The impending expiration of the collective bargaining agreement casts a major shadow over the baseball offseason as the industry awaits expected labor trouble. In the meantime, player movement continues to generate heavy speculation with award announcements right around the corner.
Dodgers Face Rotation Decisions and Skubal Pursuit
The Los Angeles Dodgers maintained a talented starting rotation in 2026, though it features several injury-prone arms such as Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and Shohei Ohtani in his pitching capacity. According to reporting from The Athletic via CBS Sports Headlines, the club will require someone capable of covering innings in 2027 depending on the workload and health of pitchers like Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, and Jackson Ferris.
The Dodgers are firmly involved in the bidding for Tarik Skubal. Should the two-time Cy Young winner land elsewhere, the team might not simply pivot to the next top starter on the market like Freddy Peralta or Michael King. Instead, the front office could target depth pieces to soak up innings ahead of a rapid post-lockout ramp-up, echoing their previous signing of Tyler Anderson before the 2022 season.
As things stand right now, the current Dodgers rotation group consists of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and Sheehan, waiting for the eventual return of Ohtani to the mound.
Red Sox Target Pitching Depth for 2027
Following consecutive Wild Card Series exits and seasons with fewer than 90 wins, the Boston Red Sox aim to elevate their performance for 2027 by bolstering their pitching staff. MassLive reports via CBS Sports Headlines that the organization will search the market for a back-end starter alongside a right-handed reliever possessing swing-and-miss stuff.
Regarding the starting rotation, Sonny Gray reaches free agency while Garrett Crochet prepares to come back from an injury that sidelined him nearly all year. Payton Tolle and Ranger Suárez occupy the second and third spots, with Jake Bennett locked in as the fourth starter, leaving Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Tanner Houck as candidates for the fifth position.
The bullpen features returning left-hander Aroldis Chapman as closer, supported by Garrett Whitlock and Erik Miller as setup options, while any rotation odd-man out like Houck could provide late-inning relief help.
