With the start of the World Series less than 24 hours away, the Dodgers are in the process of finalizing their roster as they attempt to win their first championship in a full season since 1988. Manager Dave Roberts spoke to reporters (including Bob Nightengale of USA Today) during today’s scheduled workout day about some of the final roster decisions being made, including the fact that veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas is “likely” to make the final roster.
Rojas, 35, was left off the club’s NLCS roster amid concerns about the adductor strain and sports hernia that have bothered him since late in the regular season. Rojas was only able to play in three of the club’s five games during the NLDS against the Padres and ultimately went two-for-eight at the plate with two singles during that time. During the regular season, however, Rojas emerged as one of the club’s steadiest performances after taking over shortstop for Mookie Betts when he was sidelined by a hand fracture back in June. The veteran posted a solid 111 wRC+ overall this year during the regular season as he hit .283/.337/.410 in 337 trips to the plate for the Dodgers.
Entering this series, Rojas provides the Dodgers with additional depth off the bench that could be helpful as they juggle not only Rojas’s lingering injury woes but also those of first baseman Freddie Freeman and any other positional injuries that could crop up throughout the series. Rojas is the club’s best option at shortstop defensively, though Tommy Edman held down the position quite well during the NLCS and Enrique Hernandez’s .863 OPS this postseason likely warrants consideration for at least some playing time as well.
It seems likely all three players will be in the lineup at up-the-middle positions against southpaws, though Andy Pages and Chris Taylor both enjoyed solid NLCS performances as well. The bigger question could be whether the Dodgers stick with a trio of Edman, Rojas, and Hernandez against right-handers or bench one of Rojas or Hernandez in favor of lefty-swinging second baseman Gavin Lux, who struggled during the NLCS but collected five hits (including a home run) during the division series against San Diego.
Roberts sounded less certain about the status of relievers Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol, though seemed optimistic when he told reporters (including Nightengale) that both players are “trending in the right direction” to make the roster themselves. The addition of a pair of high leverage arms like Vesia and Graterol would significantly deepen the Dodgers’ bullpen, though said relief corps did just fine against the Mets with Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips, and Daniel Hudson mixing and matching during the late innings.
Vesia, in particular, would add a lefty reliever to that mix who could help to combat key Yankees hitters like Juan Soto and Anthony Rizzo who bat from the left side. The 28-year-old was left off the club’s NLCS roster as he nursed an intercostal injury but enjoyed a breakout season this year as he pitched to a sparkling 1.76 ERA (219 ERA+) in 66 1/3 innings of work during the regular season while striking out a whopping 33.1% of his opponents. Graterol, meanwhile, missed virtually the entire 2024 campaign with injuries but has been a fixture of L.A.’s late inning mix for years now, including a dominant 2023 season where he posted a 1.20 ERA (359 ERA+) in 68 appearances. If Vesia and Graterol prove to be healthy enough to make the roster, youngsters Edgardo Henriquez and Ben Casparius could be the odd men out.
One reliever who Roberts said won’t be on the club’s World Series roster (as relayed by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic) is right-hander Joe Kelly, who has not yet appeared on the club’s postseason rosters after struggling to a 4.78 ERA and 4.57 FIP in 32 innings of work this year. Kelly, 36, has been battling a right shoulder injury but according to Roberts could be available later in the World Series as an injury replacement if necessary.
Even less likely to pitch in the World Series than Kelly is two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who has been limited to just hitting in his first year with the Dodgers but resumed a throwing program earlier this year. Roberts shut down any suggestion that Ohtani could appear out of the bullpen at any point during the series today, telling reporters (including Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times) that there is “no possibility” of Ohtani pitching against the Yankees during the Fall Classic. Of course, Ohtani delivered a 50-50 season that’s likely to earn him his third career MVP trophy and so far boasts a .286/.434/.500 slash line during the playoffs, so he’s still providing the Dodgers with plenty of value even without throwing a single pitch.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I think that the Dodgers should run out a lineup without Rojas in Game 1 and see how it goes. Although, I don’t get paid to manage the Dodgers.
