The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the weekend series against the Houston Astros holding the best record in the National League, but their pitching depth was about to be exposed in the most humbling way possible. What unfolded over the first two games at Dodger Stadium served as a stark reminder that championship aspirations built on offense alone rarely survive the rigors of October playoff baseball.
When Hope Meets Reality
The series opener on the Fourth of July epitomized everything wrong with the team’s current pitching situation. Ben Casparius, a reliever-turned-emergency starter, surrendered six runs on nine hits in just three innings as Houston demolished Los Angeles 18-1 in the worst home loss in Dodger Stadium history. The following night, Justin Wrobleski — in a piggy-back role succeeding Shohei Ohtani — lasted just 4-⅔ innings while allowing four earned runs on seven hits and a walk in the club’s 6-4 defeat.
These aren’t high-caliber arms by any stretch. Casparius has struggled mightily since being moved into the rotation, posting a 10.38 ERA over his last four appearances as a starter or bulk reliever. Wrobleski, while showing occasional flashes, carries a 4.50 ERA and has been optioned to the minors five times already this season. Yet these are the pitchers the Dodgers are relying on to compete with legitimate championship contenders.
The harsh reality is that superior talent won both games for Houston. While the Dodgers’ offense managed just five runs across two games, the Astros scored 24 runs against Los Angeles’ makeshift rotation and overworked bullpen. No amount of offensive firepower can overcome such glaring pitching deficiencies when facing elite competition.
The Starting Rotation Crisis
Currently, the Dodgers have exactly three reliable starting pitchers — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May. That’s it. Ohtani continues his gradual buildup but remains limited to two-inning outings as he works back from elbow surgery. The verdict is still out on Emmet Sheehan as he continues his comeback with a start against the Astros in Sunday’s series finale.
The injured list tells a harrowing story. Tyler Glasnow‘s second rehab start was a disaster — five runs allowed in 2-⅓ innings with concerning command and mechanics issues. In his third start this week, he allowed three earned runs on six hits and a walk over 4-1/3 frames.
Veteran southpaw Blake Snell remains nowhere near facing live hitters according to manager Dave Roberts. Young righty Roki Sasaki has been shut down for over a month with no clear timeline for return. Right-hander Tony Gonsolin could be out for the foreseeable future with another elbow problem.
Meanwhile, the organization’s Triple-A depth chart reads like a cautionary tale. Landon Knack and Bobby Miller are sporting an ERA north of 5.00 in Oklahoma City. The only two pitchers on the OKC squad with more than 30 innings pitched having ERAs less than 4.00 are Jack Little at 3.60 (who was recently recalled) and Matt Sauer at 3.79.
Bullpen Concerns Mount
The rotation’s struggles have created a domino effect that’s straining the bullpen beyond its limits. When starters can’t go beyond three or four innings, it forces overuse of relievers who were never designed to handle such workloads. The Astros series saw the Dodgers surrender 16 combined earned runs between Casparius and reliever Noah Davis in the opener alone.
Quality bullpen arms are already showing signs of fatigue as they’re asked to cover more and more innings. Without reliable length from the rotation, this pattern will only worsen as the season progresses, potentially compromising the very relievers the Dodgers will need for October success. Current big-name bullpen injuries range from Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech to Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol, who is certainly no stranger to the IL.
The Trade Market Reality
Recent reports suggest the Dodgers are “more focused on getting the starting pitchers they already have healthy” rather than pursuing external options. This approach assumes multiple injured pitchers will return to form simultaneously — a dangerous gamble given their collective injury history.
The trade market offers intriguing options. Sandy Alcantara‘s name has surfaced as a potential target, though his price tag would be substantial. Mid-tier veterans like Tyler Mahle or Jesus Luzardo could provide the depth Los Angeles desperately needs without mortgaging the future. Even rental options could offer more reliability than hoping Glasnow rediscovers his command or Snell finally gets healthy.
The Championship Math
The team’s current strategy essentially bets that several injury-prone pitchers will simultaneously return to health and effectiveness just in time for the postseason push. Baseball history suggests this rarely happens as planned.
Championship teams are built on depth and reliability, not wishful thinking. While the Dodgers’ offensive talent gives them a margin for error, relying on names like Casparius and Wrobleski (or even an aged Kershaw) in October might be a recipe for disappointment. The bats alone, no matter how potent, cannot overcome fundamental pitching inadequacies when facing elite opponents who can match that offensive production.
The 2025 MLB trade deadline is set for July 31 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
The Dodgers have the medical data so they know who is projected to be ready. That will get them to trade or not. However they do have blocked assets they could use.
I think your analysis is overly critical in that you are mixing regular season vs the playoffs. In the playoffs you only need 3 starters although 4 is optimal. Yamamoto, Kershaw and a hopefully improving May can get you through. Ohtani is on a slow track. I have not heard anything from the Dodgers stating he will not be pitching in the playoffs. Glasnow should be ready after the AS break. Treinen is due before the playoffs as is Snell. I have not read anything on a timeline for Snell, Sasaski or Gonsolin but Snell supposedly should be ready. So the playoffs should have pitchers such as Yamamoto, Kershaw, May, Ohtani, Glasnow, Sheehan and Snell. And Treinen, Hurt and Graterol. Plus after watching him pitch at OKC and the MLB level since his recent changes I think Wrobleski is more than a marginal starter, Wrobleski is young and learning experience is what he needs, I am more concerned about Muncy’s injury as he has not healed quickly in the past. Playoff rotation of Yamamoto, Kershaw, Glasnow, Snell and/or May, Sheehan Gonsolin, Sasaski looks very competitive.
