After addressing their two biggest needs this offseason, the bullpen and outfield, via free agency, the Dodgers appear to be relatively set with their roster a little more than three weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Arizona.
“There’s still some things we’re kicking around and some conversations that have been ongoing for a little bit that we’re going to continue to enhance and build up depth,” Friedman told reporters.
Asked if the Dodgers still are in the market for starting pitching, Friedman said: “We are not.”
That appeared to play out Wednesday night when the Mets acquired starting pitcher Freddy Peralta in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 29-year-old right-hander had been someone the Dodgers were interested in, the Athletic reported this week. Considering their rotation already projected to feature Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki, the reported interest in Peralta was surprising.
But coming off a grueling postseason in which the starters, Yamamoto in particular, carried a heavy load, the Dodgers already were thinking about ways to navigate next season — especially with the World Baseball Classic in March.
Last month during winter meetings, Roberts hinted at a six-man rotation as a way to give starters extra rest over a long season. Among the Dodgers’ four starting pitchers during the postseason — Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani — only Yamamoto pitched the entire season. Snell and Glasnow spent significant time on the injured list, and Ohtani didn’t make his pitching debut until June.
The Dodgers have plenty of young pitchers who could step in, from ascendant minor-league prospect Jackson Ferris, to returning 2024 breakout rookies River Ryan and Gavin Stone, to the more-established Justin Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan.