As most MLB teams hit the one-third mark of the season this week, some glaring questions have begun to crop up. Here is a look at one burning question each National League West team faces going forward. How these situations play out over the month of June will greatly affect the teams’ decisions at the trade deadline on July 31st.
With Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound imminent, L.A.’s rotation will get a shot in the arm that it desperately needs to establish itself atop the MLB. The team has had 13 different pitchers start games, and they currently have 14 pitchers dealing with injuries. That injury number doesn’t even include the likes of Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, and Dustin May, who have made their returns from 2024 injuries this season. The bullpen has lost key cogs Kirby Yates, Blake Treinen, and Evan Phillips as well. Will the Dodgers be able to scrape together enough bodies to hold off the Padres, Giants, and Diamondbacks and make a run at a second straight world championship?
Like the division-leading Dodgers, San Diego has seen their exceptional rotation decimated by injuries. Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, and Matt Waldron have not yet thrown a pitch for the Padres. Michael King, who has been the team’s best starter so far this season, was placed on the IL on May 25 with shoulder inflammation. Waldron and Darvish are on rehab assignments in the minors, so they could be back in the next two weeks. They will be needed, as Dylan Cease has struggled and inexperienced fill-ins Stephen Kolek and Kyle Hart try to hold down the fort with Nick Pivetta and Randy Vasquez.
The Giants were able to sign Adames to a 7-year, $182 million contract after a career year in 2024 for Milwaukee that saw him hit .251 with 32 home runs, 112 RBI, 74 walks, 93 runs, and 21 steals. Adames’ momentum has not carried over to his new team. The superstar shortstop has slashed just .210/.288/.336 with five home runs, two steals, and 63 strikeouts in 55 games. The normally sure-handed Adames has already made eight errors as well. Adames has always been a streaky player, but he has really only hit for about one nine-day stretch this season. The SF coaching staff will have to get Adames turned around if they hope to make a run at the Dodgers.
If someone had told GM Mike Hazen at the end of 2023 that the D-backs could start 2025 with a rotation of Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Jordan Montgomery, he would have been ecstatic. Gallen and Burnes were getting perennial Cy Young votes, and Kelly had become a workhorse and a rising star. Rodriguez had been Detroit’s ace for two years, and Montgomery had just led Texas to a World Series win with a 3-1 postseason record. Montgomery and Rodriguez have been awful and are now injured, while Gallen is having his worst year as a pro. Arizona is reeling.
At 9-46, the answer to this question is “most likely.” Colorado is last in MLB in batting average, runs scored, hits, stolen bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, ERA, WHIP, home runs allowed, and strikeouts. Any team can get hot for a short stretch against poor teams, but even that would probably not put the Rockies on a pace to top the 2024 White Sox’s 162-game-worst 41 wins.
Four teams in the NL West have a chance to make the MLB playoffs if they can successfully address the questions above by the trade deadline. The Rockies will only see a playoff game by watching it on television or buying tickets. Check back later in the week for the rest of the MLB as we dive into American League divisions’ burning questions, or go check out the burning questions in the NL East and NL Central.
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