All offseason, Dodgers officials have emphasized the importance of managing their starting rotation's workload in 2026, after pushing that group to its physical limits during last October's arduous World Series run.
A few weeks before the start of spring training, Blake Snell is becoming an early example.
In the aftermath of the Dodgers' Fall Classic triumph in Toronto –– which was still not even three months ago –– Snell's arm was "tired" and "exhausted," he acknowledged Thursday, following five postseason starts plus a critical relief appearance in Game 7 against the Blue Jays.
Blake Snell decided to slow his offseason pitching program after his arm felt tired following the Dodgers championship run. AP
"I was happy I was able to pitch the whole time," the left-hander told The California Post during a Dodgers charity event at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. "But it was tough."
Thus, Snell and the team decided to have the 33-year-old slow-play his winter throwing program this offseason. The plan, Snell said, is to still be ready for Opening Day in late March. But at this point, that is not seen as a certainty within the organization.
"You want to ramp up, but I gotta take my time and get healthy," said Snell, the two-time Cy Young Award winner who returned from a long-term shoulder injury last summer to play a starring role in the Dodgers' title trek.
"I feel like I'm doing the right thing. I feel good. I've been throwing. It feels better. In the postseason, I gave everything I had for that. But on the front end of spring, I'll have to be patient and let my body get to 100%.
"That's what I'm learning talking with (the team). Don't rush. Be patient. Make sure you're 100%. And that's what's awesome about the organization. They really are focused on your health and well-being."
In some ways, this is nothing new for the Dodgers. They've long erred on the side of caution when it comes to managing pitchers' workloads. They've always prioritized long-term health, and October availability, above all else.
Never before, however, has that balance been so important.
The two-time Cy Young award winner returned from a shoulder injury last summer and played a key piece in their title run. AP
Beyond Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto presents the most obvious challenge this season. Not only did the right-hander lead the Dodgers in both regular-season and postseason innings last year (logging 210 combined, culminating with his back-to-back appearances in games 6 and 7 of the World Series), but he is also slated to pitch for Team Japan in this spring's World Baseball Classic. That will require him to ramp up earlier than normal and make full-intensity outings several weeks before Opening Day.
"Yamamoto is gonna be an interesting case study," manager Dave Roberts said, "given how much he's pitched over the last couple years."
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Shohei Ohtani offers another unique situation, likely to get extra between-starts rest –– as much as "six, seven, eight days off," according to Roberts –– as he returns to full-time two-way duties for the first time in his Dodgers career. He is also on Team Japan's WBC roster, but it's undetermined if he will pitch in the event.
Tyler Glasnow , meanwhile, has a long history of injuries the Dodgers will have to take into account, with the 10-year veteran having never made more than 22 starts in a regular season.
There's no hard innings limits on the Dodgers starters, but Andrew Friedman said workloads are something they "have to be mindful of." AP
For now, the Dodgers haven't set any hard innings limits on that group and will wait and see how each progresses during spring camp before formulating more specific plans.
Still, their workloads are "something we definitely have to be mindful of," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said this winter.
"It's just making sure we're being prudent on the front end and saying, 'If we need extra rest here (at some point), we can do it,'" general manager Brandon Gomes echoed.
The good news for the Dodgers is that they have some depth. Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki are expected to bolster the season-opening rotation. Former top prospects River Ryan and Gavin Stone had normal offseasons after recovering from surgeries last year (with excitement around the organization particularly high in how Ryan has looked ahead of camp). Justin Wrobleski , Ben Casparius , Kyle Hurt , Landon Knack and Bobby Miller are all also starting options.
This coming year, the team might need almost all of them at some point.
Already, the aftereffects of last year's World Series title are being felt.
