"Shohei Ohtani not counting against us as pitcher might be an advantage": Dodgers coach on 6-man rotation idea feat. Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto

The Los Angeles Dodgers will have a lot of starting arms next season, including Shohei Ohtani, who didn't pitch during the entirety of the 2024 season due to rehabbing from an elbow surgery he had in September 2023. That has given rise to the possibility of a six-man rotation.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow will likely spearhead the rotation next season. There's talk that the Dodgers might sign free agent NPB star Roki Sasaki, not to mention Clayton Kershaw, who aims to pitch next season.

However, a five-man rotation may not be enough for the Dodgers, paving the way for a potential six-man rotation. But Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior expressed his doubts, highlighting the pros and cons on "Dodgers Territory."

"I think it’s doable, but the biggest issue is whether you have enough depth to make it work," Prior said. "If one guy goes down, what’s the cascading effect? Are you suddenly going to need everyone to pitch on regular rest when they haven’t been doing that for a month or two? Do you have big-league-ready guys in Triple-A to step in and handle it?

"Whether or not this approach becomes the norm, I think another factor is if you're going to use a six-man rotation, the starters might need to go deeper into games," Prior added.

"You’re likely carrying one less reliever in your bullpen, so there’s less room to pick up innings. For us, Shohei not counting against us as a pitcher might give us a bit of an advantage there, but, for other teams, it’s a challenge. There are pros and cons to the approach. I think it might be trending that way a little bit, but I’m not quite sure it’s completely sustainable yet."

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What could a six-man rotation of Dodgers potentially look like?

After winning the 2024 World Series, three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw declined his 2025 player option this offseason, rendering him a free agent, but there's a good chance that the Dodgers could bring back their ace.

Another pitcher likely to be signed is Roki Sasaki, who wouldn't impact their payroll, given that he will be signed from international pool money on a minor league deal. Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty are free agents, and the Dodgers may bring back one of them.

Assuming Kershaw and Sasaki sign with the franchise, the Dodgers' six-man rotation may feature Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Kershaw, Sasaki and Landon Knack or Bobby Miller. They also have starters like Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May coming off injuries in backup.

Don't be surprised if the Dodgers adopt a six-man starting pitching rotation system despite Prior's apprehensions.