LA’s pitching staff has taken on heavy workloads during their runs to back-to-back World Series. Jack Harris of The California Post writes that the club plans to keep a close eye on their veteran arms early in the season. This is especially true for Blake Snellwho tells Harris he postponed his offseason throwing program after feeling “exhausted” at the end of the Fall Classic. The two-time Cy Young winner added that while he hopes to be ready for Opening Day, that’s not a guarantee as the team is more focused on making sure he doesn’t put too much strain on his arm in camp.
Snell is one of the three to five most talented pitchers in the MLB. He’s dominant when healthy, but availability has never been his strong point. Snell has had two 180-inning campaigns, but hasn’t even reached 130 frames in any of his other seven full seasons. Last year he missed more than three months between April and early August due to a shoulder injury. He was limited to 11 starts and 61 1/3 innings during the regular season.
He was there when it mattered most, logging 34 innings of 3.18 ERA ball during the World Series run. Snell started one game each in the Wild Card Series, Division Series and Championship Series. He worked at least six innings in each, including eight frames of shutout ball with 10 strikeouts in the first game of the NLCS, then returned for two more starts in the World Series.
Snell went five innings in Game 1 and recorded 6 2/3 frames in Game 5. He gave up five runs and took the loss in both, but he returned on two days’ rest for his most important appearance of the season. Snell recorded an inning and a third out of the bullpen in Game 7, holding a 4-3 one-run deficit to set up Miguel Rojas’ game-tying homer before returning to start the bottom of the ninth.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto yet Snell surpassed it in the Fall Classic. He deservedly took home Series MVP honors after emerging victorious in three of LA’s four victories. Yamamoto threw consecutive complete games in Games 2 of the NLCS and World Series. He pitched six innings in Game 6, but then came back on zero rest for 2 2/3 frames and 34 pitches as the decider made extras. Yamamoto’s arm was so tired at the end of the match that he could not lift his MVP trophy above his head without help from teammates.
Yamamoto won’t have the luxury of a slow spring build-up, as he’s already signed on to help Japan defend their World Baseball Classic title. He should be ready for competitive game action when the tournament kicks off on March 6. Shohei Ohtani is also on the Japanese roster, although the team has not yet announced whether he will play in the tournament.
Roki Sasaki He is not expected to play in the WBC. His first Major League season was up and down. He made just 10 appearances and logged 36 1/3 MLB innings during the regular season. Sasaki was out between April and September due to a shoulder impingement. The Dodgers used him as short relief in the playoffs. Sasaki went 10 2/3 innings of one-run ball despite walking five while recording just six strikeouts.
The Dodgers have maintained that they view Sasaki as a starter for 2026. Manager Dave Roberts reiterated this when speaking to Dylan Hernandez of the California Post this week, albeit with the comment that he would like the talented young righty to develop his third pitch better. Sasaki used his fastball half the time and his signature splitter for about a third of his range last year. He used an upper 80s breaking ball at about a 16% clip.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman appeared Dodgers territory this week and downplayed Sasaki’s need for a third pitch to some extent. “He was able to dominate in NPB with two pitches and honestly, I think he could do that here because he could perform at a higher level,” Friedman said. “Last year his delivery wasn’t good, the velocity was down a little bit. So it’s either add that third pitch or increase his pitch-making ability.”
Sasaki’s fastball was in the 90s and routinely hit triple digits in Japan. He averaged a solid but more pedestrian speed of 96.1 MPH during his rookie season in the majors. Better health will hopefully lead to an increase in business in the second year. Sasaki will be the fifth or sixth starter in a rotation that likely also includes Yamamoto, Snell, Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow And Emmet Sheehan whether everyone is present on Opening Day. River Ryan, Gavin Stone And Kyle hurt should all be back from surgeries that cost them the ’25 season and are talented depth weapons on the 40-man roster.
#Dodgers #Rotation #Notes #Snell #Yamamoto #Sasaki