When Starters Become the Fireworks: How the Dodgers Rewired Postseason Pitching in 2025

In a postseason where bullpen arms are taxed, matchups sharpen, and margins vanish, the Los Angeles Dodgers have adopted a striking departure from convention: using starters as their primary weapon — in effect, running a “no bullpen” model during critical playoff games. The Wall Street Journal

The Context

Over the 2025 season, the Dodgers’ bullpen was inconsistent, beset by injuries and underperformance. For a franchise accustomed to heavy investment in relief depth, that weakness forced an identity question: double down on shaky arms or rethink deployment. They chose the latter. The Wall Street Journal

In their NLDS opener against the Phillies, they used Shohei Ohtani for six innings, then followed with Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki — starters by trade — and hardly touched the traditional relief corps. The Wall Street Journal Their relievers faced just a single batter in that game. The Wall Street Journal

Why It Matters

1. Matchup control shifts upstream
   In typical relief usage, bullpen arms allow managers to respond mid‑game to matchups, leverage lefty‑righty splits, or close innings. But by pushing that responsibility into starters, you force your opponent to adjust earlier or live with results.

2. Reducing variance in the high-risk bullpen
   In October, one shaky reliever can end a season. By minimizing exposure, the Dodgers aim to reduce variance. They’re essentially hedging volatility by leaning on the more stable (or at least more controlled) arms.

3. Leveraging starter depth as roster currency
   It means starters must be built to go deeper reliably, especially in mid-series adjustment. It also means undervalued starter arms become premium assets. In this model, the boundary between starter and reliever blurs — as seen with Sasaki converting to a closer role in relief. The Wall Street Journal+1

4. Psychological pressure on opponents
   Knowing the Dodgers won’t turn to lesser relievers sets psychological stakes. If a starter stumbles, you know there’s less buffer. Opponents can’t expect a “reset” via bullpen mismatch exploitation.

Risks & Counterpoints

• Starter fatigue becomes immediate: Overextending arms could erode effectiveness deeper into a series.

• Injury risk amplifies: If a starter is worked too hard early, you lose not just an inning but an entire arm.

• Matchup inflexibility: Sometimes you need a certain reliever against a specific batter; sacrificing that flexibility is dangerous.

Keywords & SEO Framing

This article anchors on terms like Dodgers bullpen strategy 2025, postseason starter usage, no bullpen playoff strategy, MLB 2025 Dodgers starters, and Roki Sasaki closer usage. It blends narrative (how the decision unfolded) with tactical insight (why it could reshape postseason norms).

What It Suggests for the Future

If this strategy succeeds — or even partially succeeds — it may embolden other clubs to re-evaluate traditional roster architectures. In an age where bullpen volatility is exacerbated by injury, rule changes, cleaner usage, and fragmented workload allocation, the distinction between starters and relievers becomes malleable.

The Dodgers’ 2025 playoff gamble isn’t trendy theater — it’s a hypothesis: that your best arms, trusted, can carry you when intermediates fail you. October is about leverage. Sometimes, the safest bet is to increase the weight where you believe the strength lies. If they get there, this experiment may redefine how deep playoff pitching is constructed, not just for Los Angeles, but across baseball’s strategic frontier.