Orioles Trade Chayce McDermott To Dodgers
2:26pm: The Dodgers announced that they’ve acquired McDermott in exchange for minor league righty Axel Perez. They already had a 40-man vacancy, so no further moves are necessary.
2:10pm: The Orioles are trading right-hander Chayce McDermott, whom they designated for assignment last week, to the Dodgers, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’s being optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City with his new club, Jack Harris of the California Post adds.
McDermott, 27, is only a couple seasons removed from being considered one of Baltimore’s top prospects. He fired 119 frames of 3.10 ERA ball between Double-A and Triple-A and followed that with 100 frames and a 3.78 ERA in Triple-A the following season. McDermott made a brief MLB debut in 2024, tossing four innings, and it looked as though he’d soon emerge as a regular contributor on the Orioles’ staff.
That never happened, however. The 2025 season was a nightmare for the former fourth-rounder. McDermott was shelled for a 6.91 ERA in his first 11 starts at the Triple-A level. Opponents collected 43 hits — six of them homers — and drew 36 walks in just 43 innings across that brutal run of 11 starts. McDermott also hit four batters and was charged with seven wild pitches. In light of those struggles, the O’s moved him to the bullpen. After a rough first outing (five runs in 1 2/3 innings), he settled in to log a 1.76 ERA and 18-to-7 K/BB ratio across his final 15 1/3 innings out of the Triple-A bullpen.
It’s been a struggle for McDermott in 2026. He’s pitched 5 1/3 innings out of the Norfolk bullpen and surrendered four runs on five hits, six walks and a hit-by-pitch. McDermott also pitched three spring innings for Baltimore and was tagged for three solo home runs.
Shaky command has long been McDermott’s biggest flaw, and with the right-hander still struggling in that regard during what’s now his final minor league option year, Baltimore moved on last week. McDermott’s former prospect status was enough to generate some interest in the trade market, and he’ll now see whether he can become the latest change-of-scenery candidate to find new life in the Dodgers organization. Los Angeles has plenty of success stories of this nature — at least in part due to the sheer volume of players they pick up in fringe transactions of just this nature. Often, they’ll quickly try to pass said player through waivers themselves, though since McDermott can still be optioned, there’s no urgency to do so in the immediate future.
McDermott is sitting a career-best 95.3 mph on his four-seamer in Triple-A this season. The uptick in velocity isn’t surprising for a longtime starter who’s making the move to short relief. He’s also all but scrapped his changeup and curveball, now pairing his four-seamer with a new cutter residing at 90.1 mph and a slider he’s had for years (but is now throwing a few miles an hour slower, in the low 80s).
As for Perez, he’s a 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic who’s in just his third professional season. He signed with L.A. as an 18-year-old in January of 2024 and made his organizational debut in the Dominican Summer League last year. Listed at 6’4″ and 168 pounds when he signed, Perez has only 23 professional innings under his belt. He posted a 5.48 ERA during last year’s DSL season, punching out more than 31% of his opponents but also logging an ugly 12.6% walk rate. He’s a low-level lottery ticket who’s years from being any sort of consideration at the MLB level — if he develops to that point at all.
Phillies Trade Griff McGarry To Dodgers
4:15pm: The Phillies will receive $500K in pool space, per Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. That’s the same amount the Dodgers got from the Twins in the Anthony Banda trade, so they have effectively traded Banda for McGarry.
2:52pm: The Dodgers have acquired minor league right-hander Griff McGarry from the Phillies in exchange for international bonus pool space, the teams announced Tuesday. (The Phillies’ announcement adds that they’ll also receive a player to be named later or cash.) He wasn’t on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster and thus won’t require Los Angeles to make a corresponding 40-man roster move.
McGarry once ranked as one of the more promising prospects in Philadelphia’s system, sitting third among Baseball America’s rankings ahead of the 2023 season. His standing slipped after a a pair of down showings in 2023-24, but the Nats scooped him up in December’s Rule 5 Draft following a rebound campaign in 2025. Washington wound up returning McGarry to the Phillies at the end of spring training, and he’ll now head to the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City.
