There have been so many different factors in what made the Los Angeles Dodgers successful last season, but two pitchers that had a major role in October were relatively unknown last spring.
A World Series starter in a potential clinching game was an arm that manager Dave Roberts reportedly had never heard of before the season started.
Ben Casparius and Landon Knack are two guys that are not going to crack the rotation to open the season, but both were key names as the regular season pitching ailments continued to hamper the roster.
Casparius started Game 4 of the World Series and Knack pitched four innings in that game as well. Although the Dodgers didn’t end up winning that game, their efforts saved other arms for the Game 5 decider that secured the franchise’s eighth Commissioner’s trophy.
Roberts discussed recently that he expects big things from Knack and Casparius in 2025.
“Things moved fast for those guys last spring,” Roberts said. “There’s just a lot more confidence and that comes with success. Their teammates know them a lot more. They trust them more. So there’s no panic when you don’t have a great outing. You go back to work. Both those guys are going to play key roles for us.”
Knack spoke on what it meant for him to be able to have a flexible role for the team in a year with so many pitching injuries.
“I think last year, I also showed that I can be a little versatile, whether it’s long relief or start or kind of whatever is needed,” said the right-hander.
Casparius seemed excited to be available in 2025 and even talked about ‘recomposing’ his body to maintain his health ahead of a season where he may be relied upon just as much.
“I think just being a little more cautious of what I was eating. I did a lot of carb cycling and carb timing around workouts. For me it was just one of those things where the strength aspect of everything was really good because the volume is higher in the offseason on top of the fact that I was able to recompose my body composition.”
