Its been an eventful week in the Dodgers bullpen. Los Angeles agreed to sign top free-agent reliever to a four-year, $72MM guarantee over the weekend and is working to finalize a deal with fellow late-inning weapon . At the same time, theyve learned of some forearm inflammation for top setup man (which may or may not have influenced the decisions to more aggre sively pursue Scott and Yates). There could be more activity on the horizon. USA Todays Bob Nightengale that with the likely need to open a 40-man spot theyre currently at 39 players, with Scott and Yates yet to be announced the Dodgers have been shopping around some of their surplus of big league players who could be squeezed out by the recent additions. Among the names being discu sed with other clubs, per the report, is righty reliever . Brasier, 37, signed a two-year deal with the Dodgers last winter. Hes guaranteed a total of $9MM over the term of the contract and is owed $4 Zach Davies Jersey .5MM in 2025. The veteran righty has enjoyed a resurgence in L.A. after hitting a rough patch in his final couple years with the Red Sox. Brasier pitched to a solid 3.54 earned run average in 24, albeit in a sample of just 28 innings. A calf strain shelved Brasier for more than three months this past year, though he finished the season healthy. Still, between that performance and a big second-half showing in L.A. the prior season, Brasier boasts a 1.89 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate in 66 2/3 frames as a Dodger. Strong as that performance has been, Brasier could find himself the odd man out. The Dodgers are adding Scott and likely Yates to a late-inning group that already includes Kopech, , , and 2024 breakout lefty . Brasier was already used primarily in low- and medium-leverage spots last year anyhow. Scott and Yates (again, if finalized) would add two premium high-leverage arms to the fold. The Dodgers could be without Kopech early in the season, but theyre still expecting to get more innings from him than they did last year, since he was a deadline pickup who didnt join the club until late July. Theyll also hope for a healthier year for Treinen, who was limited to 46 2/3 innings in 2024. Beyond the wealth of experienced names pushing Brasier to an ostensible low-leverage role, the Dodgers bullpen simply lacks flexibility as currently constructed. Vesia is the only Dodgers reliever who can be optioned, but hes coming off a 1.76 ERA and 33.1% strikeout rate over 66 1/3 innings. Hes not going to be sent to Triple-A anytime soon. The Dodgers also seem likely to deploy a six-man rotation early on, leaving only seven spots in the bullpen. Simply adding Yates into the mix would seemingly nece sitate a trade of a reliever, and its defensible if Brasier is viewed as the odd man out. From the Dodgers perspective, moving Brasier would save more than $4.5MM anyhow. His contract contains $2MM per season worth of incentives based on appearances, and theyre of course in the top tier of luxury penalization. Brasiers $4.5MM annual value on his contract comes with a 110% tax; hes costing the Dodgers $9.45MM for the upcoming season. Dealing him wont reduce their penalty level at all, but trimming nearly $10MM off the 2025 budget and opening up further roster space hold obvious appeal. The looming additions of Scott and Yates to the roster arent the only moves on the Dodgers horizon. At some point, theyll formally bring back into the mix. The two parties could theoretically wait until camp opens so Kershaws deal can be accommodated by transferring a pitcher to the 60-day injured list, but thered still be active roster considerations with that move. , , , , and are all in the rotation mix at present. Scott, Yates, Phillips, Kopech, Treinen, Vesia and Banda are in the pen. Thats 13 pitchers even without Kershaw. Injuries could sort that out organically, with Kopech an obvious po sibility to mi s some time early in the year. Having such depth is never bad for a club, but the potential for additional names to be squeezed off the 40-man roster is readily apparent. Among the players on the 40-man roster but ticketed for Triple-A are pitchers , , , , and . Ryne Nelson Jersey