"They still need another starter" - Former Mets GM questions Dodgers' rotation despite Yoshinobu Yamamoto signing

Even with the Yoshinobu Yamamoto signing, the Los Angeles Dodgers don't have all the answers according to one former GM. They signed the ace to be their front-of-the-rotation starter, but the rest of the rotation isn't as solid.

Steve Phillips, a former GM and current MLB analyst, believes the team shouldn't rest on its laurels. From his perspective, the team still needs one more starter to fill out the rotation.

Phillips said:

"I think they probably need another starter because you don't know what Buehler's ability to go deep in innings over the course of a season. They're going to have to protect him. Miller's young, they're going to have to protect him. Emmet Sheehan's young, they're going to have to protect him... They've got a lot of guys and it does scream six-man rotation. Glasnow needs to be protected, right?"

He continued, highlighting some uncertainty. Much of their rotation has injury question marks or is very young. Yamamoto, for his part, was part of a bigger rotation in Japan:

"They've got a lot of unpredictability there, whether it's health-related or, well, Yamamoto should be predictable, but he's probably a six-man rotation guy."

Phillips believes the Dodgers can employ a six-man rotation, but it's something to be considered as that's a lot of players the team needs to contribute all year long.

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Dodgers may employ unique rotation with Yoshinobu Yamamoto

The Los Angeles Dodgers beefed up their rotation with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but they also signed Tyler Glasnow to an extension after nabbing him from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Both he and Walker Buehler have major injury concerns, especially since Glasnow has never thrown more than 120 innings in a season. Buehler has been inactive for much of the last year and change.

The Dodgers have some question marks

Yamamoto might need a six-man rotation like he had in Japan, and the Dodgers also have to consider the health and longevity of everyone else. It also doesn't help that Shohei Ohtani will not be pitching in 2024. He will return to the mound eventually, but not this year.