It felt like a turning point, but not the kind the Dodgers wanted. A late-inning collapse against the Padres didn’t just cost them a game; it cracked open a bigger truth. For the first time in years, the Dodgers look human. The usual swagger is fading, and they are slowly losing their grip on the NL West.

Los Angeles walked into San Diego with a half-game lead. But they walked out looking over their shoulder. The Dodgers suffered a setback in a game that highlighted their pitching weaknesses, as their bullpen struggled.

Despite having quality players in the line-up, the Dodgers are currently struggling to navigate challenging pitching situations.

As former Marlins President David Samson put it on the Nothing Personal podcast, “Now in Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers are not the team that we thought they would be when the season started. They are 14 and 14 in their last 28 games. They have struggled to pitch with injuries… They’ve got 69 pitchers on the injured list.”

Shohei Ohtani’s situation adds another wrinkle. He’s hitting at an elite level, but the Dodgers originally envisioned him leading the rotation, too. That dream is on pause. Samson emphasized the complexity of bringing a two-way star back from a second Tommy John surgery: “There is a complete rehab schedule that is signed off by the player, the agent, the team doctor, the surgeon, the trainer, the GM, the president, everyone’s got a plan.”

Continuing further, he added, “You cannot allow the team’s performance or the pitching staff’s performance to change the plan… or else you will be forced to make decisions that will be bad for the player.”

The takeaway? The Dodgers can’t fast-track a fix, even if the standings demand it. They must toe the line between urgency and caution, before the reinforcements arrive.

In June, they’re already getting a taste of October pressure. And if they don’t respond soon, someone else might own October altogether.

Dodgers’ rotation is in ruins

The Dodgers didn’t just lose a game in San Diego; they lost another ounce of illusion that their rotation could survive this storm. What once looked like the deepest pitching staff in baseball has now turned into a game of attrition. One by one, names have disappeared into the abyss of the injured list, leaving Dave Roberts with patchwork lineups and difficult choices, like feeding Matt Sauer to a surging Padres offense.

Just look at who’s missing: Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin, all sidelined. Even Shohei Ohtani, the ace they banked their two-way future on, remains restricted to DH duties as he inches his way through a carefully choreographed rehab from elbow surgery. What’s left? A 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw returning from yet another injury?

Well, when things spiral, the front office has no choice but to explore outside solutions. The image of Kiké Hernández lobbing 57 mph pitches wasn’t just comic relief; it was a red flag. The Dodgers are out of answers internally, and the trade deadline is creeping closer.

Andrew Friedman may be forced to act sooner than planned, because if this patchwork approach continues, not even an elite offense can mask the holes on the mound. Reinforcements aren’t just a luxury anymore, they’re a lifeline for the Dodgers.