Dodgers eye World Series sweep with, yes, a bullpen game
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Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW YORK — For decades, the Los Angeles Dodgers were known for superstar starting pitchers.
These pitchers remain so indelible that surnames largely suffice: Koufax, Drysdale, Valenzuela, Hershiser, Kershaw, all of whom made World Series starts for championship Dodgers teams.
The Dodgers’ 4-2 win in Game 3 of the 2024 World Series on Monday put them on the cusp of another championship, with a historically insurmountable three games to none headlock on the New York Yankees. L.A. can clinch in Game 4 on Tuesday — traditionally a tremendous opportunity in the career of an ambitious starting pitcher.
The Dodgers’ Game 4 starter? In the aftermath of Game 3, the answer to that question remained: Relief pitcher TBD. But we do know it’s going to be a bullpen game to perhaps win the World Series.
“That would be fun, obviously, to go out and contribute something like that,” Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson said. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do, but we’ll go out there and get three, four or five outs and get the ball to the next guy.”
This postseason has seen the prominence of the 2024 version of bullpen deployment evolve into something new.
In: Relievers used at any point in the game — including the beginning, as the Dodgers plan to do in Game 4.
Out: Preconceived roles. The fewer of them you have, the better.
“The guys we have down there,” righty Ryan Brasier said, “we compete, and we’re a super-close-knit group. We have fun, but at the same time, when it’s time to lock in, everybody gets on the same end of the rope and pulls.”
This is not how the Dodgers drew it up last winter, when they signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a massive deal, augmented him with a slightly-less-massive deal for Tyler Glasnow and brought back Clayton Kershaw. Add in returning starters, including a number of young arms, injury returnees such as Game 3 winner Walker Buehler, toss in trade deadline pickup Jack Flaherty, and you’ve got a starting pitcher bonanza.
Instead, the rotation was beset with so many maladies the Dodgers have had to lean hard on a bullpen that itself seems to have no clear pecking order. The improvisational nature of L.A.’s pitching plan was known from the outset this October. The bullpen roles for the Dodgers were always fluid, but that dynamic was compounded by the shortage of starters. It’s been all up for grabs.
“There are five or six guys that have got a save maybe in this season,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said at the start of the playoffs. “I feel very comfortable. They’ve all pitched in leverage, whether it be the fifth, the sixth, the seventh or the ninth. Whatever pitcher I feel is best in that particular part of the game, part of the lineup, that’s who I’m going to use.”
It’s turned out to be a feature, not a bug. Try to imagine the Dodgers’ relief staff as a 19th-century, Old Hoss Radbourn-style of pitcher who pitched every game. That pitcher has a 3.16 ERA over 68 1/3 innings, 13 holds, four saves and no blown saves. Dodgers starters — including a few openers — have a 4.76 ERA in 11⅔ fewer innings.
Roberts and pitching coach Mark Prior have massaged the plan with remarkable acuity.
Consider Blake Treinen, whose stuff has been reminiscent of his best years, when he was one of the more unassailable relievers in the game. In the past, when managers have had a reliever throwing the way Treinen has been, they might stick him in the back of the bullpen and assign him the last three, four or five outs.
Not Treinen. He’s had a two-inning save, been pulled after giving up a couple of hits in the ninth, and has gotten outs in the sixth and seventh innings. Brasier has pitched in the first (twice), fourth, sixth and eighth. You can see any reliever at any time if the leverage is right and the matchup against a certain sector of the opposing lineup can be exploited.
The deeper we’ve gotten into October, the deeper Roberts has been willing to let his recovering starters work. Thus, Yamamoto and Buehler have given him not just efficiency but more length than was anticipated when the series began. This, in turn, reserves resources for things like, say, a bullpen elimination game.
“I’d put our bullpen up with any bullpen that I’ve ever been on and any bullpen I’ve ever seen,” screwballer Brent Honeywell said. Honeywell, who was one pitcher more or less ruled out to open Game 4, nevertheless might get a shot during what the Dodgers hope will be the last game of the season. “I want to win, and if that’s how we’ve got to do it, that’s how we’ve got to do it.”
The Dodgers are not the only team we’ve seen do this during the postseason. And playoff bullpen games have been around since at least 2019, in the form we know them now, but what we’ve seen this October has felt different. It’s not bullpenning as last resort, it’s bullpenning because you can’t score on our freaking relievers, no matter who they are so, maybe, just maybe, we’re glad we have to do it this way.
The potential pitfall is overexposing your relievers to the same group of hitters too many times over a long series. Roberts is all too aware of that challenge.
“Taking a long and short view of the series kind of weighs into my decision-making,” Roberts said. “It’s a constant kind of weaving in and out. But my pitching coaches do a great job of helping me to kind of sift through it.”
Research done on this topic has suggested this can be a problem, but here’s the thing: This is arguably a bigger problem for the traditional setup/setup/closer model of playoff bullpen management than what the Dodgers have been doing. Sure, there is a hierarchy in every bullpen, even this one, and those relievers are going to see the same hitters in a long series. (Though this series might not be a long one, after all.) But the Dodgers are mitigating that by coming at their opponents with so many different arms in so many different circumstances.
That’s how it scans now, though, because it’s been working. The Dodgers will attempt the ultimate proof-of-concept by rolling out a parade of relievers Tuesday. If it works one more time, the reward will be, well, a parade.
Meanwhile, teams with rock-solid rotations (Philadelphia, Kansas City) and star closers (Cleveland, Milwaukee) have fallen by the wayside. The Dodgers, the team that can buy as much certainty as can possibly exist on a baseball roster, are one win from the ultimate prize, in large part because of how they’ve embraced their bullpen.
Going into Game 4, you might think there’s a little lobbying among the relief group to be the last guy out there. After all, the last-out pitcher of every World Series clincher achieves a measure of instant immortality.
But there is no such lobbying. Not from these Dodgers.
“Nobody here has any kind of ego,” Brasier said. “It’s just when the phone rings, everybody’s ready.”
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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