Starting pitching depth disappeared as Dodgers bullpen reaches MLB-leading benchmark

The Los Angeles Dodgers were lauded — or hated — around MLB for their many offseason pitching additions.

In the wake of their 2024 World Series win, during which the bullpen carried the pitching staff, the Dodgers bolstered their starting rotation with elite arms. Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki headline their list of additions to their starting five, and they brought Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates into their already-deadly bullpen.

It's a good thing, too, since LA's bullpen has already been put to quite a bit of work. The Dodgers' bullpen was the first to reach 100 innings pitched in 2025, an unexpected milestone after their offseason moves.

One of the reasons for the bullpen's workload is that relievers are forced to enter many games early, even by modern standards. LA's starters have pitched to a 3.96 ERA over 111 1/3 innings across 24 games, which works out to approximately a 4.2-inning start per game, on average.

Despite their offseason reinforcements, the Dodgers' starting pitching has needed a lot of help from the bullpen

Spot starts or openers by relievers aren't factored into the bullpen's inning count, so LA's arms are even more tired than they seem. Ben Casparius started on April 23 and Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski, and Bobby Miller have all appeared in the rotation at least once this young season.

Some starters have had more trouble with longevity than others, namely Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow. Sasaki averages fewer than four innings per start and he's made five so far, although his average is dragged down significantly by his brutal March 29 outing when he only lasted 1 2/3 innings. Glasnow averages less than 4 1/3 innings per start over his first four appearances.

The Dodgers' rotation is also still plagued by injuries. Shohei Ohtani, Emmett Sheehan, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin and Snell are all shelved with ailments. Snell has only made two starts with LA and the team has had to dip into its bullpen for reinforcements as a result. The Dodgers initially believed he wouldn't need a rehab assignment after his 15-day injured list stint concluded, but Dave Roberts shared on April 23 that Snell didn't recover well from playing catch on April 22. He's expected to go for more imaging to see if there is any structural damage in his shoulder.

Luckily for the Dodgers, a few of their starters are gearing up for their returns to the roster. Kershaw posted a three-inning rehab outing on April 22, although he isn't eligible to come off the 60-day injured list until late May. Ohtani is also working toward a return and will begin throwing bullpens in hopes of pitching at some point in 2025.

Let's just hope the bullpen doesn't burn out by the time the rotation is back to full strength.