich Hill, or at least make him fight for a chance to start in the rotation if they do sign him. He’d be competing with the young guns (Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and Julio Urias), all of whom have compelling arguments to make the squad as the fifth starter.

Presumably, Hill would also be competing with Ross Stripling. Personally, Hill would be my pick, though his health is certainly a major question. If Hill can make 20 starts at 100 innings, that’d likely be plenty of surplus value for the veteran southpaw. Stripling has not been starting full time since his 2018 All-Star first half, and that is not likely to change with the Dodgers unless Maeda is dealt and if Hill is left at home or is re-signed as a spot starter.

Speaking of Stripling, he could be one of the ways the Dodgers trim down the fat and look to retool for the future rotation without Kershaw, a process which I’ll go over next.