The Los Angeles Dodgers ran a six-man rotation after all of their starting pitchers returned in 2025, and general manager Brandon Gomes revealed they could do the same next season.
“It’s certainly on the table, but it depends how things shake out,” Gomes said.
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The Dodgers ran a rotation of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Emmet Sheehan and Clayton Kershaw in 2025. If they are to maintain the six-man rotation next season, the likeliest option to replace the now-retired Clayton Kershaw is Roki Sasaki, who spent a majority of last season on the injured list and moved to a role in the bullpen in the postseason.
Gomes revealed the second-year pitcher would “absolutely” return to his starting spot in 2026.
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The Dodgers’ willingness to maintain their unpopular rotation strategy makes sense, as their starters were among the best in the league last season. Dodgers starters had a 3.69 ERA during the regular season, which ranked them fifth in MLB and third in the National League.
Gomes also commented on Ohtani’s plan for the 2026 season, having been cautious about his recovery from elbow surgery in 2025.
“I think that’s a conversation we’ll have with him as it gets deeper into the offseason, but it’ll probably look more like a normal schedule than last year, but obviously that can be fluid,” Gomes said. “And everything we’ll do is with the big picture mindset.”
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The Dodgers’ rotation was a big reason why they had their success in 2025, and keeping their game plan similar will set them in the right direction for 2026. LA will look to win their third championship in as many years next season, becoming the third franchise to ever record a three-peat along with the New York Yankees and the Athletics.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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