The Athletic’s shockingly high marks for Dodgers' pitching feel totally out of touch

The Dodgers' stable of relief pitching is in dire straits these days. In September, Blake Treinen has posted a 11.57 ERA, Tanner Scott a 6.35, and Kirby Yates a 7.71 — and that's with Yates moved mostly into a middle relief role. Alex Vesia has bounced back nicely from a 4.70 ERA August, but he's really the only trustworthy high-leverage arm in the bullpen right now.

Fans are rightfully worried about how these relievers are going to be able to get the Dodgers even through three Wild Card games, not to mention the rest of the postseason if they make it that far, but The Athletic was more hopeful this week.

Stephen J. Nesbitt and Chad Jennings ranked 15 postseason contenders' pitching "from Dodgers to dubious," but Dodgers fans would rebut that headline and say that LA's pitching looks pretty dubious right now, too.

The core of Nesbitt and Jennings' argument is that Andrew Friedman constructed his 2025 roster to be postseason-proof, and many of the Dodgers' pitchers do have a reputation for coming alive in October. While it's true that the Dodgers don't really seem to sweat the regular season so long as they'll get a postseason spot, where has that gotten them? Missing a bye and leading the Padres by only 2.5 games.

The Athletic has a lot more faith in Dodgers' pitching staff than fans do

There's no question that the rotation is in great shape. There are finally enough healthy starters to make a six-man rotation, and all of them have been performing at the top of their game in the last month, but the Dodgers have problems basically as soon as the starters exit. The bullpen has proven that they can and will blow games in the final hour, no matter how good the odds of a win might seem.

Vesia, Scott, and Yates do have great career numbers in the postseason (though, to be fair, Scott and Yates only have 5 1/3 and 1 inning to their names, respectively). Yates' latest injury clearing a path for Roki Sasaki certainly helps, but this Arizona series featured almost as many bullpen blights as bright spots. The Dodgers should be able to depend on Emmet Sheehan, who will almost assuredly be squeezed out of October rotations, for some long relief appearances.

But Dave Roberts doesn't fully trust his rookies (Edgardo Henriquez, Jack Dreyer) to do the job that Treinen, Yates, and Scott have been failing to do all year, so we're stuck with depending on guys who have demonstrably shaky all year.

We should hope that Nesbitt and Jennings are right, of course, and that they aren't just being blinded the name-brand nature of the Dodgers' pen, but we're going to have to see it to believe it.