Back in 2022, McGarry’s age-23 season, he pitched 87 1/3 innings across three levels and notched a 3.71 ERA with a huge 35.7% strikeout rate but a concerning 14.6% walk rate. He was rocked for a 6.00 ERA in 17 minor league starts the following season, then turned in a 4.55 ERA in 30 minor league relief appearances in 2024. McGarry had fallen almost entirely off the Phillies’ prospect map, but he bounced back with 83 2/3 innings of 3.44 ERA ball in a return to a rotation role in Triple-A last year.
McGarry walked more than 18% of his opponents in 2023 and saw that number spike all the way to 24% in 2024. Last year’s 13.9% walk rate is still far too high, but it’s a big step in the right direction relative to 2023-24, and he paired it with a huge 35.1% strikeout rate. The 6’2″ righty isn’t an especially hard thrower, sitting 93.9 mph with his four-seamer in ’25 and a hair better in this year’s small sample (94.3 mph). McGarry is a two-pitch right-hander, coupling that four-seamer with a slider that rests at 82-83 mph each year. He’s worked out of the bullpen again in 2026, allowing four runs in four Triple-A frames and walking more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (four).
Suffice it to say, McGarry is a pure change of scenery candidate and development project for the Dodgers. He’s long intrigued scouts with a fastball and slider that both grade as plus pitches and generate whiffs in droves, but McGarry’s command is nowhere close to average. The most recent scouting reports on him at FanGraphs, Baseball America, MLB.com and other outlets peg him with 30-grade command (on the 20-80 scale). There’s potential for a big relief arm in the plausible range of outcomes, even if it’s on the low-probability end of the spectrum, and it didn’t cost the Dodgers much to roll the dice on the soon-to-be 27-year-old righty.
It’s not yet clear how much international pool space is going back to the Phillies, but bonus pool allotments have to be traded in increments of $250K (unless it’s the remainder of a pool that’s currently at less than $250K total). In all likelihood, the Phils are adding one or two slots, giving them a bit of extra spending capacity to bring in some teenage talent on the international amateur market.
To be clear, no actual money is changing hands in the swap. The league places a hard cap on the amount each club can spend on international amateurs, but any team can acquire up to 60% of its original pool space in trades with other teams.
The Dodgers and Phillies both opened the 2026 international free agent period (which began in January) with a $6.679MM pool. Los Angeles spent about $3.265MM of that sum on day one of the period, per MLB.com. The Phillies spent about $4.85MM, with a hefty $4MM of that sum going to Venezuelan outfielder Francisco Renteria.
NL West Notes: Tatis, Arraez, Hentges, Snell, Edman
Fernando Tatis Jr. was 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in yesterday’s 9-5 Padres win over the Rockies, but the most notable aspect of Tatis’ game was his role as San Diego’s starting second baseman. It was just Tatis’ second career big league game at second base and his first start at the position, and the move came about since shortstop Xander Bogaerts had a day off. “We felt like Tatis was the best option at second base, and the most fun and exciting option at second base,” manager Craig Stammen told The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and other reporters, as the Padres look for ways to juggle their lineup, find at-bats for everyone, and keep their players fresh.
Needless to say, Tatis isn’t leaving his regular right field spot any time soon, but getting the odd game in at the keystone can add to his already high defensive value. Stammen also suggested that the position change might get Tatis rolling after a slow start at the plate, and Tatis’ three-hit night indicates that the tactic may have worked.
More from around the NL West…
- X-rays were negative on Luis Arraez‘s right wrist after the Giants second baseman was removed from yesterday’s game. An unusual play at second base saw Dylan Beavers accidentally kick Arraez in the hand while trying to avoid a tag in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Arraez was removed before the bottom of the fifth. Arraez is day-to-day for now, and since the Giants don’t play on Monday, it seems likely that he’ll be held out of today’s lineup to get two full days of recuperation. After signing a one-year, $12MM free agent deal with San Francisco, Arraez is off to a nice start with his new team, hitting .304/.339/.393 over his first 63 plate appearances.
- Sam Hentges also joined the Giants on a one-year, $1.4MM deal this offseason, and the reliever looks to finally be nearing his first game action of any kind since August 2024, as the A-level San Jose Giants announced that Hentges is joining the team on a rehab assignment. Hentges posted a 2.93 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate over 138 innings out of the Guardians’ pen in 2022-24, but his career was then put on hold by a shoulder surgery in September 2024, and then an arthroscopic right knee surgery last September. The left-hander’s rehab assignment figures to be pretty lengthy given how long Hentges has been sidelined, but he could be an intriguing x-factor in San Francisco’s bullpen when healthy.
