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The Los Angeles Dodgers had a stacked rotation heading into the 2024 season after signing Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The starting rotation has further strengthened this offseason with the arrival of Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, along with the imminent return of Shohei Ohtani to the mound.
Blake Snell opted out of his contract with the San Francisco Giants after a strong second half of the season in 2024. The two-time Cy Young winner signed a $182 million contract for five years with the Dodgers in November. His signing was followed by the addition of young Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki in January.
Although the Snell is relatively new to the Dodgers' setup compared to Glasnow, Yamamoto and Ohtani, former Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd feels the 32-year-old All-Star is the most reliable arm in the rotation. He said on the MLB Network:
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"The Dodgers starting rotation on paper is pretty impressive, but they all come with some type of injury history too. To me, Blake Snell is the safest bet there. Roki Sasaki, you don't know what you're gonna get. Tony Gonsolin is coming off a Tommy John surgery.
"Tyler Glasnow was shut down for the last half of the season and Yoshinobu Yamamoto missed significant time last year. Shohei Ohtani is not in this rotation but he will be there."
O'Dowd also highlighted the depth of the Dodgers rotation, which he believes to be a crucial factor in the team's management of the health of the aforementioned stars for the postseason. He also gave his insights on Snell being his pick in the Dodgers rotation.
"I think Blake Snell is a durable pitcher," O'Dowd added. "Maybe he doesn't give you a ton of innings but he takes the ball every fifth day and is a great competitor."
Like the former Rockies GM mentioned, the Dodgers had several injury issues to their starters last season and the team will be looking to manage their arms better in the upcoming season.
Blake Snell excited to put on the Dodgers jersey
Blake Snell, coming off a second Cy Young winning campaign, signed for the Giants after a prolonged free agency, which led to him missing most of Spring Training last year.
His Giants stint started with injuries due to a lack of game-readiness. However, he came back strong in the latter part of the season, showing his Cy Young caliber with a 5-3 record over a 3.12 ERA in 104 innings.
Unlike last year, Snell is leaving no stones unturned in spring as he made his Spring Training debut with the Dodgers earlier this week. He pitched a scoreless inning against the Seattle Mariners in his first outing as a Dodger.
“It was the first time I got to pitch in a Dodger uniform,” Snell said. “Definitely excited about that.”
Blake Snell is expected to be the Opening Day starter for the Dodgers with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki reportedly taking the mound in the team's Tokyo Series next month.
