Dodgers: Dave Roberts Discusses the Reasoning Behind His Wild Card Roster Moves
The Dodgers announced their roster for the Wild Card Series ahead of Wednesday night’s game, and there were a few question marks. Most notably, guys like Dylan Floro, Gavin Lux, and Alex Wood were left off of the roster for these three games.
Talking to media on Wednesday afternoon, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained the reasoning behind keeping some guys off of the roster. Doc also explained why he added Terrance Gore and an extra catcher in Keibert Ruiz.
I think with Gore, it was more of we have an opportunity to carry an extra position player in a short series. Pitching isn’t necessarily, we don’t need the extra arms. And so to be able to place him in a spot minus a run, even, to be able to impact an inning is very helpful.
Luxy, I think that Gavin is certainly could change next series and he’s just such a really good player. But the lack of experience coming off of the bench, I just don’t think it was best for him right now. As far as Beaty having experience, the bat off of the bench, the bat to ball I think is very helpful.
Roberts went on to clarify that the purpose of adding a third catcher was to make sure Will Smith’s lineup stayed in the lineup. Austin Barnes will catch Kershaw on Thursday, so having Keibert will provide insurance for the Dodgers. With the exemption of Dylan Floro, Doc found that to be a more difficult decision.
With Alex, I think that he and Floro some of it was matchup driven and some of it was we just really don’t need the extra arms…That was a very difficult one, Dylan has the respect of everyone in the organization and he’s earned it… He was upset, and he had every right to be upset.
Making roster decisions is tough enough as it is, but mixing in the oddity of a short series really complicates things. Look for Dylan Floro to be a lock for the roster should the Dodgers advance to the next series.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, interviews, live streams, and more! You can also subscribe to our Blue Heaven podcast for the latest in sports news and discussion.
NEXT: Playoff Seasoned Matt Beaty Happy to Join Wild Card Roster
I would be more comfortable bringing Floro in than Kelly. I have no idea what Kelly is going to do! IDK maybe he’s been pitching sim games and he’s their secret weapon.
As far as having a guy to only be a pinch runner, is he that much faster than Lux? Is that little bit of difference so important that you take up a roster spot for that 3seconds of usage? Using Lux to be the pinch runner gives him the chance to gain experience and gives the team more positional depth.
I totally get why having three catchers is important.
Daniel, if this was the normal 25 man roster used in previous post seasons, no way could Dodgers afford to carry a pinch runner.
I wouldn’t give the ball to Kelley at all in the postseason. He has not proven himself. Maybe in a tie game in the 18th inning when you’re down to putting in Kelley or the bat boy because you’ve gone through your entire pitching staff, and Russell Martin is no longer available. By all rights Kelley should have been left off the roster. But they’re paying him a lot of money, and don’t want to admit their mistake. Pollack made a huge comeback from last year. But Kelley is the same underachiever as last year. Ten out of ten times I would have chosen Floro over Kelley.
Doc has got the regular season coaching plan down to a science. The playoffs Not so much… Some of his decisions seem to be head scratchers, like his sheer insistence on leaving Kenley as the only closer..? Love the guy, But unfortunately he no longer has the tools that got him there.
Exactly!
If Roberts had the regular season moves right, he wouldn’t have jerked Gonsolin around, and a closer other than Jansen would have been groomed and in place for the postseason. It’s not that his moves in the postseason are worse. They’re just more visible. The Dodgers had a great regular season because they have great talent, not a wise sage as a manager.
I feel like there may be something else going on in the background. Dropping Floro for an unknown fielder? Especially at the plate? A third catcher, Why? Is it possible someone is hurt? Does Roberts seem like he doesn’t make the greatest decisions in the postseason, or is it upper management?
Upper management. Roberts just doesn’t have the sack to put his job on the line. If he got us a title the FO wouldn’t be able to justify firing him, however if we still fell short, he’d be gone for disobeying orders
Floro went from a 4.24 ERA last year to a 2.59 ERA this year. He is one of the reasons the Dodgers went from a weak bullpen last year to the best in baseball this year. He deserved to be the roster for the full postseason, and I can understand why he would be upset. We do not need Ruiz as a third catcher. We have two healthy catchers who are both hitting this year. Smith was ice cold leading into last year’s postseason, but is hitting well now. Barnes was ice cold for years until he went to the Mookie Betts Academy For the Fine Arts of Hitting. We are strong at catcher without Ruiz, and no better with him. Roberts needs to stop elevating people we don’t need (like Ruiz), and stop punishing the real performers like Gonsolin and Floro.
All those decisions seem reasonable to me. Floro earned a spot, but with several starters going to the pen for a 2 or 3 game series, it was just a numbers game. For Wood and Lux, it was purely a performance issue. Lux rarely gave you a solid AB or hit the ball hard, while Beaty knows how to work a count and barrel up a ball. At this point he’s a superior choice for a lefty pinch hitter off the bench by far, and no way you sit Taylor to start Lux. Gore is a luxury, but if Turner is on base in the late innings of a tie game or down one [or Rios], it can be a difference maker.
If the Dodgers win the World Series this year, and they they certainly should with all the talent they have, it will not be because of Dave Roberts. It will be in spite of him. Boche won 3 world series championships in the span of 5 years with Giants teams that had less than half the talent of this Dodger team. He did it by putting his best guys in the game, and building them up, rather than tearing them down. He didn’t do it with wild unconventional moves. He did it with common sense, baseball smarts, and motivation. I don’t want to knock Roberts to much, I just want him to get out of the way and let the best performers perform, and gain confidence as they do. If he could just do that, this Dodger team will finally win it all.
Upper management will never bring in a Bellichick or Bochy or Phil Jackson. They want puppets they can collaborate with. The only thing missing from this team is a manager like those someone who’s actually running the show. All dynasty’s have that coach
It’s Doc prerogative…!!!???
To MLB: I like the 8 teams each for NL and AL, entering the wild card. However, I do not like the format. Supposed to be seeded 1-4 teams, must given a twice to beat advantage over the seeded 5-8 teams…. Like LAD, they win game 1 of this year wild card. This will give them incentive authomatically to advance to the division series..
I also think a double or triple elimination tournament would be exciting. That way everyone has an equal chance and good teams on the losers brackets can still rise up. Biggest problem is some fans wouldn’t understand the format.
I don’t mind the best of 3 WC series, however the teams that actually win their respective divisions after a normal 162 game season SHOULD NOT have to play in a wild card round, instead they earned a bye like it always was and should go right to beginning the NLDS or ALDS.
This team is so talented it has to be somewhat hard selecting a roster. All though as talented as the they are, the bullpen still puts knots in my stomach. Let’s go Dodgers?