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Dodgers Moving Ben Casparius To Starting Rotation

By Nick Deeds | June 11, 2025 at 8:55pm CDT

After a dominant start to the season as a reliever, right-hander Ben Casparius is set to get an opportunity to prove himself as a starter with the Dodgers. Initially tabbed as an opener for a bullpen game against the Padres today, manager Dave Roberts revealed to reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic) before today’s game that Casparius could be stretched out further to operate as a starting pitcher while the club is short-staffed due to the recent loss of Tony Gonsolin. After today’s outing, where he threw four innings of one-run ball, Roberts announced that Casparius’s next outing would be as a starter, as relayed by MLB.com’s Sonja Chen.

It’s hard to argue Casparius hasn’t earned a look in a larger role, as he’s done nothing but produce in the majors for the Los Angeles. The club’s fifth-rounder back in 2021, Casparius made his big league debut last August and immediately delivered with a 2.16 ERA and 1.73 FIP across 8 1/3 innings of work down the stretch. After debuting just in time to be eligible for the postseason, Casparius was a part of the Dodgers’ playoff roster mix during last October’s World Series run and continued to deliver on the biggest stage with a 1.42 ERA in 6 1/3 postseason innings against the Mets and Yankees.

This year, it’s been more of the same over a much larger sample size. His 44 innings of work this season have seen him produce a 2.86 ERA with a 1.89 FIP while striking out 26.0% of his opponents and walking just 5.1%. Those numbers are nothing short of brilliant, and while Casparius hasn’t ever been challenged with facing the opposing lineup a third time in his career he maxed out at 70 pitches earlier this year and threw 54 in today’s outing, suggesting he’s not too far from being fully stretched out to start. Even if the Dodgers don’t want to use him much deeper in games than the fifth inning, it’s easy to see the logic in giving Casparius this opportunity given the other options the club has at its disposal at the moment.

With key arms like Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and Gonsolin among the eight starting pitchers presently on the injured list and Shohei Ohtani still at least a few weeks out from pitching in big league games, the Dodgers need to turn to their depth options to fill out the rotation behind Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Justin Wrobleski had previously gotten the opportunity to be the fourth starter behind that trio, but the lefty has a 7.20 ERA in 15 innings of work at the big league level this year. Bobby Miller (12.60 ERA) and Landon Knack (5.12 ERA) have also struggled in their own limited opportunities at the MLB level, and the only other starter on the 40-man roster at present is right-hander Nick Frasso. Frasso not only hasn’t yet made his MLB debut, but he’s struggling badly with a 5.31 ERA in 42 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A this year.

With so few quality starting options presently at the club’s disposal, giving Casparius a chance to build on today’s strong (albeit brief) start against San Diego is practically a no-brainer. Even so, it’s difficult to imagine Casparius pitching himself into a completely permanent role in Los Angeles’s rotation; with so many talented arms in the organization ahead of him on the depth chart, he’ll likely need additional injuries to crop up if he hopes to remain in a rotation role even after ace-level pitchers like Snell and Glasnow return from the injured list.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Ben Casparius

Red Sox Outright Robert Stock
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Yankees Considering Starts For Ben Rice At Catcher
View Comments (32)
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32 Comments

  1. RO-MACEN

    1 month ago

    Overdue. Glad it’s done.

    7
    Reply
    • Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee

      1 month ago

      Pretended their way to a chip….

      1
      Reply
      • Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee

        1 month ago

        Last playoffs, the Dodgers had 2 and a half starters and basically had pen games a couple times every series. Meet the new staff. Same as the old staff….

        Reply
    • freddiemeetgibby

      1 month ago

      Don’t be jelly, donut

      Reply
  2. toptimrubies

    1 month ago

    2025 Gavin Stone award

    3
    Reply
    • Sanpedroian

      1 month ago

      What happened to that dude?

      2
      Reply
      • toptimrubies

        1 month ago

        shoulder injury, out for ‘25.

        1
        Reply
      • aaronbj52

        1 month ago

        Gavin Stone on injured list

        Reply
  3. Bivouac-Sal

    1 month ago

    Go get ’em Big Ben.

    2
    Reply
  4. Charlie III

    1 month ago

    Emmett Sheehan will be back soon too.

    8
    Reply
    • Bivouac-Sal

      1 month ago

      Sheehan goes tomorrow for OKC. Might see him at Dodger Stadium the week after.

      2
      Reply
      • HBan22

        1 month ago

        Sheehan is the dark horse to be a reliable rotation option for them the rest of the year. He is really talented and looks fully healthy again.

        6
        Reply
  5. Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee

    1 month ago

    Like they have a choice….

    Reply
    • Bivouac-Sal

      1 month ago

      Just getting by until Snell, Glas and Ohtani are ready.

      2
      Reply
  6. yankswang

    1 month ago

    Who is the next (to IL)?

    Reply
    • Bivouac-Sal

      1 month ago

      You hopefully.

      10
      Reply
  7. highflyballintorightfield

    1 month ago

    This was less a matter of the other young starters struggling as it was the injuries to the righties in the pen. With Yates and Kopech back, Casparius can finally be spared for the role he deserves.

    3
    Reply
  8. hiflew

    1 month ago

    Why are the Dodgers not trading for a starter? They have a huge farm that will never crack the lineup. Might as well use them to buy a Sandy Alcantara or a Chris Sale now instead of waiting until the end of July.

    Reply
    • underdog

      1 month ago

      Because it’s early June and trades are unlikely to heat up for a month? And because they want to see if Snell, Glasnow and Sasaki continue on pace to come back soon. And oh yes some guy named Ohtani maybe too. Other than that they should definitely panic trade right now. (But seriously, they are more likely to pick up a reliever or possibly another swing guy to fill in.)

      2
      Reply
      • Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee

        1 month ago

        Buehler. Anyone? Buehler….

        1
        Reply
        • diphthong

          1 month ago

          No thanks. Didn’t want him to leave and appreciate what he’s been able to add to the team over the years. 2024 WS increasingly looking like his swan song. He’s made his bed in Boston and now he can lie in it.

          1
          Reply
        • freddiemeetgibby

          1 month ago

          I wish. I love Walker

          Reply
    • DarrenDreifortsContract

      1 month ago

      Because they are planning on getting most of their starters back at some point this season. Including Ohtani.

      Reply
  9. Bivouac-Sal

    1 month ago

    The Dodgers July acquisitions are already arranged, Ohtani, Snell and Glasnow.

    1
    Reply
  10. TiredofallThis

    1 month ago

    Oh good. Another pitcher they can break.

    2
    Reply
    • freddiemeetgibby

      1 month ago

      He is not Rocky in Rocky 4… oh wait, Rocky won that match…

      Reply
  11. jajacobs2

    1 month ago

    They will ruin him.

    1
    Reply
    • Bivouac-Sal

      1 month ago

      Isn’t envy a fun motivator?

      1
      Reply
  12. DakotaJoe

    1 month ago

    I guess Mark DeRosa’s prediction about the Dodgers breaking the all time record for wins in a season isn’t looking very good.

    1
    Reply
    • Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee

      1 month ago

      Regular season hasn’t mattered to the Dodgers for almost a decade now….

      2
      Reply
  13. Hondo

    1 month ago

    I’d rather see the LA club discontinue Pride Night. Stop this foolishness.
    Bring back Nuns Day, on a Sunday afternoon.

    Reply
  14. 2020vision

    4 weeks ago

    Watching Casparius throw and I see another Dodgers pitcher with a future arm problem.

    Reply

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