The Los Angeles Dodgers are grappling with a familiar foe in the early stages of the 2025 season: injuries to their starting rotation, a problem that threatens to derail their championship aspirations. As reported by Alden Gonzalez of ESPN on April 28, 2025, the Dodgers placed Tyler Glasnow on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, an issue that emerged after he lasted just one inning in a start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 26 at Dodger Stadium. This move came shortly after Blake Snell was sidelined with shoulder inflammation, adding to a growing list of injured Dodgers pitchers that has forced manager Dave Roberts to confront a mounting challenge.
Roberts addressed the team’s pitching woes with a mix of pragmatism and concern, stating, “Pitching is certainly volatile. We experienced it last year and essentially every year. I think the thing that’s probably most disconcerting is the bullpen leading Major League Baseball in innings. When you’re talking about the long season, the starters are built up to go take those innings down. That’s sort of where my head is at as far as trying to make sure we don’t redline these guys in the pen.” The Dodgers’ bullpen has already logged 112 innings through April 28, the most in MLB, per FanGraphs, a stark contrast to their starters’ 154 innings, which ranks 28th. This imbalance is unsustainable over a 162-game schedule, especially for a team with World Series expectations after winning it all in 2024.
The injury list for Dodgers starters reads like an All-Star roster: Glasnow (shoulder inflammation), Snell (shoulder inflammation), Tony Gonsolin (recovering from 2024 Tommy John surgery), Clayton Kershaw (toe/knee issues), Emmet Sheehan (elbow), Gavin Stone (shoulder), and River Ryan (forearm). Shohei Ohtani, while thriving as a designated hitter with a .312 average, 8 homers, and a .956 OPS through April 28, per Baseball-Reference, is not yet pitching as he continues to rehab from his 2023 elbow surgery. The Dodgers’ rotation, which began the season with high hopes, has been reduced to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, and Dustin May as the only remaining starters from their Opening Day roster. Yamamoto, who started the season in Japan as part of the Seoul Series, has been a bright spot with a 2.45 ERA over 6 starts, while Sasaki, a rookie signed from Japan, has a 3.12 ERA in 5 starts. May, returning from his own Tommy John surgery in 2023, has been solid but limited, averaging 4.2 innings per start.
Glasnow’s injury is particularly concerning given his importance to the rotation. Signed to a five-year, $136.5 million deal in December 2023, Glasnow was coming off a 2024 season where he went 9-6 with a 3.54 ERA in 22 starts, striking out 143 in 120 innings. His exit against the Pirates—where he allowed 2 runs on 3 hits before leaving after warm-up pitches in the second inning—prompted immediate concern. An MRI confirmed inflammation, and while Roberts called an IL stint “a possibility” post-game, the move was finalized on April 28. Glasnow told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya that the soreness stemmed from mechanical adjustments aimed at reducing elbow stress, a lingering issue from his injury-plagued past with the Rays and Pirates, where he missed significant time in 2019 (Tommy John surgery) and 2021 (elbow strain).
Snell, a 2023 Cy Young winner signed to a five-year, $182 million deal in the 2024 offseason, has been limited to 3 starts in 2025, posting a 4.76 ERA before landing on the IL on April 20. Gonsolin, expected to return in early May after missing all of 2024, threw 3 innings in a rehab start for Double-A Tulsa on April 25, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, per MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis. Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young winner, is still weeks away from returning, having covered 3 innings in his second rehab start on April 22. The Dodgers’ depth, once a strength, is being tested, with prospects like Landon Knack and Kyle Hurt filling in but struggling—Knack has a 5.40 ERA in 3 starts, while Hurt was optioned to Triple-A after allowing 6 runs in 4 innings.
The injuries have forced Roberts to lean heavily on his bullpen, which, despite leading the league in innings, has maintained a 3.28 ERA, 5th in MLB. Relievers like Evan Phillips (1.80 ERA) and Alex Vesia (2.45 ERA) have been bright spots, but the workload is a concern, especially with the Dodgers’ history of postseason bullpen fatigue—they used 8 relievers in their 2024 World Series Game 5 win over the Yankees. Offensively, the Dodgers remain potent, with Andy Pages earning NL Player of the Week honors for a breakout series against the Pirates, where he hit .429 with 2 homers, including a 2-run shot on April 26, per MLB.com. Mookie Betts (.315, 6 HRs) and Freddie Freeman (.298, 5 HRs) continue to lead the lineup, but the pitching staff’s health will determine whether Los Angeles can sustain its 18-10 start, good for first in the NL West.
As the Dodgers prepare for a series against the Marlins starting April 29, 2025, at Dodger Stadium—where they’re favored at -180, per ESPN Bet—they’ll need Yamamoto, Sasaki, and May to eat innings while hoping for swift returns from Gonsolin and Kershaw. Roberts’ comments underscore the delicate balance of managing a long season, and for a team with a championship-caliber ceiling, the early injury wave is a stark reminder of how quickly depth can be tested in MLB’s grueling marathon.
