The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the 2023 season with one of the best starting pitching staffs in baseball with both depth and high-end talent that any team would be jealous of.
However, by the trade deadline, they were left searching for rotation help, ultimately acquiring Jack Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers, and they entered the postseason with just three healthy starters.
That did not prevent them from winning their eighth World Series championship, but it made things far more difficult. The Dodgers were forced to rely on bullpen games, and even wave the white flag in some games just to get through the postseason.
As they enter the 2024 offseason, the Dodgers still have talent in their rotation, but they would still like to add to the group and see it as a need for the club, general manager Brandon Gomes said via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
The Dodgers’ other big need this offseason, Gomes confirmed Wednesday, is starting pitching.
As it stands, the Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius and Bobby Miller as their healthy starting pitchers under contract. Emmet Sheehan and Nick Frasso could return later in the season as well.
With that group comes many question marks, though. Ohtani is unlikely to be ready for the start of the season and he’s coming off his second career elbow surgery.
Glasnow missed the end of the season due to an elbow strain, and while he’s progressed well, he has a long history of injuries. May and Gonsolin both missed the entire 2024 season and remain questions on how effective they will be upon their return, and Miller is coming off a disastrous season and will need to bounce back.
Clayton Kershaw also shared his intention to return, but he is also coming off a pair of injuries that ended his 2024 season and required offseason surgery.
The Dodgers rotation is in a solid spot as it stands even with all the injuries, but adding a top-end starter and a middle-of-the-rotation arm would go a long way in shoring up the group and putting them in the best position they can be.
Starting pitcher targets for Dodgers
The pitching prize of the 2024 offseason is Roki Sasaki, who will be making the jump from Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan to the majors. The Dodgers are considered the heavy favorites to sign Sasaki, but every team will make their case and have a chance to sign the phenom.
On the trade market, Garrett Crochet is the top name available, and the Dodgers have been linked to the southpaw as aggressively pursuing him. The White Sox have had a a high asking price for their ace, so unless that comes down, it seems unlikely Crochet ends up in L.A.
On the free agent market, the Dodgers could opt to bring back Jack Flaherty and/or Walker Buehler, and both would like to return. However, both may end up getting more sizable offers from other clubs.
Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Blake Snell are also high-end options on the market, and the Dodgers could be in play for any of them.
The tier below includes names such as Yusei Kikuchi, Nathan Eovaldi, Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea, Shane Bieber, José Quintana, Luis Severino, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
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