This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen's Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The Dodgers are on the other side of last week's Trade Deadline -- and a season-high seven-game skid -- so I figured it would be a good time to answer some of your questions.
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions, which have been lightly edited for clarity. Let's get into it:
If Edwin Díaz is not back at 100%, will Dave Roberts use Roki Sasaki as the closer again, just like last postseason? Or is he going to give Tanner Scott another chance? -- Xiang L. from Toronto
I think we all had some déjà vu over the weekend when Díaz had back-to-back blown saves in Arizona. Díaz hasn't performed up to expectations all season, but for me, it's hard to draw lasting conclusions from 12 appearances interrupted by a three-month IL stint. He hasn't had extended time to get his feel back at the big league level, which has been costly in a small sample. But for the time being, the Dodgers can afford to let him figure things out.
Díaz will have all the runway he needs during the regular season, but if he's still unreliable when the postseason comes around, I think we'll see some changes in the ninth inning. It could be Scott, if he earns it. I'd expect to see some starters shift to the 'pen for the postseason, so Sasaki could be an option as well. But if Díaz isn't closing out games in October, I'd imagine the Dodgers would play the matchups rather than formally remove him from the role.
The Dodgers have always had a stretch of losing consecutive games, but earlier in the season. What are they doing now to see better production out of the lineup? Do you see any changes in the current lineup to get the bats going again? -- Katherine S. from Midvale, Utah
When it comes to lineup changes, Roberts often flips the question around and asks, "What's the alternative?" That's how I see the Dodgers' situation right now. You could point to Andy Pages having less success in the two-hole and the scuffles of Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández, but I see no clear contender to move up in the order. I think the lineup is what it is, and the team approach needs to be better.
For me, the Dodgers have relied a little too heavily on run prevention for much of the season, even though the offense has scored the fourth-most runs in the Majors. This current stretch doesn't feel as bad as the second half of last season, though -- and the 2025 Dodgers were able to pull it together when it mattered.
It's apparent (to me, at least) that Shohei Ohtani is a much better hitter when he is not also pitching. So with that being the case, and with an already-absurd playoff rotation of Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, and with Sasaki and Justin Wrobleski in reserve, might the Dodgers ask Ohtani to focus solely on hitting this year? -- David Kent from Portland, Ore.
There is certainly some give and take when Ohtani is in full two-way mode, but the Dodgers will gladly accept that trade-off for the value he provides on the mound. For as long as Ohtani continues to make progress toward a pitching return, the team will keep working toward that goal. If he does have any additional setbacks with his left knee, then maybe the Dodgers would consider limiting him to hitting. But they will keep the door open for as long as they can.
Is Tucker going to ever pick up his old forms and start hitting before the playoffs? -- Hiroaki S. from Beverly Hills, Calif.
The past week has actually been quite encouraging for Tucker, who has hit safely in seven straight games. But the thing is that he's had good weeks. The problem has been stringing them together. Tucker may still have time to turn his regular season around, but I don't think that matters at this point. What matters for him is dialing in his approach and finding consistency in these final two months. If he's in a good place from that standpoint, then he could get hot at the right time once the calendar flips to October.