The Dodgers are planning to cut a position player from their playoff roster for their upcoming National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
For now, though, they are hopeful that injured veteran infielder Miguel Rojas won’t have to be the casualty.
Rojas remains questionable to be on the Dodgers’ NLCS roster, according to manager Dave Roberts, after he suffered a back injury in Game 3 of the NL Division Series this past week that left him unavailable for the team’s series-clinching victory in Game 4 over the Braves.
However, during a video conference with reporters on Friday, Roberts said Rojas is feeling better and took “a step in the right direction” during a team workout at Dodger Stadium.
“Today was encouraging,” Roberts said. “He took ground balls and took a couple rounds of BP. So that was good to see.”
Roberts emphasized that there is “nothing definitive” yet on Rojas’ status for the best-of-seven matchup against the Brewers, with the team waiting to see how he comes through another workout on Saturday after they travel to Milwaukee ahead of Game 1.
“We’ve just got to be certain that if we do have him on [the roster], he can stay healthy,” Roberts said, wary of the possibility of having to remove Rojas from the roster mid-series because of his injury, which would leave him ineligible for a potential World Series under MLB’s playoff roster rules.
But, Roberts also noted that an MRI revealed no new injury in Rojas’ back — just “stuff that he has had prior history” with — and reiterated that he was “encouraged, again, with what I saw today.”
If Rojas is good to go, then the Dodgers will have to trim another position player from their roster for the NLCS, with the team planning to carry 13 pitchers for the best-of-seven matchup instead of the 12 it had for the five-game divisional round.
The most likely candidate would be Hyeseong Kim, who was called up from Triple-A for the NLDS to serve as a pinch-running and defensive specialist. All the Dodgers’ other reserves (besides unused backup catcher Hunter Feduccia) made important contributions to their NLDS triumph — including rookie sensation Josue De Paula, who drew a pinch-hit walk during Wednesday’s go-ahead seventh-inning rally in Game 4.
As for the extra pitcher the Dodgers could add: Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan and Jack Dreyer would figure to be the foremost candidates.
“After we get off this call,” Roberts said Friday afternoon, “I’m gonna get with the guys and figure out what arm we’re going to add.”
Rojas initially got hurt while playing second base in Game 3 on Tuesday — in what was his second straight start for the two-time defending champions as an extra right-handed bat in their lineup against an opposing left-handed starter.
He said he tweaked his back while fielding a critical ground ball that got the Dodgers out of a fifth-inning jam, then felt continued discomfort after fouling a pitch off in an eighth-inning at-bat that ultimately forced him out of the game.
Rojas was initially optimistic the issue would be minor, but woke up on the morning of Game 4 feeling “sore and uncomfortable,” preventing him from partaking in any baseball activities that day.
“Tomorrow we will know a little bit more about where my back is,” he said during the team’s clubhouse celebration on Wednesday night. “Looking forward to being able to play in the next series.”
Though Rojas would likely be back in primarily a bench role for the NLCS (the Brewers have just one left-hander in their playoff rotation), his presence is nonetheless important — as a trusted right-handed bat; a defensive option at second base, third base and shortstop; and a steadying veteran presence in his 13th and likely final big-league season.
“We still have a plane flight, there’s another workout, and there’s no deadline right now; we’re not up against it,” Roberts said. “So we have time to ultimately make that decision.”
