Dodgers News: NLDS Roster Officially Announced, Biggest Surprises, Snubs and More
The Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced their 26-man roster for the NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The roster was mostly what we expected, but there were a few positional battles that could have gone either way.
Here are the 13 position players and 13 pitchers who will be eligible to play in the NLDS, starting with the position players, which didn’t have any surprises (players are listed in alphabetical order by last name).
Position Players (13)
Catchers (2)
Infielders (6)
Freddie Freeman, Kiké Hernàndez, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor, Kolten Wong
Outfielders (4)
Mookie Betts, Jason Heyward, James Outman, David Peralta
Designated Hitter (1)
The only decision likely came down to Rosario or Kolten Wong, but the Dodgers surprisingly elected to go with the lefty-swinging infielder. With the D-backs not featuring too many premium left-handed options, the decision to leave Rosario off the roster for this series makes total sense.
Now onto the pitchers, where there was definitely a decision for the final spot.
Pitchers (13)
Starting Pitchers (3)
Clayton Kershaw, Lance Lynn, Bobby Miller
Bulk Guys (3)
Michael Grove, Ryan Pepiot, Emmet Sheehan
Relievers (7)
Ryan Braiser, Caleb Ferguson, Brusdar Graterol, Joe Kelly, Shelby Miller, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia
The most prominent player left off was left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, who came to LA at the trade deadline and excelled over the final two months of the season. However, the Dodgers elected to have the right-hander Grove on there instead, likely due to this being a shorter five-game series.
These are the 26 guys who will go to battle this week against the Diamondbacks. If the Dodgers move on to the NLCS, they’ll be able to make changes. But for now, all focus will be on these 26 players finding a way to get three big wins.
First pitch for Game 1 is Saturday, October 7 at 6:20 p.m. PT. For the rest of the start times, you can click here.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!
In Yarbrough’s first 19 1/3 innings he gave up 4 runs and 16 baserunners (1.86 ERA and 0.83 WHIP)
In his last 19 1/3 innings he gave up 17 runs and 33 baserunners. (7.91 ERA and 1.71 WHIP)
Simple math.