How might the Dodgers construct a six-man rotation

This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

LOS ANGELES -- As the Dodgers map out their offseason decisions, one of the first things they’ll sort through is deciding whether they will go into the 2025 season with a six-man rotation.

At last week’s GM meetings in San Antonio, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said it was a “fair bet” that L.A. would go with a six-man rotation. One of the biggest factors of that decision will be because of the pitching schedule that Yoshinobu Yamamoto has grown accustomed to and prefers. The same applies to Shohei Ohtani whenever he’s ready to pitch for the first time in a Dodgers uniform.

That plan would only become more of an option if the Dodgers end up landing Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, who is also used to pitching once a week as is the norm in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

It goes without saying that if the Dodgers do end up going to a six-man rotation, they will need plenty of options to do so. What exactly could that look like? Do the Dodgers have enough options at the moment?

This early in the offseason, the answer is no. Right now, Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow -- assuming he’ll be healthy -- are the only certainties in the rotation. Tony Gonsolin finished the season healthy and could slide in. Dustin May’s status is in question and he could likely benefit from making a move to the bullpen.

Young pitchers such as Bobby Miller, Ben Casparius, Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski will also be options. Clayton Kershaw, though currently a free agent, will also be in the mix once he re-signs, but that won’t happen for a while. There’s also the reality that some current options could be moved this offseason.

So in reality, in order for the Dodgers to make it all work, they will need to add either via free agency or trade this winter. On the free-agent front, adding Sasaki would be a huge win for the Dodgers. They would get another young power arm in the rotation.

Going after Blake Snell, Max Fried or, to a lesser cost, Nathan Eovaldi also makes sense. The Dodgers would really benefit from adding another top-level arm in the rotation. Snell definitely fits that description. Fried has been more than solid throughout his career. Both pitchers would be massive additions to the rotation.

Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler will also be options in the free-agent market, but both could be looking for more than the Dodgers are willing to give. That will all depend on how their respective markets shake out. Flaherty, of course, will likely get more interest than Buehler given how their regular seasons went.

On the trade front, the Dodgers could also dip their toes and check in on Garrett Crochet, who appears more than likely to get moved before the start of the season.

The positive development for the Dodgers is that there are plenty of options. They just need to decide which fits best to what appears to be a rotation heading toward needing six starters, at least to start the season.