- Blake Snell threw a 15-pitch simulated inning yesterday, facing live batters for the first time since Game 7 of the World Series. Snell began the season on the Dodgers‘ 15-day injured list due to shoulder fatigue, and he said a month ago following his first Spring Training bullpen session that he was aiming to make his season debut before the end of April. That timeline might be delayed slightly, as manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Courtney Hollmon and other reporters that the team wants to see Snell built up in throwing sessions to the equivalent of four innings before Snell goes on a rehab assignment.
- Tommy Edman was one of the batters at the plate during Snell’s sim inning, which also marked the first time Edman had faced live pitching since he underwent ankle surgery last November. Edman began the season on the 10-day injured list but Roberts told Hollmon and company that the Dodgers aren’t expecting Edman back until closer to the end of May since he is “not at full speed” yet in terms of running. The timing means that Edman could be shifted to the 60-day IL at some point if Los Angeles needs a 40-man roster spot, though that decision won’t be made until Edman is deeper into the recovery process.
Tigers Claim Grant Holman From Dodgers
The Tigers announced that right-hander Grant Holman was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers. Holman has been optioned to the Tigers’ Florida Coast League affiliate. To create room on Detroit’s 40-man roster, infielder Trey Sweeney was moved from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL.
There hasn’t been any indication that the Dodgers had designated Holman for assignment, but the 25-year-old hurler will now find himself once again riding the waiver wire to a new team. Holman was a sixth-round draft pick for the Athletics in 2021 and had spent his entire career in the organization until he was DFA’ed and then claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks in February. Arizona then designated Holman just prior to setting its Opening Day roster, and Los Angeles claimed him away once more.
One might associate this resume of DFA and waiver claims with a player who is out of minor league options, but Holman still has two option years remaining. The Tigers therefore now have a pitcher they can shuffle up and down from the minors if a fresh arm is needed for the bullpen, which is always useful for a team who has embraced “pitching chaos” as a tactic over the last couple of years.
Holman made his Major League debut in 2024, and he has a 4.66 ERA over 38 2/3 innings and 40 career games in the Show, all with the Athletics in 2024-25. The strong strikeout ability Holman posted in the minors has yet to emerge in the big leagues, as he has only an 18.8% strikeout rate in his 38 2/3 frames. Injuries hampered Holman in 2025, as rotator cuff tendinitis limited him to 32 1/3 total innings in the majors and minors.
Dodgers Release Nick Nastrini
The Dodgers have released Nick Nastrini, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. The right-hander made one appearance for the Tulsa Drillers, L.A.’s Double-A affiliate, earlier this season. He failed to record an out and walked all three batters he faced.
Nastrini, 26, began his professional career in the Dodgers organization. They took him in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, and he worked his way up to Double-A Tulsa. He was traded to the White Sox ahead of the deadline in 2023, along with Trayce Thompson and Jordan Leasure, in the deal that sent Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly back to L.A.
The following season, Nastrini made his MLB debut for the White Sox, pitching in nine games (eight starts). Unfortunately, the righty went 0-7 with a 7.07 ERA. He finished with more walks (36), hits (32), and earned runs (28) than strikeouts (26).
Nastrini has not appeared in the majors since September 2024. He started the 2025 season down at Triple-A Charlotte. The Marlins and then the Dodgers claimed him off waivers in quick succession last July, and he finished the 2025 Triple-A season with an 8.56 ERA in 47.1 innings for three organizations. Once again, he walked more batters (50) than he struck out (49). Now a free agent, he is eligible to sign with a new organization that can hopefully help him improve his command and get back to the big leagues.
Davey Lopes Passes Away
The Dodgers announced today that Davey Lopes passed away today at the age of 80. Lopes made his debut as a player in the early 1970s and went on to have a career as a coach and manager, making him a staple of the game for the bulk of five decades.
