In recent years, the Los Angeles Dodgers have dealt with a number of injuries to their pitching staff. Last season, a total of 12 Dodgers pitchers landed on the injured list at some point in 2024.
The myriad injuries left the Dodgers with only three starting pitchers and an overworked bullpen once October rolled around.
Although it all worked out and the Dodgers ultimately won the World Series, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said a short-term solution to the pitching staff’s injury issues was their aggressive pursuits this winter.
“I’m sure some of [our past injury problems] created some of the mindset this offseason,” Friedman said, via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “Just to be as prepared as we possibly could be.”
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As for the long-term solution, veteran southpaw Clayton Kershaw revealed what the Dodgers will do differently with their pitchers in 2025.
“I think the Dodgers are going to change that a little bit,” Kershaw said on Foul Territory. “I think the guys are going to start throwing more in the minor leagues.
“There might be something to be said about just throwing more, some endurance-based throwing. Maybe just building up your strength without throwing as hard as you can, just throwing more pitches, more throws in between starts. We’ve tried the less approach, maybe we need to do the more approach. Which it seems pretty oversimplified, and I know there’s a lot more to it, but it’s probably worth a shot.”
While the Dodgers have made it clear they don’t have a simple solution to the problem, they’re going to test out different things to try to keep their pitchers healthier in 2025 and beyond.
Kershaw seems to like this specific idea.
