Los Angeles Dodgers Once Dreamed of Five Aces But Injuries Have Reduced Rotation to One Surviving Arm in Season’s Crucial Stretch

In the months leading up to the 2025 MLB season, the Los Angeles Dodgers appeared poised to field one of the most dominant starting rotations in modern baseball history. With a pitching staff that featured five legitimate ace-caliber arms, the team’s championship expectations were sky-high. But fast-forward to the All-Star break, and the story has taken a cruel twist. Four of those five prized pitchers are now sidelined by injury, leaving only one standing—and raising troubling questions about whether the Dodgers can withstand the weight of lost arms and faltering momentum.

The Dodgers didn’t just assemble a strong rotation—they constructed a fortress on the mound. The group included Japanese sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto, future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, breakout star Bobby Miller, young fireballer Dustin May, and newly acquired Tyler Glasnow. Each of them had ace-level potential, each of them came into spring training with elite projections, and each of them was expected to carry a piece of the load in a 162-game grind toward October glory.

Now, nearly three months into the season, that dream rotation has been decimated. Four of the five—Yamamoto, Miller, May, and Kershaw—are all on the injured list, some facing long recoveries, others possibly done for the season. Glasnow, the lone survivor of the original quintet, has held firm—but how long he can keep the Dodgers’ postseason aspirations alive remains a pressing concern in Los Angeles.

Yamamoto was the crown jewel of the Dodgers’ historic offseason spending spree. Signed to a 12-year, $325 million deal, the 25-year-old right-hander was fresh off three consecutive Sawamura Awards in Japan and came with lofty expectations. He flashed brilliance early, with a 2.98 ERA through his first 11 starts. But shoulder fatigue began to surface in June, followed by inflammation that ultimately landed him on the IL. While the team hopes he’ll return later in the year, shoulder injuries are notoriously unpredictable—especially for pitchers transitioning from the NPB to the MLB schedule grind.

Bobby Miller, the hard-throwing righty who dazzled during his rookie campaign in 2023, was expected to take another leap forward this year. He opened the season with electric stuff, touching 100 mph regularly and showcasing a devastating slider. But his durability faltered. Elbow discomfort turned into a more serious diagnosis, and the Dodgers shut him down in late May. Though the team avoided the dreaded “Tommy John” phrase for now, whispers around the league suggest the Dodgers are bracing for the worst.

Then there’s Dustin May, whose talent has long been undermined by injury setbacks. After recovering from 2021 Tommy John surgery, May returned with a vengeance, showing signs of his old dominance in limited 2023 action. This year was supposed to be his full comeback. Instead, he made just three starts before reporting forearm tightness that escalated into nerve issues—requiring season-ending surgery. His absence, though sadly familiar, further gutted a once-deep rotation.

Clayton Kershaw’s story is more bittersweet. The legendary lefty was never expected to carry the load, but his return was meant to be the heartwarming final act in a storied Dodgers career. Re-signed on a team-friendly one-year deal, Kershaw was progressing well in rehab following shoulder surgery. However, just as he neared a return to major league action, his recovery hit a snag. Reports suggest inflammation flared up in late June, forcing the team to shut him down for the foreseeable future. At 37 years old, with a surgically repaired shoulder and a long injury history, Kershaw’s availability this season—and possibly ever again—is in real jeopardy.

Amid this cascade of misfortune, Tyler Glasnow has emerged as the rotation’s saving grace. Acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, Glasnow has pitched like a true ace. He owns a 3.01 ERA with a career-best 0.95 WHIP and has been durable, taking the ball every fifth day while racking up strikeouts at a blistering rate. The Dodgers have managed to stay afloat in the NL West thanks largely to Glasnow’s consistency and dominance, but relying on one man to carry an entire rotation is not sustainable—especially as the summer drags on and innings accumulate.

Manager Dave Roberts has been forced to piece together the rest of the rotation with a mix of prospects, bullpen games, and emergency call-ups. Gavin Stone, Michael Grove, and Landon Knack have all seen increased roles, and while they’ve shown flashes, none possess the experience or consistency of a true frontline starter. The Dodgers also brought back veteran James Paxton, but even he’s been battling his own bouts with fatigue and velocity drops in recent outings.

The front office, led by Andrew Friedman, now faces a difficult calculus ahead of the trade deadline. Do they attempt to reinforce the rotation with one or more major acquisitions, knowing the asking price in prospects will be steep? Or do they stay the course, trusting their player development pipeline and hoping for miraculous recoveries from their injured stars?

Complicating matters further is the state of the bullpen, which has been overused due to short outings from the rotation. Evan Phillips has continued to shine in the closer role, but middle relief has been a mixed bag. With so many bullpen arms pitching extended innings, fatigue is setting in fast—another long-term concern that could derail playoff hopes.

Injuries, of course, are a part of baseball. But the sheer concentration of damage to one position group—one that was supposed to be the Dodgers’ greatest strength—has shaken the team’s foundation. A rotation built to dominate has instead disintegrated. And while the Dodgers still possess a potent lineup led by Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman, even the most explosive offenses need reliable pitching in October.

The Dodgers are not strangers to adversity. In recent years, they’ve managed to overcome key injuries and postseason disappointments with remarkable consistency. But this situation feels more daunting. The expectations were massive, the rotation was historic on paper, and now, four of five arms are missing in action.

As of now, the Dodgers remain in playoff position, thanks to timely hitting and Glasnow’s brilliance. But the margin for error is shrinking. Every bullpen game takes a toll. Every short outing increases stress. And every day that passes without positive injury updates adds weight to an already fragile situation.

In a season that began with talk of 110 wins and a return to World Series dominance, the Dodgers now find themselves clinging to survival—armed with one healthy ace, a patchwork rotation, and fading dreams of what could have been the greatest staff in baseball. If the cavalry doesn’t arrive soon—either from the injured list or the trade market—Los Angeles could see its championship window tighten under the strain of battered arms and exhausted options.

Baseball, after all, doesn’t wait for anyone. And in 2025, the Dodgers are learning that even the strongest rotations can unravel when fate decides to throw its hardest curveballs.