Dodgers News: Uncertainty Around Snell Opens Door for Justin Wrobleski’s Shot at Starting Role
As Blake Snell’s Timeline Remains Murky, Justin Wrobleski Could Step Into Dodgers’ Rotation
GLENDALE, AZ—While the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, on paper, look unbeatable, one problem they haven’t solved is the health of their pitchers, and that remains the same problem entering the 2026 season.
After winning consecutive titles, the Dodgers come into spring training this season wondering how they can load-manage not just their position-player core, which was involved in back-to-back October runs, but also a pitching staff that has historically had multiple injuries, including left-handed ace Blake Snell.
While Snell isn’t injured, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that the team was slow-playing his build-up. Snell also admitted last month that, in the final games of the Fall Classic, his arm felt fatigued despite missing significant time on the injured list with a right shoulder injury.
That cautious approach from Snell and the Dodgers training staff, along with question marks surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s build-up during the World Baseball Classic and whether they’ll ease Yamamoto in Year Three after his October heroics last season, opens the door for several candidates, including young lefty Justin Wrobleski.
According to Jack Harris of the California Post, that is the case as the Dodgers get closer to their first Cactus League game on Saturday, as Wrobleski and several other Dodgers pitchers, including Will Klein, are set to compete for a spot in March.
Wrobleski has an opening of his own this spring. Five weeks from Opening Day, the Dodgers are already facing several rotation questions, with Blake Snell taking things slow after last year’s shoulder injury and Ohtani facing a build-up that will be complicated by his participation in next month’s World Baseball Classic.
Thus, the Dodgers will look for extra starting depth this spring –– giving the 25-year-old Wrobleski, who was needed more in relief duty last season but is still seen as a high-upside starter long term, the chance to compete for a potential rotation spot.
Wrobleski, 25, finished the season in the Dodgers’ bullpen, despite being a starter in Triple-A with the Oklahoma City Comets.
The lefty’s two starts during the regular season for Los Angeles were subpar, where he surrendered eight runs against the Washington Nationals in five innings in April and another four runs in a six-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals two months later.
After switching to a bullpen role, Wrobleski settled in, pitching to a 3.17 ERA over his final 25 appearances, including the postseason, where he showcased an increased velocity and became a dependable arm for Roberts with the injury departure of left-hander Tanner Scott and personal issue with Alex Vesia.
As far as the Dodgers’ starting rotation as it stands now, it should be a mix of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Emmet Sheehan, and Roki Sasaki, with Wrobleski, Gavin Stone (if healthy), and River Ryan all competing for the final spot.
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