Lopes was a late bloomer. He didn’t make it to the majors until 1972, which was his age-27 season. Even then, he only got into 11 games for the Dodgers. The following year, his age-28 campaign, he finally established himself as a big league regular. He became the club’s second baseman and showed off the speed that would become his standout trait. He swiped 36 bags that year, his first of what would eventually be a 14-year streak of stealing at least 15 bases.
He stayed on the Dodger roster through the 1981 season, mostly covering the keystone but also with occasional action at shortstop, third base and in the outfield. The Dodgers had a very consistent infield during that stretch, with Steve Garvey the mainstay at first, Lopes at second, Bill Russell at short and Ron Cey at third.
Lopes played in 1,207 games for the Dodgers from his 1972 debut until the end of that 1981 campaign. He hit .262 in that time and launched 99 home runs but the eye-popping stat was his 418 stolen bases. He led the league in steals in both 1975 and 1976, with 77 in the former and 63 in the latter. The second instance was particularly impressive as injuries limited him to only 117 games. In 1978, he won a Gold Glove and also made the All-Star team, the first of four straight All-Star selections.
The Dodgers were quite good in that time but couldn’t quit win a title for most of it. They lost the World Series to the Athletics in 1974, then to the Yankees in both 1977 and 1978. In 1981, they were able to get the job done, topping the Yankees 4-2. Lopes stole ten bases in in 16 postseason games that year.
Prior to the 1982 season, he was traded to the A’s, kicking off the journeyman phase of his career. He would also bounce to the Cubs and Astros, playing past his 42nd birthday. He finished his career with 7,340 plate appearances over 1,812 games. He racked up 1,671 hits, including 155 home runs. He scored 1,023 runs and drove in 614. His 557 steals put him 26th on the all-time list.
He quickly pivoted to his post-playing career by becoming a bench coach with the Rangers. That was followed by stints as a first base coach with the Orioles and Padres. He was hired to manage the Brewers for the 2000 season. The club did not fare well and he was fired early in 2002. He never got another managerial gig and had a 144-195 record in that job. He then went back to being a first base coach, starting with a return to the Padres, followed by stints with the Nationals, Phillies, Dodgers and back to the Nationals. He retired from coaching after the 2017 season.
We at MLB Trade Rumors join the rest of the baseball world in sending condolences to the Lopes family as well as everyone else mourning him today.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Dodgers Place Mookie Betts On Injured List With Oblique Strain
The Dodgers announced this morning that they’ve placed veteran star Mookie Betts on the 10-day injured list. Jack Harris of the California Post relays that, according to manager Dave Roberts, Betts has suffered an oblique strain. Utility man Hyeseong Kim was recalled from the minors in a corresponding move. Maddie Lee of the LA Times first reported that the club was likely to recall Kim earlier this morning, though she noted that they intended to check in with Betts about the status of his back before doing so.
It’s hard to know how long Betts will be sidelined until the Dodgers give a more firm timeline, but oblique strains are notoriously finicky for position players due to the rotational nature of hitting. Even the most minor of oblique strains can require weeks on the shelf thanks to the risk of re-injury, so it’s entirely possible that the Dodgers will be without their star shortstop until sometime in May. A more significant oblique strain could take significantly longer, and a rehab assignment would further push Betts’s timeline back. The good news, however, is that The Athletic’s Katie Woo writes that Roberts didn’t put an immediate timeline on the veteran’s recovery window but that the team is hopeful he could be back before the standard 4-6 week recovery timeline.
Regardless of how long it takes for Betts to return, it goes without saying that losing him is a real blow. The 33-year-old is coming off a down 2025 season where he posted a wRC+ of just 104, but he’s managed to make himself into a solid defensive shortstop and certainly has the ability needed to return to form offensively this year if his health permits it. The loss of Betts’s bat is something the club can paper over in the short-term thanks to the other stars in the lineup and a strong early-season performance from Andy Pages, but it’s going to be harder to stomach his absence from a defensive perspective.
In the past, Miguel Rojas has been tapped to handle shortstop for the Dodgers when Betts has been injured. That still appears to be the case for now, as Rojas is slated to fill in at shortstop during today’s game against lefty Foster Griffin. With that said, Rojas has played the position with less and less frequency over the past few years and is now 37 years old. If the Dodgers find that he’s lost a step defensively at the position, perhaps Kim could be another option given his experience at shortstop for the club last year. MLB.com’s Sonja Chen reports that Kim and Rojas are expected to share shortstop, with prospect Alex Freeland continuing to mostly handle second base. Freeland has more than 3000 innings of experience at the position in the minors but has yet to play the position in the majors.
