Starting pitching and age could be Dodgers Achilles heel

Rome fell. The Titanic sank. Mike Tyson was knocked out by Buster Douglas.

Things happen, and they could happen to anyone or anything.

Including the Dodgers.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Will Smith, right, celebrates with teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) after the team defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of baseball’s World Series, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Toronto. AP

I wouldn’t bet on the Dodgers imploding in a potential three-peat season, but elements for disaster are in place. Their starting rotation is fragile. Their lineup is aging. Their position-player depth isn’t what it used to be.

The two-time defending World Series champions could blow this, and they know it.

“We’re very mindful that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Any nightmare season would start with pitching.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow were each healthy in the World Series, but the reality was that it was one of the few times someone in their rotation wasn’t sidelined with an injury.

Snell was out for four months with shoulder problems. Ohtani didn’t pitch his first game until mid-June because he was returning from his second Tommy John procedure. Glasnow missed 2 ½ months with shoulder inflammation.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow were each healthy in the World Series. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

The only member of their rotation who made each of his starts was Yamamoto.

The diminutive right-hander shouldered a massive workload in the postseason.

He pitched two complete games. He pitched the final 2 ⅔ innings in Game 7 of the World Series, just one day after making a six-inning start. The performance made it feel like a given that Yamamoto could cruise through another regular season, but the reality is that he has a checkered medical history as well.

In 2024, his first season in the majors, Yamamoto was sidelined for nearly three months because of shoulder problems.

---

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Problems have already emerged, with Snell saying he will build up his arm slowly this spring so that his shoulder won’t bother him the way it did last year. Snell is right to take his time. The Dodgers need him in October. But him missing time in the regular season could also affect the team, as an unhealthy rotation could have major consequences.

Injured pitchers result in the team covering starts with inexperienced arms that can’t be depended on to pitch deep into games. The bullpen is forced to pick up the slack, and that’s what happened last year. The Dodgers topped the majors in innings pitched by their relievers.

Shohei Ohtani #17, Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18, and Roki Sasaki #11 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate in the locker room after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in game seven to win the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 02, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. Getty Images

Fatigued relievers quickly become ineffective relievers.

Case in point: Tanner Scott.

The $72-million left-hander pitched in 21 of the Dodgers’ first 46 games last season. He had a 1.74 earned-run average up to that point. That number ballooned to 6.44 over the remainder of the regular season.

The Dodgers’ bullpen earned-run average was 10th-worst in baseball, which was indicative of another problem.

With the postseason in mind, the Dodgers collected a group of hard-throwing relievers who missed bats. While pitchers like that could empty the tank on a daily basis over a three- or four-week playoff run, doing that over a six-month regular season proved to be difficult.

Maybe throw in a low-octane arm that can take down multiple innings on a regular basis?

The organization has won three championships in the last six years, and this period was marked by a subtle shift in how it goes about building its teams.

Freddie Freeman #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates as the the Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Getty Images

A front office that once prioritized quantity over quality is now looking for quality over quantity.

Andrew Friedman’s earlier teams featured several platoons.

Now? The batting order might change depending on whether the opposing pitcher is right- or left-handed, but their six or seven All-Star caliber players will be in the lineup every day. 

The disparity in ability between the starters and reserves has increased. Their World Series trophies indicate this is the correct approach, but this kind of roster is more susceptible to be inconsistent in the regular season.

Regular-season troubles can lead to postseason concerns.

The Dodgers won the National League West, but their 93 victories were only third-most in the league. Because they failed to get a top-two seed in the NL, they didn’t have a first-round bye and had to play a best-of-three series in the wild-card round. The Dodgers obliterated the Cincinnati Reds last year, but what would happen this year if they run into a team with two hot pitchers?

Their season could be over in two blinks of an eye.

Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers singles against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fifth inning in game seven of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 01, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. Getty Images

But the Dodgers’ greatest concern has to be age. Freddie Freeman is 36. Max Muncy is 35, and Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez are 33.

While Betts turned himself into one of the best defensive shortstops in the NL last year, he had the worst offensive season of his career. Durability has become an issue for both Muncy and Hernandez.

“There’s gotta be some adjustment to how they prepare and how they’re managed,” Roberts acknowledged.

The Dodgers still have three All-Stars in the primes of their careers in Ohtani, Kyle Tucker and Will Smith. They should be able to withstand any age-inflicted downturn experienced by their veterans.

The guess here is that the Titanic won’t sink.

But it can.