Dodgers News: Dodgers Adjust 2026 Rotation: Snell Out, Wrobleski and Sheehan Step Up

GLENDALE, AZ—Entering the 2026 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are viewed by many (correctly, I might add) as an absolute juggernaut. Still, perhaps their most significant strength is their pitching depth, particularly with starters.

Still, that depth has been tested early with the departure of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani now overseas, preparing for the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic, and the slow ramp-up of left-hander Blake Snell, who appears unlikely to be ready for Opening Day later this month.

With Snell’s latest injury, which has resulted in the Dodgers shifting focus to one of their other young left-handed pitchers, Justin Wrobleski, where Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that he is being built up as a starter this spring, along with fellow young righty Emmet Sheehan.

“I think number one is that we still see them as starters. They have the ability to go five, six innings, and if they’re built up, even further down the road. But again, it’s just developing them as starters allows for them to develop their pitches, their pitch mix, second time through the order, third time through the order.

“And then, however it falls out, I think that’s kind of the organization’s thought. But they’re starters. And like I said, something can happen tomorrow, the next day, and we’re going to need them to kind of take on that starter role. So for them to look at it as starters until they’re not, that’s kind of the way I think we should look at it.”

Due to the Dodgers opening the season with a six-man rotation and the injury to Snell, one or both of these arms could be a part of the team’s Opening Day starting rotation, with right-handers Gavin Stone, Roki Sasaki, and River Ryan all in the mix.

Bobby Miller Shifting Toward Bullpen Role

While Sheehan and Wrobleski have been flexible in their roles to start their Major League careers, one other young right-hander who is looking to return to old success is Bobby Miller, who will undergo a role change this season.

According to Dave Roberts, the Dodgers are viewing Miller as a relief pitcher this season, and while the skipper admitted he could very well start in the future, the team wants him to regain his confidence.

After struggling with performance and shoulder issues that lasted two seasons, Miller, 26, ended the year in the bullpen for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets with mixed results.

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