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.
We are barely a week into August, so it feels like a bit of a fool's errand to look two months into the future and project how the Dodgers might construct their postseason roster. Nevertheless, that is the mental exercise I'm choosing to work through.
Now that the Trade Deadline has passed, we have a pretty good idea of who will be in the organization when the calendar flips to October and the Dodgers have to decide which 26 players to carry for the final stage of their three-peat bid.
The most complicated aspect of this is health. The Dodgers are expecting Shohei Ohtani (left knee soreness) to pitch again and Will Smith (inflamed disc in neck) to return from a months-long absence, but it's difficult to predict exactly what happens with either before they make more meaningful progress. And those are just two of several injuries impacting L.A.
With that said, I'll approach this from two angles: One roster that's as close to full strength as the Dodgers could be by season's end, and one roster that would be realistic if the season were over now. By comparing the two, we can get a sense of some of the biggest questions for L.A. down the stretch.
Each 26-man roster will have 14 position players and 12 pitchers, just as the Dodgers constructed their roster during last year's World Series. As a reminder, Ohtani does not count toward their allotment of pitchers because of his two-way player status.
At full strength
Starting nine: Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Tommy Edman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker, Shohei Ohtani
Bench/utility: Ben Rortvedt, Dalton Rushing, Miguel Rojas, Kiké Hernández, Alex Call
Rotation: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Ohtani
Bullpen: Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Roki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow, Justin Wrobleski, Jack Dreyer, Edgardo Henriquez, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia
Note: Manager Dave Roberts will find ways to get Kiké Hernández into his starting lineups, but he's not listed among the starting nine because the positions he plays will be fluid.
If the season ended now
Starting nine: Rortvedt, Freeman, Edman, Betts, Muncy, T. Hernández, Pages, Tucker, Ohtani
Bench/utility: Hunter Feduccia, Alex Freeland, Rojas, K. Hernández, Call
Rotation: Yamamoto, Skubal, Snell, Glasnow
Bullpen: Díaz, Scott, Sasaki, Wrobleski, Dreyer, Henriquez, Phillips, Vesia
Note: While Snell and Glasnow are still on the IL, both are close enough to rejoining the team that they would likely be included on the roster if the postseason were about to begin.
Biggest questions
Will Ohtani be available as a pitcher?
The Dodgers believe he will be, and the plan is for him to begin playing catch again this week. But there is a legitimate question of how built-up he would be, even in that best-case scenario. Once he gets to the point of building up in games, he will likely have to take it an inning at a time, similar to what he did last year in his return from a second major elbow surgery. At best, it feels like he could be a multi-inning opener during the postseason, perhaps piggybacking with Glasnow or another of the starters who may shift to the 'pen.
Which catchers will be available, and in what capacity?
Smith's status is the biggest storyline here. If he is full-go, then the Dodgers don't really have to worry about who's backing him up -- just that they have a second catcher in case something goes wrong. The news that Rushing is unlikely to catch again this season makes it a near-certainty that Rortvedt or Feduccia will make a postseason roster. But there remains a chance that Rushing will be able to return as an impact lefty bat on a righty-heavy bench.
Who rounds out the pitching staff?
The Dodgers will carry the best pitchers they have, regardless of role. That could mean that starters such as Glasnow, Sasaki and Wrobleski should all make the roster, even if they aren't needed to start games. All three have varying experience in relief, having pitched in that capacity last postseason. Then there's a question of which relievers make the roster, as the only true locks feel like Díaz, Scott and Vesia.
Will there be any surprise additions?
Who expected Justin Dean to make every postseason roster last year? Perhaps the Dodgers could make a similar move this year, including a dynamic runner or defender to be a role player.