The Los Angeles Dodgers are still leading the National League West by 3.5 games over the second-place San Diego Padres entering July 23 action. But their recent slide, which has seen them lose 11 of their last 14 games, has suddenly made the defending champions look vulnerable.
Yankees legend and 2025 MLB Hall of Fame pitcher CC Sabathia doesn’t doubt the Dodgers’ championship credentials but did issue a warning about one factor which could make or break their World Series chances: injuries.
Pitching Injuries Have Hampered Dodgers Season So Far
Injuries to the pitching staff continue to plague the Dodgers, and the list just keeps growing. No less than 10 of the team’s 24 pitchers are currently on the injured list, including closer Tanner Scott, who was the latest to be placed on the IL.
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Emerging reliever Ben Casparius also exited Tuesday’s game against the Twins with a hamstring issue, further thinning an already overworked bullpen.
To put that in context, Dodgers relievers have pitched the most innings in baseball this year: a massive 450.2 frames to be exact. The bullpens of the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins are distant runner-ups, both having logged just over 400 innings.
The Twins have put up 10 runs at Dodger Stadium pic.twitter.com/RWWbnKPQxd
— MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2025
The timing couldn’t be worse. Los Angeles has struggled to find reliable late-inning arms in recent weeks. Veteran relievers Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, and Brusdar Graterol have all been sidelined, leaving manager Dave Roberts with limited options to close out games.
That showed in Game 2 of the series against the Twins. The Dodgers’ bullpen gave up six runs in the last two innings, turning a winnable game into a 10–7 loss at home in Dodger Stadium. Notably, the Twins had never scored more than nine runs in a game against the Dodgers before Tuesday.
CC Sabathia Cautions Dodgers About NL Threat
Despite all their issues – from ranking in the bottom 10 in runs allowed per game to an offense that’s cooled since Max Muncy’s injury, plus ongoing bullpen troubles – the Dodgers remain firmly in control of the NL West, sitting 16 games above .500.
But even if the roster gets healthy, what’s the biggest threat to a successful Dodgers title defense? According to Sabathia, it’s the rest of the National League.
“I think the top teams are in the National League,” Sabathia told Forbes’ DJ Siddiqui. “I think there’s a number of teams that can sneak up on the Dodgers if they’re not careful. I think the Cubs are really good. I think the Phillies are really good. The Mets, if they can get their starting pitching to extend, they can be really good.”
Dodgers Can Still Reassert Dominance by October
However, Sabathia still thinks the Dodgers will be back to their dangerous best by October, provided all their key stars are back healthy by August or early September.
“The Dodgers have so many injuries, but if they can get healthy by August or the beginning of September – with all the pitching they have. They’ve got Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani is coming back and in the bullpen, they have Kirby Yates, Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen,” Sabathia said. “If they’re healthy, they’re going to be very, very hard to beat.”
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“But I do think there are a number of teams in the National League that can give them a run,” he added.
Sabathia’s message is clear: if the Dodgers get healthy, they’re the team to beat. But if they don’t, several National League contenders are ready to pounce.
On a positive note, the defending champions can find a silver lining amidst all the chaos. These issues have surfaced before the July 31 trade deadline date. There’s still some time for damage control and to make the bullpen additions needed to survive October.
