State of the Dodgers' 'pen: Who's a lock, and who's still in play?
Sonja Chen
@sonjamchenTEMPE, Ariz. -- While not quite as pressing as the questions of who will play second base and center field on a regular basis, how the Dodgers fill the vacancies in their bullpen will be an interesting thread to follow in the final week of camp.
While Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech will not be ready in time for the season-opening Tokyo Series from March 18-19, the good news is both are progressing well. They've resumed throwing bullpen sessions and should progress to facing live hitters when the Dodgers are in Japan, making a return around mid-April feasible for both.
"Initially, we were trying to be really careful with their buildup, knowing that they pitched a lot of high-stress innings last year," manager Dave Roberts said. "So having them start a little bit later isn't a bad thing. I think that just kind of seeing where they're at right now, [we're] just more encouraged.¡±
The Dodgers will also be without Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove and No. 18 prospect Edgardo Henriquez to open the season.
Henriquez's injury is a more recent development, as he was first seen wearing a walking boot on his left foot in the Dodgers' clubhouse on Tuesday. Roberts said it was a left metatarsal injury that would sideline Henriquez for four to six weeks, but the skipper declined to share any details on how Henriquez hurt himself, other than that it was a non-baseball injury.
Here's the state of the Dodgers' bullpen, from the locks to the other options to consider in the final week of spring:
The locks
Scott and Yates are the additions to this high-leverage core, each of whom recorded at least one save in 2024. Roberts has said that Scott will get "the brunt of the closing opportunities," although he's refrained from naming the lefty the Dodgers' closer in the interest of keeping his options open in situations where a different matchup might make more sense.
The length options
All three are building up as starters this spring, and either Gonsolin or May is likely to win the fifth starter job. Roberts has said that whoever does not get a spot in the rotation could still make the roster as a long reliever, but the team technically won't have to make that decision until after Tokyo. L.A. will only need four traditional starters there, likely Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow in the exhibition games and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki in the regular-season games.
The Dodgers would benefit greatly from some length in their bullpen in Tokyo and beyond, as the team has had less time than usual to ramp up its starters due to the shortened spring.
Knack said recently that he wasn't focused on how he fits on a talented Dodgers roster, but he believes that his ability to start or pitch long relief as needed could help his case for a spot. He posted a 3.65 ERA in 15 appearances (12 starts) in his rookie year in 2024.
Other names to watch
The Dodgers' No. 14 prospect, Casparius' final outing of last year came in Game 4 of the World Series, when he served as the opener in a bullpen game. After getting his feet wet in the Majors last season, Casparius could be poised to play a bigger role this year -- and he's shown an uptick in fastball velocity this spring, albeit in a small sample.
Dreyer was added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster this past offseason in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He posted a 2.20 ERA between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2024, striking out 72 against 12 walks in 57 1/3 innings.
Garc¨ªa is not on Los Angeles' 40-man roster, so the team would need to make a corresponding move to free a spot. That wouldn't be an issue, as multiple Dodgers recovering from long-term injuries could open the season on the 60-day IL. Adding Garc¨ªa to the bullpen mix would give the team an arm with proven Major League experience. The righty had an uneven last season, starting strong with the Angels (3.71 ERA in 45 games) before being traded to the Red Sox (8.22 ERA in 15 games).