The Los Angeles Dodgers figure to have their roster largely set as they head into the start of Spring Training with pitchers and catchers reporting to Camelback Ranch by Friday.
The Dodgers did the bulk of work in December by signing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and trading for Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot.
A main goal for Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman at the beginning of the offseason was to add talented arms to the rotation after it was a downfall for the team last season. In signing Yamamoto and acquiring Glasnow, they created a formidable frontend duo.
To avoid the same pitfall in rotation depth that led to their early postseason exit, the Dodgers remained in search of more pitching help, checking in on numerous trade targets including Jesús Luzardo and Shane Bieber, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com:
Los Angeles continued to pursue options via trade and free agency. It’s no different than most years, when the Dodgers check in on a variety of players. This winter, Shane Bieber, Dylan Cease, Corbin Burnes and Jesús Luzardo were among the arms they looked into via trade. Given how slow the trade market has been, Los Angeles began to explore free-agent arms.
Burnes was ultimately traded to the Baltimore Orioles for a significant return while Dylan Cease, Luzardo and Bieber have all remained with their respective teams. Barring anything unexpected, that trio will likely stay with their teams at least leading up to the trade deadline.
Despite the Dodgers’ trade discussions, nothing came to fruition there, so they moved on to the free agent market.
That search landed on veteran James Paxton, who signed a one-year deal worth a maximum of $13 million for the 2024 season. A heavy portion of his contract value is found in both performance and roster bonuses.
Paxton’s arrival doesn’t rule out the possibility of Clayton Kershaw returning to the Dodgers, as the front office has remained open to re-signing the franchise cornerstone.
Status of Dodgers starting rotation
Following the signings of Yamamoto and Paxton, and the trade of Glasnow, the Dodgers set themselves up in a flexible manner for the season.
They are expecting Bobby Miller to build on his strong rookie season, Walker Buehler to contribute at some point, and other young arms to contribute.
Emmet Sheehan, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone and Landon Knack are all options the Dodgers will consider. But with the possibility that a six-man rotation is how they’ll operate, it wouldn’t be out of the question for all the aforementioned pitchers to make starts this season.
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