Building a Dodgers super rotation if Andrew Friedman goes nuclear at 2026 trade deadline

If we look back at the Los Angeles Dodgers' run to their second consecutive World Series title last year, it's clear that the starting rotation played a huge role. Dating back to the final stretch of the regular season in September, Dodgers starters were absolutely dominant until the Toronto Blue Jays finally gave them a run for their money in the World Series. Even then, the rotation was pretty darn good.

The way things are currently constructed, it's hard to see Los Angeles displaying that same level of dominance. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a stud, but Shohei Ohtani's balky knee has his future as a starter in 2026 as murky as ever. Beyond that, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have barely pitched this year, and until the pair come back from the IL, no one really knows what to expect from them.

The replacements have been of varying degrees of underwhelming. Roki Sasaki believes his larger glove (or, if you ask him, his smaller face) has fixed his pitch-tipping issues, and while his last three starts concur with his assessment, the overall body of work still raises questions.

Eric Lauer has been a nice stabilizing force, but his concerning peripherals indicate that will come to an end. Emmet Sheehan has been very disappointing. That leaves only Justin Wrobleski as someone the Dodgers should be able to fully trust behind Yamamoto.

Whether or not Andrew Friedman goes all-in at the trade deadline remains to be seen. There have been arguments made to support both sides of the coin. For our purposes, we're going to assume that he goes nuclear and targets starting pitching to see what the best rotation he could somewhat reasonably put together would be.

This would be the Dodgers' dream starting rotation if Andrew Friedman goes all-in at the trade deadline

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

This goes without saying. Yamamoto might have an uphill battle to win the NL Cy Young thanks to Jacob Misiorowski's insanity, but he's comfortably a top-five pitcher in the National League and is battle-tested in October.

Tarik Skubal

Tarik Skubal's availability is an open question, but if Los Angeles can figure out a way to send a controllable starting pitcher with high-end upside to Detroit, the Tigers just might bite, as they understand that retaining the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner beyond this season could be difficult. Sending a package headlined by Wrobleski, who is under team control through 2031, could get the job done.

Hunter Greene

The Cincinnati Reds are said to at least be listening to offers for Greene, though their main focus is trading away their veteran rentals. Greene comes with injury concerns, though that obviously hasn't stopped Friedman in the past. When healthy, he's one of the best pitchers in the game, and his 100 miles per hour heater would look lovely in Dodger Blue. The Reds desperately need young outfielders, and LA has more than enough to spare.

Blake Snell

Blake Snell is on the comeback trail, having made two rehab starts already. He'll be back in action soon and is an obvious fit as long as he can stay healthy. At this point, it's just about tuning him up for October action. He owns a 3.27 career playoff ERA over 82 2/3 postseason innings. It's impossible to keep an arm like that out of the playoff rotation as long as he's healthy.

Tyler Glasnow

This last spot comes down between Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow, and in this case, we see Glasnow winning the battle. Either would be an extremely overqualified fifth starter, but the deciding factor comes down to protecting Ohtani's value as a hitter. The Dodgers can't afford to put that at risk, so Glasnow, who is also nearing a return from the IL, wins out.

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