The Los Angeles Dodgers won 100 games last year, but lost in the National League Division Series in part because of a decimated pitching staff.
They weren’t about to let that happen for a second year in a row, so they made it a priority to build up some incredible starting pitching depth.
To their already excellent internal options to start the year healthy and in the rotation – Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, Michael Grove, and Gavin Stone, among others – they added Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and James Paxton.
They did bring in Shohei Ohtani, too, but he won’t be pitching in 2024.
Now, they have re-signed franchise legend and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw and his career 2.48 ERA.
He is, however, expected to miss at least the first half while recovering from shoulder surgery.
The folks at Chris Rose Sports had a very healthy debate about what should the Dodgers do when everyone is healthy.
They even mention it’s possible that Kershaw does not get a start in October this year.
There is a world where Clayton Kershaw doesn’t even get a start in October if the entire Dodgers rotation is healthy pic.twitter.com/sGrkT6y4YM
— Chris Rose Sports (@ChrisRoseSports) February 7, 2024
The reality, however, is simple: if Kershaw is active and pitching like he did last year (he posted a 2.46 ERA in 131.2 innings), there is no way you leave a former Cy Young and MVP and a future Hall of Famer out of the postseason rotation, even if he hasn’t had as much success in October as he has had in the regular season.
Now, if Kershaw is not fully healthy or reaches the postseason struggling, it might be another story.
A healthy Kershaw belongs in the playoffs rotation, though.
The sheer depth on the Dodgers is admirable, though.
They could even have Dustin May back in the summer, too; and this exercise doesn’t even include the injured Tony Gonsolin.
A top four of Yamamoto, Glasnow, Buehler, and Kershaw would be very hard to beat.
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