Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Los Angeles Dodgers face a rotation logjam as two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell returns from the injured list to join the first-place club.
- Tyler Glasnow just landed on the IL with a back injury, creating temporary space, but Roki Sasaki struggles and may face a demotion to the minor leagues soon.
- Having too many elite arms is a rare luxury that forces difficult cuts, ensuring only the most effective pitchers remain in the quest for a World Series title.
The rich are about to get richer. The 23-14 Los Angeles Dodgers, who are favored to win a third straight World Series title, are on the verge of getting Blake Snell back from the injured list. Yes, the Dodgers have had a two-time Cy Young Award winner just sitting on the sidelines as they casually sit nine games above .500 entering this weekend's showdown against the Atlanta Braves.
While it's obviously great for them to have Snell back, the Dodgers now face a unique roster construction "problem" that all 29 teams would love to have. Here's all the Dodgers have to juggle.
Tyler Glasnow's injury looms large with Blake Snell's return
Perhaps the most seamless transaction the Dodgers can make would be replacing Snell's spot on the injured list with Tyler Glasnow. Obviously, this isn't what they want, but it'd be a straight one-for-one swap of aces.
Glasnow, an ace-level starter who has never made more than 22 starts or thrown more than 134 innings in a single regular season because of injuries, is hurt again. He left Wednesday's start after just one inning with a back injury. Now, Glasnow did downplay the injury, saying he gets it "like a couple times a year," and it has something to do with "just being tall, I guess," but given Glasnow's history, it's hard not to be concerned. Glasnow had an IL stint as recently as 2024 with what was described as lower back tightness.
The Dodgers said Glasnow's injury is not major and Dave Roberts even told reporters an IL stint wasn't in consideration. That lasted all of an hour. LA put Glasnow on IL and called up Paul Gervase on Friday night.
If Glasnow's IL stint is short, someone else will be booted before long, and there's one easy solution.
Roki Sasaki's future is in question with Blake Snell's return
If anyone has to lose their rotation spot, it should be Roki Sasaki. Now, to be fair, Sasaki is coming off his best start of the season. He allowed just three runs in six innings in St. Louis, completing six innings for the first time this season and for the second time in 14 big league starts. With that being said, he has a 5.97 ERA in six starts while averaging less than five innings per outing. He has a 5.29 ERA in 14 starts in his big league career. No matter how you slice it, he has not been an effective big league starter.
The Dodgers have said they're committed to using him as a starter, but is that still the case now that Snell is back? I mean, once Glasnow is off IL and Snell is added to the rotation, is Sasaki not the clear worst option there?
This leaves the Dodgers with two options. They could move Sasaki to the bullpen, which is what they did down the stretch last season, or they could send him down to Triple-A and have him start games. They did that last season as well. I'd assume they'd choose the latter, at least for now, to keep him stretched out, but that's a decision they're undoubtedly juggling.
Dodgers could choose to make unpopular decision
Once Glasnow is healthy, if the Dodgers don't want to change anything with Sasaki, there's a chance they'll decide to make an unpopular decision, and that could mean one of two things.
First, they could choose to demote Emmet Sheehan to Triple-A or move him to the bullpen. I'm not going to say this would be completely unwarranted, as Sheehan has a 5.23 ERA in six starts this season and he has a 4.38 ERA in 29 big league starts, but he's shown a whole lot more than Sasaki has as a starter throughout their careers, and while his ERA is high, the advanced metrics suggest he's gotten a bit unlucky.
An even more unpopular decision would be to demote Justin Wrobleski or move him to the bullpen. Wrobleski has a sparkling 1.25 ERA, which would be good for second in the majors, trailing only Shohei Ohtani if he had enough innings to qualify. Wrobleski's 10.5 percent strikeout rate is alarmingly low, suggesting he isn't this good, but he's obviously been too good to mess around with, right?
If anyone's role should change, it should be Sasaki's, but the Dodgers have been devoted to making it work for him in the majors as a starter. With Glasnow on the IL, they have time to figure it out. It'll be interesting to see what they do.
The time is now for Sasaki, others, to step up
I have no idea what the Dodgers are going to do when it comes to whose spot Snell takes on the active roster, but what I do know is that it's put up or shut up time for the back end of the Dodgers' rotation.
Sasaki has been given ample time to prove himself in the majors, and he hasn't done that yet as a starter. Even if the Dodgers place Glasnow on the IL and he sticks in the rotation for now, Glasnow's injury shouldn't keep him out for long. Sasaki is going to have to prove he belongs in the rotation at some point, or else he loses his spot.
The same goes for guys like Wrobleski and Sheehan, who have been better than Sasaki but haven't exactly proven themselves as quality big league starters yet. If they don't pitch well, they might lose their rotation spots, too. The Dodgers have the luxury that virtually no other teams have of having too many good players. We're about to see one talented player, no matter who it is, lose a rotation job no matter what.
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