As for Kim, the 27-year-old has hit a robust .346/.438/.385 in six games at Triple-A since the Dodgers’ surprising decision to option him to the minors for the start of the season, and his 95 wRC+ in 71 games for L.A. last year was more than acceptable for a utility player. Given that the Dodgers have shown a preference for playing both Rojas and Santiago Espinal against primarily left-handed pitching, that paves the way for Kim to get frequent reps against right-handed pitching while Betts is on the shelf as the team’s shortstop next to Freeland at second base. Against lefties, Rojas at shortstop and Espinal at second base seems to be the likely lineup of choice, though the Dodgers could also consider giving Max Muncy a breather to get Freeland (or Kim) in the lineup against a southpaw or two. While Freeland has been protected from lefties to this point in his young MLB career, he is a switch-hitter whose development could benefit from taking extra reps on his weaker side at the big league level.
Mookie Betts Leaves Game Due To Back Injury, Will Undergo MRI
Mookie Betts exited today’s 10-5 Dodgers win over the Nationals in the middle of the first inning due to what the team announced as pain in the shortstop’s right lower back area. In the top of the first, Betts walked and later scored on Freddie Freeman‘s two-run double, but the run around the basepaths apparently aggravated something in his back. Miguel Rojas took over at shortstop for the bottom of the frame.
Postgame, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Katie Woo) that Betts would undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. Regardless of the test results, Betts will miss at least the next couple of games to recover, and Roberts said they’ll have another player on hand in Washington for tomorrow’s game just in case Betts is placed on the injured list.
While more will be known once the MRI is completed, Roberts described Betts’ issue as “more moderate than significant.” It therefore seems possible that Betts might be back in action after just a few days off. The Dodgers don’t play on Thursday, so the team could potentially hold Betts out until Friday to fully evaluate his situation, though clubs can only backdate an IL placement by as many as three days. An IL stint might be in the offing just to be cautious, as Los Angeles’ priority is obviously to keep the eight-time All-Star as healthy as possible for the full season and what the Dodgers expect to be another trip to the World Series.
Betts won his third ring with L.A. (and the fourth of his career) in 2025, though his offensive contributions were much more muted than normal. Betts posted a career-low 104 wRC+ while hitting .258/.326/.406 with 20 homers over 663 plate appearances, though he made up for this relatively modest production with spectacular defense in his first full year as the Dodgers’ shortstop.
A flu-like virus in the early part of the season and then a minor toe fracture in May (that didn’t require an IL stint) may have contributed to Betts’ lack of hitting in 2025, though the limited offense has carried into the early part of the 2026 season. Through today’s game with the Nats, Betts is hitting .179/.281/.429 with two home runs in 32 PA.
Even with Betts not heating up yet, the Dodgers are still 6-2 and look well on their way to another playoff appearance. While Betts is out (for any length of time), Rojas and Alex Freeland will fill in at shortstop. Hyeseong Kim is the likeliest candidate to be called up from Triple-A in the event of a Betts IL placement, as Kim would join Santiago Espinal as the utility infield options.
Dodgers Claim Grant Holman From D-Backs
The Dodgers announced they’ve claimed reliever Grant Holman off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Arizona designated the righty for assignment on Opening Day when they needed a roster spot for a trio of minor league signees who broke camp. Los Angeles moved Gavin Stone from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Holman spent six weeks in the Arizona organization. The D-Backs had claimed him off waivers from the A’s at the beginning of camp. The UC Berkeley product has pitched parts of two seasons in green and gold. Holman combined for 40 appearances from 2024-25, turning in a 4.66 earned run average over 38 2/3 innings. He struck out 18.8% of opponents against a 10.2% walk percentage.
The 25-year-old Holman has missed more bats in the minors, fanning 27.3% of batters faced while allowing exactly three earned runs per nine over five seasons. That includes a 0.70 ERA over 38 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level despite pitching in the Pacific Coast League. Holman has a 94-95 mph fastball and leans mostly on a split as his best secondary offering. He also occasionally mixes in a slider against right-handed hitters.
