If recent history serves right, the Los Angeles Dodgers will depend on an army of bullpen arms in 2026. The club used 39 pitchers in 2023, followed by 40 in both 2024 and 2025, which represents a leaguewide trend toward heavy turnover of pitchers. This churn is both a reflection of modern workload management, as well as the belief that the Dodgers think in layers-deep behind elite talent. With a regular season of 186 games ahead, the relief corps will be a revolving door rather than a static unit.
The Dodgers players sidelined at the beginning of the season
The season already starts with three key relievers on the sidelines:
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Evan Phillips: Recovering from Tommy John surgery and expected back around midseason.
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Brock Stewart: Coming back from a shoulder surgery in October.
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Brusdar Graterol: Still building up from a shoulder procedure in 2024.
Phillips’ absence looms the largest. Before his injury, he came in as a reliable, swing-and-miss, late-inning weapon with some experience in the postseason. Without him, manager Dave Roberts might use more off-season additions and deploy his pitchers according to the matchup in the ninth inning instead of calling out a traditional closer out of the gate.
Prospect arms with projected depth and why they are useful
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Edwin Diaz: Signed to stabilize the back end; comes with elite strikeout rates and closing experience.
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Tanner Scott: Power left-hander, capable of neutralizing both sides of the plate.
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Blake Treinen: Veteran righty entering final year of deal.
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Alex Vesia: Left-handed, reliable option with four seasons of bullpen consistency.
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Jack Dreyer: Durable reliever that was active all of 2025 and into the postseason.
Behind this group, flexibility is the theme.
Multi-inning and swing contenders:
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Ben Casparius
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Justin Wrobleski
Both have minor league options and starting backgrounds, making it easy for the Dodgers to fill their rotation and bullpen needs.
Options in a deep 40-man roster:
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Edgardo Henriquez
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Kyle Hurt
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Paul Gervase
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Bobby Miller
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Ronan Kopp
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Will Klein
Klein’s postseason heroics last October underlined how rapidly things can change in roles. However, the general trend is in favor of heavy rotation. In 2025, 13 Dodgers pitchers made at least 10 relief appearances, including Anthony Banda (70 games) and Kirby Yates (50). Several contributors began the year outside the organization. If the past is any guide, the Los Angeles Dodgers will have eight relievers at any given time, but could get upto 12-15 pitchers to double-digit relief outings in 2026. For the Dodgers, bullpen depth isn’t contingency planning, it’s competitive design.
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