Looking in the rear-view mirror, 2022 was the beginning of a turbulent time for the Dodgers starting pitching. In 2021, the team signed Trevor Bauer to a three-year/$102M contract, but his off-field problems limited him to a total of 17 starts and 107 innings pitched. He did not throw a single pitch for the team in his final two contract seasons.

The 2023 starting rotation included two journeymen southpaw pitchers (Andrew Heaney and Tyler Anderson), who pitched beyond reasonable expectations and were pitching in their free agent walk years. Also headed to free agency after the season were starters Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urías, and late acquisition Lance Lynn. And, there were significant injuries to Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and Emmet Sheehan.

For 2024, the Dodgers had a Grand Canyon-sized hole looming for the starting rotation. They traded for super talented but oft-injured right-hander Tyler Glasnow, signed injury-prone free agent left-hander James Paxton, re-signed Kershaw, who will not pitch competitively until mid-season, and committed $325M to Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) star right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Those pitchers would join 25-year-old right-handed pitching prospects Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone.

With a high octane offense, there are high hopes (and a large dose of cautionary concern) that with the return of Buehler, Kershaw, and possibly May and/or Sheehan, the Dodgers starting rotation will return to the dominance the Dodgers are famous for.

But what about the Dodgers bullpen?

A good question for future discussion.

What do you think Dodgers fans?

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