It’s the second depth acquisition of the day for the Dodgers. They brought in lefty Jake Eder in a cash trade this morning. Both pitchers have a minor league option year and can head to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the time being.
Stone opened the season on the 15-day injured list after experiencing shoulder inflammation at the start of camp. He has avoided any structural damage but didn’t pitch again during Spring Training. Stone missed the entire 2025 season following a labrum and rotator cuff repair on that shoulder in October ’24. The Dodgers will approach the situation with caution.
Manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Stone recently restarted his throwing program (via the MLB.com injury tracker). He’s essentially beginning a new Spring Training build from scratch and is weeks away from a minor league rehab assignment. Stone’s 60-day clock backdates to Opening Day. He’ll be eligible for reinstatement on May 24.
Poll: What Can The Dodgers Expect From Roki Sasaki This Year?
Entering 2025, no addition to the Dodgers was more hyped than young right-hander Roki Sasaki, who signed with the club in international free agency after a protracted recruitment process that involved nearly every team in baseball making an effort to land the talented righty after he was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines.
If you had told baseball fans ahead of the 2025 campaign that the Dodgers would win the World Series, nearly all of them would’ve thought Sasaki would play a much bigger role in that success than he ended up with in reality. That’s not to say Sasaki didn’t contribute, of course. He was a key piece of the Dodgers bullpen during the postseason and pitched to a lights-out 0.84 ERA while collecting three saves in nine appearances during October. Before that, though, he had spent most of the season on the injured list after struggling badly early in the year with a 4.72 ERA and a 6.19 FIP across eight starts where he walked (22) nearly as many batters as he struck out (24).
Given Sasaki’s deep struggles in the rotation last year and his success when pitching out of the bullpen, it would’ve been understandable for fans to expect Sasaki to stay in the bullpen for 2026 while leaving the work in the rotation to more proven starters. That’s not the route the Dodgers ended up going, however, and Sasaki has been installed in the L.A. rotation even after a brutal Spring Training where he was tagged for 15 runs in four starts while walking 28.8% of his opponents and striking out just 23.1%. Spring Training results must be taken with a grain of salt, of course, but results that disastrous brought on by severe control issues can’t be ignored entirely.
It would’ve been easy to expect Sasaki’s rough stint in the rotation last year and his struggles during Spring Training to leave him floundering at the start of the season, but he only added to the enigma surrounding himself when he turned in a strong outing against the Guardians. Sasaki’s first MLB start this year saw him throw four innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts against two walks. An 11.1% walk rate and just four innings of work isn’t exactly what one would hope for from an arm as talented as Sasaki, but it’s undoubtedly a big step in the right direction. If he can keep the walks to a minimum and pitch a bit deeper into games, it’s not hard to imagine the right-hander proving to be a valuable asset to the Dodgers’ rotation mix this year.
Of course, this has all been under the assumption that he’ll stay healthy. That’s never been a safe bet for Sasaki. Prior to spending most of his rookie season in the majors on the injured list, he threw more than 100 innings just twice and topped out at just 129 1/3 frames during his time in Japan. That lack of durability raises some questions about Sasaki’s ability to make 25 to 30 starts at the big league level, even with lower pitch counts than is typically expected for MLB starters. On the other hand, one need look no further than Red Sox lefty Garrett Crochet for an example of a pitcher who struggled to stay on the field in his early years but now is coming off a season where he led the AL in innings pitched.
Even if he can stay healthy, a crowded Dodgers rotation could force him out of the starting group if he doesn’t perform. Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell are all locked into rotation spots when healthy. That leaves just two spots in a six-man rotation for a group of young starting-capable arms that includes Emmet Sheehan, Landon Knack, Gavin Stone, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, River Ryan, and Kyle Hurt in addition to Sasaki. Not all of these players are healthy now and there figure to be injuries on the Dodgers’ pitching staff all throughout the year, but if Sasaki’s results wind up in a similar range as 2025, it might be hard for the front office to view him as one of their six best starters without a significant rash of injuries.
What are MLBTR readers expecting the Dodgers will get out of Roki Sasaki this year? Will he be able to provide 100 innings or more to the pitching staff? And how effective will the innings he does provide wind up being? Have your say in the polls below: