The Dodgers may be set up to run it back with their 2026 Opening Day rotation, but 2027 already has one glaring question mark: who fills the Tarik Skubal spot if he walks in free agency?
Skubal, acquired by Los Angeles before the trade deadline, is headed for the open market, and that leaves the Dodgers staring at a rotation vacancy with Cy Young-level weight behind it. They can certainly try to keep him, and the team is expected to be one of the most aggressive suitors if he reaches free agency. But if he leaves, the Dodgers still have a path forward without going outside the organization.
Assuming everyone is healthy, the most likely six-man group to open 2027 would feature Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Justin Wrobleski and Shohei Ohtani. Yamamoto stands as the clear ace in that mix, while Snell and Glasnow bring top-end stuff when they’re right. Sasaki put together a full 2026 season with only a minor blister issue interrupting it, and Wrobleski earned an All-Star nod in the first half before injury slowed him down late.
Ohtani remains a central piece of the conversation, too. Both he and the Dodgers have been firm about him staying a two-way player in 2027, and there’s no reason to expect him to be absent from the Opening Day rotation if that plan holds.
Of course, the Dodgers’ pitching plans rarely unfold without some uncertainty. There’s also a chance they hold Ohtani back from the mound early in the year in hopes of keeping him fresher for the postseason.
If that happens, Los Angeles still has depth to tap into. Emmet Sheehan, who made 23 starts last season, would be the first likely call.
Gavin Stone is another name in the mix after posting a 3.53 ERA across 25 starts in 2024 before shoulder surgery wiped out the last two years. Bobby Miller, once one of the organization’s top pitching prospects in 2023, has struggled in recent seasons but returned to the majors this year in relief and could be stretched back out.
Then there’s Jackson Ferris, one of the Dodgers’ better pitching prospects, who needs to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to avoid Rule 5 draft eligibility. He logged a 5.12 ERA in Triple-A Oklahoma City this past season, working 24 appearances and 22 starts.
If Skubal departs, the Dodgers won’t be short on names. The bigger question is whether they’ll need to use one of them.
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Dodgers Make Key Front Office Move With Rival Ties
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Perry replaces retiring COO Bob Wolfe, and her hiring adds another notable voice to a front office that has long prized stability and scale. She is also one of only three women serving as a chief operating officer in Major League Baseball, a distinction that underscores both the significance of the move and the broader visibility that comes with it. [Read more 🡒]
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The complication is that De Paulas bat is only part of the equation. His defensive game, especially in the outfield, remains a work in progress, and the looming MLB lockout means the Dodgers will not be able to work with him through the offseason the way they normally would. That leaves his readiness for next season a little harder to pin down, with the organization waiting to see how much of that development can happen once baseball operations resume. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Prospect Cody Morse Keeps Giving Fans A Reason To Watch
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Cody Morse was part of the reason the Dodgers contingent stayed interesting anyway, turning in another scoreless outing and keeping his AFL line spotless through nine appearances. Sam Horn did not pitch in this one, but he remains part of the mix as Glendale works through the fall schedule and the organization keeps getting a closer look at which arms are separating themselves. [Read more 🡒]