{"id":99611,"date":"2025-04-24T21:35:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T01:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=99611"},"modified":"2025-04-24T21:35:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T01:35:50","slug":"dodgers-casparius-dreyer-bullpen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/04\/24\/dodgers-casparius-dreyer-bullpen\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers Getting Some Unexpected Sources of Relief in the Bullpen"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series with three viable starting pitchers.<\/a> Unwilling to tempt fate this year, they reloaded their starting rotation this offseason, signing Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki<\/a> and free agent Blake Snell<\/a>. Problem solved, right? Not exactly. Sasaki is experiencing the growing pains one would expect from most rookies in their first season in the big leagues. Snell is currently on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.<\/a> To make matters worse, Snell has stopped throwing and there is no timetable for his return. Fortunately for the Dodgers, relievers Ben Casparius<\/a> and Jack Dreyer<\/a> have stepped up and spelled relief out of the bullpen.<\/p>\n

Dodgers Getting Bullpen Help from Surprise Sources<\/h2>\n

D\u00e9j\u00e0 Vu All Over Again<\/h3>\n

The Dodgers are no stranger to having starting pitching injuries<\/a>. They threaded this same needle last year, and they constantly prove the point that you can never have enough starting pitching. Landon Knack<\/a>, Justin Wrobleski<\/a>, and Bobby Miller<\/a> have tried to fill the void, but with less-than-optimal results. Each has<\/a> an ERA above five along with a high walk rate. Thus, the bullpen has been used early and often. They have had to cover a lot of innings including an entire game on the latest road trip, a game that ended in a loss.<\/p>\n

The Designated Long Man<\/h3>\n

Right-hander Ben Casparius played a pivotal role<\/a> out of the bullpen for the Dodgers in their postseason run in 2024. He was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City and ended up being the reliable bridge between the starters and the high-leverage arms last year. Throughout the season, he posted a sub-3.00 ERA. Now, with Michael Grove<\/a> missing the entire 2025 season due to shoulder surgery, Casparius has stepped in to fill the breach. Aside from one bad outing against the Chicago Cubs, the right-hander has been exceptionally stingy. For example, in a second crack at the Cubs, the 26-year-old pitched 2 2\/3 scoreless innings serving as the opener of a bullpen game. He retired eight out of nine hitters striking out four. You can’t ask much more than that.<\/p>\n

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Ben Casparius, Dirty 3170 RPM Slider. \ud83d\ude28 pic.twitter.com\/OLTqC4adPD<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n