Dodgers bullpen in crisis as slump continues

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers are hitting a wall, and it's not just fatigue or bad luck—it's their bullpen. With Tuesday night’s 10-7 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Dodger Stadium, the team has now dropped 11 of their last 14 games.

The problem is increasingly clear: the bullpen is imploding at the worst possible time. Dave Roberts made another head-scratching decision, pulling starter right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto after just five innings. Yamamoto wasn’t dominating, but he was more than competitive—five hits, three runs, and eight strikeouts over 101 pitches. Still, Roberts chose to hand the ball to rookie Ben Casparius for the sixth inning. What followed was a disaster. 

Casparius walked three batters, allowed a hit, and didn’t record a single out before being pulled. Three runs crossed the plate, and the momentum—briefly swung back by Andy Pages' three-run homer in the fourth—was gone.

Pages, one of the few bright spots in this stretch, hit his 19th home run of the season, a no-doubter that tied the game and gave the crowd a brief reason to believe. But once again, the bullpen couldn't hold the line. With the Dodgers trailing 6-3 in the sixth inning, Hyeseong Kim hit a two-run single to center field, cutting the deficit and raising his batting average to .317 this season. 

The seventh inning brought even more dysfunction. Right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, making his season debut, entered with the bases loaded and one out. Royce Lewis hit a grounder towards Henriquez. Instead, Henriquez froze. He failed to make a throw to first. The ball squirted past Freddie Freeman, and three runs scored on what was ruled a single and a two-base error. What should’ve been a simple out became a Little League nightmare for the Dodgers. 

Shohei Ohtani did everything he could to spark a comeback. With two outs in the ninth and the Dodgers down by five, he launched his 36th home run of the season—a towering two-run shot that cut the deficit to three. For the first time in his career, he has now homered in four consecutive games. The crowd roared to life, clinging to hope. But like so many recent games, the damage had already been done, and the Dodgers were left with too big a hole to climb out of.

The Dodgers are currently struggling. Injuries have contributed to their challenges, but poor execution and questionable decisions have also played a significant role. Two errors, one by Henriquez and another by Miguel Rojas, led to five runs of their 10 runs.

Roberts has long been lauded for his calm leadership, but his recent decisions are under scrutiny. Whether it's pulling starters too soon or leaning too heavily on unproven arms in high-leverage spots, the results speak for themselves. And they aren't good.

The Dodgers have a bullpen problem. It’s not subtle, it’s not just a slump—it’s a structural weakness that's being exposed night after night. After Tuesday's 10-7 loss to the Twins, in which the relief corps surrendered seven runs over the final four innings, the urgency is no longer optional. It’s critical.

With the trade deadline fast approaching, the Dodgers need to stop hoping their bullpen will self-correct and start making moves.

President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman has historically favored calculated, value-driven moves. But now is not the time for caution. The Dodgers need at least one, likely two, high-leverage relievers with swing-and-miss stuff and postseason experience. Names like Mason Miller (Athletics), Ryan Helsley (Cardinals), or even old friend Josh Hader (Astros) could be in play if the Dodgers are willing to part with serious prospect capital.

The Dodgers’ bullpen is loaded with potential—but potential doesn’t win playoff games. Ben Casparius and Edgardo Henriquez might have bright futures, but they aren’t ready for high-stakes innings in a playoff race. If the team insists on keeping them on the roster, it has to be in low-leverage roles. Giving them the ball in tied or close games is unfair to them—and devastating for the team.

The Dodgers don’t need to panic. But they do need to act. If they want to avoid being a first-round playoff exit—or worse, watching from home—they can’t keep rolling the dice on unproven arms in the biggest innings of the season. They’ve seen what happens. Now it’s time to do something about it.