Ben Casparius has always been that guy for the Dodgers — the one who slips into the rotation or the ‘pen and just gets outs when the club needs him most. Last season he did it again, stepping up as an innings-eater when the starters couldn’t hold up. This year? The right shoulder inflammation that landed him on the 15-day IL before most fans had even unpacked their 2026 scorebooks has changed everything.
He’s back at Camelback Ranch now, grinding through a throwing program alongside Evan Phillips and a handful of other sidelined arms.
Manager Dave Roberts laid it out plainly after Saturday’s game: “He’s in Arizona building up on his throwing program. He’s out there with Evan Phillips and a couple other guys. He’s on a longer timetable. I don’t know when it is, but it is a longer timetable. And then once he starts facing hitters and goes on rehab, then it’ll be more of a conversation.”
That longer timetable stings. Casparius didn’t light the world on fire in 2025, but he delivered exactly what a championship contender craves — reliability. Through the first two months he posted a 2.72 ERA and punched out 42 hitters in 36⅓ innings. When the rotation depth evaporated mid-summer, the Dodgers flipped him into a multi-inning role on the fly. He ate innings, kept games close, and gave the bullpen arms precious rest. Even after he shifted back to traditional relief work, that early success proved his value.
The shoulder issue this spring cut that momentum short. In just 4⅔ innings before the IL, Casparius surrendered five runs. It wasn’t the script anyone wanted, especially after the club counted on him to bridge the gap again.
Fortunately, the corresponding move has paid dividends already. Kyle Hurt, recalled in Casparius’ place, has been filthy: a 0.90 ERA, 12.60 strikeouts per nine, and a ridiculous 14-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 10 innings. He’s given Roberts another weapon when the ‘pen needed one most.
The past week tested the Dodgers’ pitching depth in ways few expected. Tyler Glasnow hit the IL with back spasms, Brock Stewart landed on the shelf with a bone spur in his left foot — neither considered season-threatening for now, though Stewart’s situation could mirror Edwin Díaz’s if the spur doesn’t settle. On the bright side, Blake Snell cleared the 15-day IL and made his season debut Saturday. It was still essentially a rehab outing after left shoulder fatigue, and the results showed some rust, but the lefty is back and the rotation suddenly feels a little sturdier.
Still, losing Casparius for an extended stretch forces the club to get creative. The bullpen that carried them through October last year suddenly looks thinner, and the innings-eater role he filled so quietly now sits empty.
