As of April 29th, the Los Angeles Dodgers are on a trajectory to absolutely obliterate their own franchise record for pitchers used in a single season. They’ve already seen an astonishing 33 different arms take the mound in 2026, a staggering number that includes pitchers whose first appearance dates stretch all the way to September 16th. This isn’t just a high number; it’s a testament to an incredible churn on their pitching staff that has the entire league watching.
The Pitching Carousel Just Keeps Spinning
This current rotation chaos for the Dodgers is just the latest chapter in a wild trend. They’ve made a habit of cycling through pitchers at an unprecedented rate, setting a franchise record by using 40 different arms in both 2024 and 2025. Before that, they ran through 39 pitchers in both 2021 and 2023. You have to wonder what’s going on in their bullpen and rotation meetings when the number of guys taking the hill keeps climbing like this. The sheer volume of arms going through their system is wild, and it definitely raises questions about stability, health, and how they manage their staff.
From Yamamoto to Position Players: Everyone’s Getting a Turn
The list of arms they’ve tapped in 2026 is a deep dive into both top-tier talent and some truly surprising names. Yoshinobu Yamamoto kicked things off on Opening Day, March 26th, quickly followed by Blake Treinen and Will Klein. We’ve seen frontline guys like Tyler Glasnow take the mound on March 28th, and even international superstar Roki Sasaki got his first game action on March 30th. The early season also saw arms like Emmet Sheehan, Jack Dreyer, Ben Casparius, and Alex Vesia all appear by March 27th. Then came Shohei Ohtani himself on March 31st, making it clear they were not messing around with their depth right out of the gate.
But it’s not just the early burst; the list keeps growing with names like Kyle Hurt on April 15th and Jake Eder on April 20th. As the months rolled on, even more significant arms joined the fray: Blake Snell, a big-time veteran, first appeared on May 9th, followed by Paul Gervase the same day and Wyatt Mills on May 10th. Further into the summer, we saw Landon Knack on July 11th, Cole Irvin on July 31st, and then Tarik Skubal on August 4th. Later still, Bobby Miller entered on September 6th and Kris Bubic on September 16th. And get this: they’ve even had *position players* throw. Miguel Rojas stepped up on April 6th, and Kiké Hernández even toed the rubber on September 1st. When you’re asking your everyday players to get outs, you know you’re digging deep into the barrel to keep the pitching staff afloat.
With this much action already on the books for 2026, it’s clear the Dodgers are committed to using every single arm they can find. The trend of high pitcher usage is beyond established for them. As the season progresses, we will undoubtedly see if they manage to add even more names to this already record-breaking tally. How many will they hit before all is said and done? It’s going to be wild to watch.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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