If you talk to a lot of Dodgers fans, they’d tell you Roberts gets paid not to manage the team, either… Or at least do it very badly. I didn’t understand his continued insistence to keeping Ohtani in the lead off spot, but it eventually worked our, and he’s been more successful than not with the bullpen games.
Roberts gets paid to implement the front office game plan. This is why Ohtani bats lead off.
Blue, leadoff hitter = More at-bats which = More television face time. They know what they’re doing.
Yes, the math is in favor of him leading off, so that’s why — not some insistence by the manager. That’s my point.
He has the highest OBP, SLG, and AVG on the team. He’s their best hitter and leading off gives him the most opportunities to hit. This perspective makes perfect sense if you can reset expectations and old / outdated roles.
@toptim
It also guarantees one plate appearance with no runners on base. Opponents thank them.
Tim – Ohtani is a rare exception because of his OBP, speed and power, but generally you want your best hitter/slugger batting behind your 2nd and 3rd best hitters, which usually means batting 3rd or 4th. Bill James did an extensive analysis many years ago that proved the additional RISP opportunities has far more value than the few extra PA’s derived from batting leadoff.
Stymee – Exactly! And it’s just common sense you don’t want your best slugger/hitter frequently coming to bat with nobody on base because the 8 & 9 hitters directly in front of him are typically the worst on the team.
Like I said, this is really old school thinking.
Tim – Brilliant response, you really put the majority of the baseball community in their place.
The point about following the poor 8/9 hitters is not as important as it used to be when the #9 hitter was a pitcher.
Rox – Agreed, but it’s still the same approach of the worst hitters batting last and therefore getting the fewest plate appearances.
Players who are left off the roster can’t be added back during the series unless they replace an injured player, so this argues for adding anyone who they believe improves their chances.
Freeman is the big question for the whole lineup. He is about the best contact hitter in the loaded lineup. If he and Lux(hip issues) are good to go, that is significant against the tough RHPs on the Yankees roster.
Regardless Yankees in 6
Wouldn’t shock me, but I still have the Dodgers in 6. Rooting for the Yanks, though.
We have to listen to Smoltz and Davis broadcast the WS….. YUCK.
At least put Davis with Kay, or someone that can balance it out.
At least John Sterling is doing the series via radio.
The mute button is your friend. Since Vin retired and was replaced by a bunch of blabbermouths, I watch most games without sound. I only unmute when something happens on the field that I can’t figure out on my own.
Man, I don’t know how you listen without sound…. It just seems weird when I mute it (which sometimes I do, depending on the broadcasters). I like hearing the crack of the bats, the catcher’s mitt thump, and the crowd roar. But the announcers….. if I could mute only them – perfect.
Good luck to your team BlueSkies. I think it’s going to be a battle.
Why do they wait so long to stat the World Series? I’m losing interest.
There’s no real flexibility in the TV contracts. If the LCS goes less then 7 games you get gaps because the TV contracts say the World Series starts on the 25th. TV is king.
Not entirely. This year the World Series would have started on Tuesday if the LCS had gone fewer than six games in both leagues. The ALCS went five, but when the NLCS went six, the original schedule stuck.
Unless using Henriquez or Honeywell in high leverage situations is part of the plan, what’s the downside to starting out with Vesia and/or Graterol? If they turn out to be not healthy they can be replaced with little cost now that there isn’t another playoff round to follow. In fact, it’s now a little too easy to do roster games later in the series.
Hey, I already made this point. Players can only be added to a playoff roster to replace injuries. We’ll find out soon whether either or both of Vesia and Graterol are fit enough to make the roster — but if it’s an edge case, the rules favor them being on it. Same goes for Lux.
“First championship in a full season since 1988.” Yes! Thank you. Any chance to remind people what a fake joke 2020 was (it would’ve been even faker if a bad team had won that year as it would’ve been a true fluke). It sucks that the Dodgers had to finally buy their ring with their relentless spending but it’s a pleasant reminder that we haven’t had to deal with a Dodgers parade since basically the pre-Internet days.
“Meanwhile” needs to come at the start of the sentence. It can’t come in the middle between commas.