After winning the 2024 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers were widely expected to repeat as champions in 2025 thanks to another strong offseason that saw them land coveted Japanese pitching prospect Roki Sasaki. To this point, though, their starting rotation has been battered by injuries, prompting manager Dave Roberts to make an intriguing move involving Ben Casparius.
The Dodgers have several of their expected starters, such as Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and the aforementioned Sasaki, sitting on the injured list. Guys like Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Tony Gonsolin, and Emmet Sheehan are all options who could have filled in for that group, but they too are on the injured list. As a result, Roberts has decided that Casparius will become the latest arm to join Los Angeles’ battered starting rotation.
Dave Roberts Moving Ben Casparius to Dodgers Starting Rotation
Casparius is the latest in a long line of pitchers that the Dodgers have seen find immediate success in the majors after emerging from seemingly out of nowhere. The 26-year-old has taken the mound in 22 games this season, posting a 2.86 ERA while racking up 46 strikeouts in 44 innings of work. Considering all the injuries the team is dealing with (their bullpen has also been destroyed by the injury bug), Casparius’ contributions have been huge.
With starters dropping like flies, Roberts gave the ball to Casparius on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres. The risky decision worked, as Casparius gave Los Angeles’ four solid innings of work, giving up just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out a pair of batters. That was all the Dodgers needed, as the lineup produced five runs while the bullpen allowed only one more run to score over the final five innings.
Throughout the season, Casparius has been a Swiss Army knife for Roberts, but he’s getting a more clearly defined role moving forward. That’s because after this game, Roberts quickly declared that Casparius was set to join the Dodgers. starting rotation after his successful outing against L.A.'s top competition in the National League West.
Out of necessity and given our situation, we felt there was more value in the 'pen and being a versatile-type reliever," Roberts said per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. "But where we are now, he’s certainly showing that he’s one of the five. … The next time he’s on the mound, it’ll be as a starter.
Dodgers Put Their Faith in Ben Casparius Amid Injury Crisis
At some point, the Dodgers will get healthy, and when they do, Casparius will shift back to the bullpen. For now, though, his ability to pitch multiple innings is precisely what Roberts needs, and it’s made him a valuable commodity for the team as they wait for their superstar starters to get healthy again.
Once L.A. gets healthy, they are expected to reemerge as the best team in the majors. For now, though, they are just trying to hang onto their lead atop the division, and they will be counting on guys like Casparius to get them to the promised land over the next couple of weeks.
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