Kyle Hurt News: Gearing up for bullpen role

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Hurt isn't considered a candidate for a rotation spot and is competing for a bullpen role on the team's Opening Day roster, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Hurt rose through the Dodgers farm system as a starter and looked to be making a case for a full-time appointment in the big-league rotation following a breakout 2023 campaign in which he amassed 155 strikeouts in 94 innings across three stops. However, after he required Tommy John surgery in July 2024, Hurt's trajectory appears to have changed. Though Hurt pitched effectively out of the Triple-A Oklahoma City bullpen late last season upon completing his recovery from surgery and benefited from a normal offseason, the Dodgers won't ask him to get stretched back out again in 2026. The Dodgers' ample depth is likely a major factor in the decision; even with Blake Snell (shoulder) and Gavin Stone (shoulder) expected to open the season on the shelf, the team still has plenty of appealing candidates (Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, River Ryan, Ben Casparius and Landon Knack) to fill out the final two spots in the projected six-man rotation.