The Dodgers on Friday open a three-game weekend series against the Astros, but the more important development for Los Angeles might be happening about 450 miles north in Oklahoma City.
Both Walker Buehler and Ryan Brasier are with the Triple-A club according to broadcaster Alex Freedman. Buehler will make his first rehab start, while Brasier is scheduled to pitch out of the bullpen.
This is significant because it looks like trading for White Sox starter Garrett Crochet will get tricky since he wants a new contract before pitching in October. There's a chance that could push the Dodgers off of trying to acquire what might be the No. 1 pitching target on the trade market.
So let's go briefly to a world where the Dodgers can't find a starter they like in free agency. With Buehler on the track back to the Majors though there's a chance all the help LA needs in the rotation all comes internally.
Let's assume Buehler comes back as some close approximation of the pitcher he was in 2019 when he finished fourth in Cy Young voting. Let's also assume Yoshinobu Yamamoto comes back this season. The Dodgers' five-man rotation entering October could look like this:
Tyler Glasnow
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Gavin Stone
Walker Buehler
Clayton Kershaw
While another top-end starter would be nice, it looks less like a necessity in the universe where Buehler is better than he was in his return from a second Tommy John surgery. In reality the Dodgers should and will pursue more pitching. It just seems less dire when we lay it out this way.
Sprinkling Brasier into the bullpen helps as well. He posted a 0.70 ERA in 39 appearances with the Dodgers last season and a string of shorter outings by starting pitchers has taxed LA's bullpen a ton. If they can shore up the back of their bullpen in time for the playoffs, while also getting their starting rotation stabilized, they're going to get a ton of outs in October.