The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ rotation took another hit on Wednesday, March 25, with right-hander Landon Knack heading to the injured list ahead of an Opening Day matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Knack hit the IL along with Blake Snell, Tommy Edman, Gavin Stone, Brusdar Graterol, Brock Stewart, and Bobby Miller. Fabian Ardaya reports that Knack is working through an intercostal strain. The 28-year-old had an outside shot of making the roster, given the significant injury issues in the rotation. The Dodgers will instead turn to Justin Wrobleski as the de facto No. 6 starter/piggyback option.
After whispers of a six-man rotation heading into the season, Los Angeles is down to five healthy options. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get the ball to begin the year against Arizona. He’ll be followed by Emmet Sheehan, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and Shohei Ohtani. Wrobleski will likely function in tandem with Ohtani, unless he’s needed before then.
Los Angeles Dodgers Rotation News: Landon Knack to IL With Intercostal Strain
Knack has appeared in parts of each of the last two seasons with the Dodgers. He debuted with the club in 2024, delivering a 3.65 ERA across 15 appearances. Knack made 12 starts in his rookie year as a part-time member of the rotation. The production tailed off this past season. Knack’s ERA ballooned up to nearly 5.00 in 42.1 innings with the squad. The main culprit was a 10.3% walk rate, which represented a 4% jump from 2024.
The Dodgers selected Knack in the second round of the 2020 draft. He hit the ground running as a professional, notching a 3.18 ERA with a 33.3% strikeout rate in the low minors in 2021. Knack spent all of 2022 at Double-A. He scuffled to a 5.01 ERA, though the strikeout rate remained high at 28.4%. Knack bounced back with a 2.51 ERA in 100.1 innings between Double-A and Triple-A the following year.
Knack’s fastball sits in the low-90s, but it pairs nicely with an effective changeup. The righty used the changeup 26.1% of the time last season. It racked up a 34% whiff rate while limiting hitters to a .128 batting average. Knack also used a knuckle curveball and a slider in 2025. Both breaking balls performed poorly last year.
Dodgers’ Rotation Depth Dwindling as Opening Day Nears
The Dodgers were aware of the Snell injury heading into the season. It had been reported all winter that the lefty would have a slow ramp-up after a taxing 2025 that began with a shoulder injury just one week into the campaign. Snell racked up 34 innings in the playoffs as the Dodgers marched toward their second consecutive World Series title.
The Stone injury was more of a surprise. The former top prospect was trending toward breaking camp with the big-league club after a solid start to the spring. He was returning after missing all of 2025 after surgery to repair his labrum and rotator cuff. Unfortunately, Stone had a setback with the surgically repaired shoulder and was knocked out of the mix for a roster spot.
Wrobleski was decent out of the bullpen last year, posting a 4.32 across 24 appearances (two starts). He bumped his strikeout rate to 27.1% while operating mostly as a reliever.
Dodgers Get More Bad Injury News on Pitching Staff