With a convincing 7-0 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Los Angeles Dodgers surged to a 40-22 record and now sit comfortably on top of the National League West. They hold a 7-game lead on the Padres and a 7.5-game edge over the Diamondbacks after becoming just the second team in MLB to reach 40 wins this season (Atlanta leads the league with 42 wins).
At the same time, their injured list looks like the backbone of a playoff roster. Multiple starting pitchers and key late-inning relievers are down, and everyday position players are out for weeks or months. Yet futures markets still treat the Dodgers as clear World Series favorites, with prices in the +180 to +200 range, bookmakers like 5Gringos Online Sportsbook continue to rate them the heavy favorites and team to beat in October.
Rotation Hit Hard, Bullpen Thinned
The most glaring damage has come on the mound. Blake Snell is on the 60-day injured list after elbow surgery to remove loose bodies, with no firm timetable for a return and expectations he will be sidelined at least into mid-summer. Tyler Glasnow is on the 15-day IL with lower back spasms, with the team offering only a loose “possibly June” window for his return rather than a locked-in date.
Gavin Stone is also on the 60-day IL after a spring setback tied to right shoulder inflammation. Landon Knack is shut down as well on the 60-day IL due to a right intercostal and oblique strain. Those four losses alone would derail most teams’ rotation plans, and they explain why the Dodgers have been scrambling for innings in recent weeks.
The bullpen has absorbed its own hits. Edwin Díaz is on the 60-day IL after surgery on his right elbow to remove loose bodies, with an expected absence of roughly three months from his April injured list date. Brusdar Graterol also sits on the 60-day IL following right shoulder and lower back surgery with no clear timetable, and Evan Phillips is also on the 60-day IL as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery with a loose midseason target.
Lineup Also Feeling The Strain
The pitching staff draws most of the attention, but the position player group has dealt with its own attrition. Teoscar Hernández went to the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain. The club expects him to miss about a month from his late May IL placement, which places his return window in late June or early July if all goes well.
Kiké Hernández is on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain. Imaging revealed a significant tear, and the expectation is that he will sit out for at least six to eight weeks. That lines up a realistic return for late July or early August, which removes a versatile piece from manager Dave Roberts’ mix in the meantime.
Tommy Edman has been on the 60-day IL as he completes his recovery from offseason right ankle surgery. He has begun a rehab assignment and is projected to return sometime in June, which would give the Dodgers badly needed defensive flexibility and speed. For now, though, the club’s depth is doing heavy lifting as it cycles through call-ups and role changes.
At the top of the lineup, Shohei Ohtani has settled into the leadoff spot and continues to set the table with a blend of power and on-base skill from the first pitch of the game. Behind him, Andy Pages has been the most impactful Dodgers hitter so far this season and leads MLB with 50 RBIs, giving Los Angeles a dangerous one-two punch even with multiple regulars on the shelf.
Lauer Deal Highlights Dodgers’ Approach
All of that context shaped the recent move for Eric Lauer. The Dodgers acquired the left-hander from Toronto for cash considerations after the rotation took repeated hits. Lauer gives them another experienced starter who can also work as a bulk or swingman option and soak up innings when needed.
The move is less about headline value and more about insulation. With Snell, Glasnow, Stone, and Knack all on the IL, the Dodgers could not afford to risk another setback without extra coverage. Lauer’s arrival gives Roberts another lever to pull, whether that is a spot start, a piggyback role, or middle-innings length behind an opener.
It also illustrates how the front office tends to operate under pressure. Rather than wait and hope for health, the Dodgers added a controllable arm who has logged big-league innings before. That type of depth move often proves critical by the time a long season reaches August and September.
Why The Dodgers Still Sit On Top
Despite the injuries, the Dodgers’ record and run differential continue to back up their favorite status. At 40-22, they hold a 7-game lead over San Diego and a 7.5-game advantage on Arizona. They have managed to create separation instead of simply holding on, and their early climb to 40 wins underscores how consistent they have been through the first third of the season.
The offense has done much of the lifting while the pitching staff sorts itself out. Ohtani’s presence at the top of the order keeps constant pressure on opposing starters from the first at-bat, and Pages’ run production has turned traffic on the bases into early leads. The combination of star power at the top and depth pieces filling gaps has kept the team from slipping when another injury hits.
That profile is reflected on the futures board, where the Dodgers own the shortest World Series price in baseball, typically sitting between +180 and +200. The New York Yankees follow in the next tier around +500 to +550, while the Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves round out the top group, with Seattle generally posted in the +800 to +1200 range and Atlanta clustered between +900 and +1000. The spread between Los Angeles and those other contenders underscores how firmly the market still backs this roster, even with a lengthy injured list.
If even a portion of their injured core, especially on the mound, can return and perform near prior levels in the second half, the Dodgers’ profile only grows stronger heading into October. For now, they are winning while shorthanded, carry the shortest World Series odds on the board, and still look like the team everyone else will have to go through when the postseason starts.
