"Dodgers are probably going to go to a 6-man rotation” - MLB analyst reveals strategy for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s rest schedules 

Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles Dodgers finished the 2024 regular season with the best record in the majors. However, heading into the postseason, a huge concern was the injury-ravaged pitching contingent, with some of the Blues' most important pitchers such as Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw picking up long-term injuries at the most inopportune time.

Though everything eventually ended quite well, as the Dodgers went on to win their eighth World Series, the organization will be looking to do whatever they can to prevent such an injury crisis from re-occurring. With Shohei Ohtani set to return to the mound at some point in the 2025 season, and highly sought-after talent Roki Sasaki looking like he may sign with the world champions, it seems the Dodgers will have a multitude of starting pitching options in the upcoming season.

On Monday's edition of "Foul Territory", MLB insider Kyle Glaser talked about the pitching strategy that the Dodgers may employ come 2025.

"Realistically, the Dodgers are probably going to go to a six-man rotation regardless, in terms of giving Ohtani that extra day of rest," Glaser said. "Yamamoto did not pitch on regular rest all season, he had an extra day of rest or more every start. Tyler Glasnow has had a lot of injury issues, [the Dodgers will look at] building an extra day of rest for him."

Furthermore, Glaser talked about how a six-man rotation could help benefit potential new arrival Roki Sasaki in settling into his new surroundings.

"A lot of teams we've seen do similar things with Japanese pitchers. The Cubs gave Shota Imanaga extra days when they could, the Mets with Kodai Senga gave him extra days when they could.

"We've seen a shift, previously, Japanese pitchers would come over and have to adapt to the regular five-man rotation [with] only four days of rest, now we're seeing teams do the opposite and adapt to the Japanese pitcher schedule," Glaser added.

---

Shohei Ohtani named finalist for 2024 NL MVP award

Shohei Ohtani had one of the best seasons in baseball history in 2024. Be it on an individual level, as he became the first player to ever reach the milestone of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season, or with his team, winning the NL West, the NL and then the World Series, Ohtani pretty much did it all.

Naturally, after such a campaign, the Japanese superstar is the odds-on favorite to be crowned the NL MVP come Nov. 21. Ohtani is now only one step away from the award, as he has been shortlisted as one of the three finalists.

Along with Shohei Ohtani, New York Mets first baseman Francisco Lindor and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte have been picked as the other two finalists.