Breaking Down Los Angeles Dodgers' Rotation After Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell Signings

With the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes on Friday, the rich somehow found a way to get even richer.

The 23-year-old Japanese ace became the latest star free agent to sign with the Dodgers, and his designation as an international amateur kept the price tag relatively low. The same cannot be said for Blake Snell, who inked a five-year, $182 million contract with Los Angeles back in November.

Sasaki and Snell will serve as quite the reinforcements for the reigning World Series champions, who did struggle with starting pitching depth due to injuries in 2024. Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty left via free agency as well, so getting more arms in the mix makes sense.

The Dodgers just so happened to add a pair of aces in their places, somehow raising their ceiling even higher.

As it stands, here is what the Dodgers' rotation could look like to start 2025:

1. Blake Snell, LHP
2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP
3. Tyler Glasnow, RHP
4. Shohei Ohtani, RHP
5. Roki Sasaki, RHP
6. Tony Gonsolin, RHP

Snell makes sense as the Dodgers' Opening Day starter, considering he has two Cy Young Awards under his belt. Over the last seven seasons, the 32-year-old southpaw has a 3.03 ERA and 1.160 WHIP while tossing 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Yamamoto proved why he was worth a $325 million contract as a rookie in 2024, going 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.111 WHIP and 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings across his 18 starts. Tyler Glasnow, who inked a five-year, $137 million contract last winter, also impressed by going 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA, 0.948 WHIP and 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

The shoulder surgery that Ohtani underwent in November will likely prevent him from pitching in the Dodgers' season-opening series in Tokyo, but he could be added to the rotation as soon as April. The two-way superstar is 38-19 in his career with a 3.01 ERA, 1.082 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings, having placed fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022.

Sasaki posted a 29-15 record, 2.10 ERA, 0.894 WHIP and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings during his four-year career in Nippon Professional Baseball, making two All-Star appearances before turning 23. He has true ace stuff, but having several other aces around him should give Sasaki a softer runway into his MLB career.

Gonsolin underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023, a year after he made his first All-Star appearance. The 30-year-old has a 3.19 ERA and 1.051 WHIP in 375.2 career innings, though, so when he is healthy, he can really deal.

The six-man rotation is becoming more and more popular across MLB, and the Dodgers certainly have the depth to roll one out at the start of the year.

The group listed above doesn't even include Dustin May, who has a 3.10 ERA and 1.049 WHIP in 191.2 career innings. May has never reached 60.0 innings pitched in a season, and he missed all of 2024 after undergoing UCL, flexor and esophagus surgeries.

Los Angeles also has a handful of injured pitchers in Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan, River Ryan and Kyle Hurt who don't need to get rushed back, plus Bobby Miller and Landon Knack who are likely to start 2025 down in Triple-A.

Between the top-end of their rotation and the endless depth, no one has ever assembled a rotation quite like the Dodgers'. And if they do welcome future Hall of Fame lefty Clayton Kershaw back on a one-year deal – as some expect – their chances of going back-to-back will only climb.

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