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I haven’t seen anything on a timeline for Sasaki or Gonsolin, but on yesterday’s telecast, Doc said that there is every expectation for Snell and Treinen to begin rehab assignments next week.
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I think there’s always room for a decent reliever or two, but it almost defeats the purpose snagging another short man if you can’t get quality starts from your rotation. That’s where having decent relievers in the minors with options comes in handy. I’m sure Friedman will have things figured out by the time the playoffs roll around — at least a bit better than what they are now. Hopefully Sheehan can keep it going.
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You pose an interesting question, Dennis. I lean toward making do with what/who we have since the playoffs really only require four starters.
Assuming they are healthy (a tricky assumption), Doc can choose from YY, Kershaw, May, Glasnow, Snell, and Shohei without even having to consider Wrobo, Casparius, Sheehan or Roki.
Alcantara is a tempting thought; however most contenders are going to need starters at the deadline, so even though he hasn’t come all the way back, he’s going to be expensive because so many teams will be bidding for him.
I don’t see the Phillies trading Luzardo. Most of his starts have been quite good and about four really bad ones have totally ruined his stats. Being in the thick of a divisional race means they aren’t likely to be dealing starters.
If Andrew does pick up a starter and the other guys are healthy enough to join the rotation (speaking about Snell, Glasnow, Shohei), how many of those starters are capable of pitching out of the bullpen?
Our vaunted offense is currently playing below max levels with Mookie, Teo, Shohei and Edman playing at levels which are less than we have come to expect from them. Losing Max is only palatable because we have a large lead in the division right now. Will Smith, Andy Pages and Kim are supporting the offense at this point and Kim hasn’t really played enough to know how real his stats are.
I’m not sure there is a right or wrong answer to your question. At least I’m not confident that I have the right answer so I’m going to sit back and see what the front office winds up doing. And if it backfires, so be it.
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I don’t think they should be trading for pitching as long as there are positive indications that the key injured pitchers are getting healthy. On Ohtani, I understand slow rehabilitation with him, but not this slow. After four starts he has pitched 6 innings. He should probably be up to 50-60 pitches by now and 4-5 innings.
Offensively the only consistent bats of late have been Smith and Pages and Rojas off the bench. If Conforto doesn’t show real progress soon, then Kim should be every day at 2B and Edman in the OF frequently. Even if his bat regresses, his speed and Defense will help. The top of the order needs to regain their consistency and both Hernandez need to contribute more.
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I don’t think they should be trading for pitching as long as there are positive indications that the key injured pitchers are getting healthy. On Ohtani, I understand slow rehabilitation with him, but not this slow. After four starts he has pitched 6 innings. He should probably be up to 50-60 pitches by now and 4-5 innings.
Offensively the only consistent bats of late have been Smith and Pages and Rojas off the bench. If Conforto doesn’t show real progress soon, then Kim should be every day at 2B and Edman in the OF frequently. Even if his bat regresses, his speed and Defense will help. The top of the order needs to regain their consistency and both Hernandez need to contribute more.
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I don’t think they should be trading for pitching as long as there are positive indications that the key injured pitchers are getting healthy. On Ohtani, I understand slow rehabilitation with him, but not this slow. After four starts he has pitched 6 innings. He should probably be up to 50-60 pitches by now and 4-5 innings.
Offensively the only consistent bats of late have been Smith and Pages and Rojas off the bench. If Conforto doesn’t show real progress soon, then Kim should be every day at 2B and Edman in the OF frequently. Even if his bat regresses, his speed and Defense will help. The top of the order needs to regain their consistency and both Hernandez need to contribute more.
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I believe it’s now to start looking at changes with pitching coach and batting coaches. The players are not responding unless there is a change in coaching staff.
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You’re a tough audience, John. This team won the World Series last year with the same pitching and batting coaches and they currently have a 6-game lead in their division.
Even the best teams have periods every year where they look like the couldn’t beat a Little League team. The Dodgers are in one of those periods now.
You are absolutely entitled to your opinion, but I’m willing to stick with what we have for now.
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I’ll be the first to say that I’m campaigning for Big Jon Broxton to come back as bullpen coach with Ronald Belisario as his assistant. Bring a little fire back to the relief crew.
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They had actually hired Belisario as assistant to the assistant to the assistant to the bullpen towel guy, but…………………………………..he had visa problems and couldn’t get into the country. 🙂
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Do you remember the time that Vicente Padilla got shot in the leg right before the beginning of spring training? I think it was somewhere around 2010. Anyway, there was a rumor that Belisario was the one who shot him. It might have happened at a gun range. Pretty sure it was Colletti who told me that story when I chatted with him last year. Ranks right up there with the Vladimir Shpunt story.
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Can’t say I remember that story, but it’s quite believable.
I used to love watching Padilla pitch. Don’t know what it was about him, but I always made sure to watch his starts.
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https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-feb-22-la-sp-dodgers-fyi22-2010feb22-story.html
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Love Ned’s comment about waiting until after hunting season to negotiate with him.
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I’m happy with the arms we have honestly, especially if Glasnow can come back and pitch well. Sasaki would be a surprise if he throws again this season but Kersh just keeps on finding ways to keep the team in games and give them a chance to win the game. Dustin May is improving and I love the potential that Emmet Sheehan has. He’s got really good stuff. I hated the Snell signing when it happened and I hate it more now. Max Fried should have been the guy we got and reports were he wanted to pitch for his hometown Dodgers. What AF saw in Snell over Fried I have no idea honestly. With Muncy out though, possibly for awhile, I would think about trying to take a chance and claim DJ LaMahieu since New York just DFA’d him.
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