The Dodgers’ pitching staff is in trouble, and they might need to make a move soon.
Los Angeles entered 2025 with what looked like baseball’s most formidable rotation on paper. Now? They’re scrambling to piece together enough arms to get through the regular season.
Blake Snell is already sidelined with a shoulder injury, and Tyler Glasnow appears headed for the 15-day IL next. Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, and Shohei Ohtani continue their rehab work, leaving Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the only healthy, established starter in the rotation.
The Dodgers acquired Snell and Glasnow to be their playoff workhorses. Now the priority shifts to simply getting them healthy by October. But how will they navigate the remaining regular season games?
One baseball writer believes the answer is clear: make a trade now rather than waiting.
Newsweek’s Zach Pressnell suggested Tuesday that the Dodgers should pursue Cardinals starter Erick Fedde immediately to stabilize their rotation.
“The lack of healthy big league pitchers is a real issue for the Dodgers. The only solution with the current state of the Dodgers is a blockbuster trade for a reliable pitcher to bolster their rotation,” Pressnell wrote.
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“Fedde isn’t the flashiest name on the market, nor is he the best. But he eats innings, and he does it with solid production. The righty is signed for the rest of the season on a contract that will pay him less than $10 million, and it likely wouldn’t cost much prospect capital to acquire him.”
Fedde, 32, isn’t lighting the world on fire this season with a 4.68 ERA through six starts. But there’s real value in his durability. He posted a 3.30 ERA across 31 starts last year, proving he can handle a full season’s workload. He’s also on an affordable $7.5 million deal that expires after this season.
The question is whether Fedde would actually solve the Dodgers’ problems. And if they want him, they’ll likely pay more to get him now than they would at the July 31 trade deadline.
That’s the dilemma facing Andrew Friedman and the front office. Wait and hope their stars get healthy, or pay a premium for immediate rotation help? With championship expectations and mounting injuries, they might not have the luxury of patience.
