Dodgers Release Postseason Roster For The 2017 NLDS

After all of the anticipation, the day is finally here! It’s Friday and Clayton Kershaw will be taking the mound tonight at 7:31 p.m. PT to face the Diamondbacks in game one of the NLDS. With that, all of our postseason roster questions have finally been answered! Will Pedro Baez make the cut? What about Joc Pederson or Andre Ethier?

Check out the list below and see for yourself!

#ThisTeam! https://t.co/jxpAEp4BuC pic.twitter.com/rWgonVmbht

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 6, 2017

Most of the names were expected, but there are a few surprises in there. To begin with, Kyle Farmer is on the NLDS roster. Farmer was solid in his limited time with Los Angeles, putting up a slash line of .300/.300/.350 in 20 at-bats. However, what this addition really does is clear up Austin Barnes to be used more. With the addition of Farmer, Barnes can now be used to potentially start at second base, pinch-hit early in the game, and more!

The next couple of surprises are Ross Stripling, Kenta Maeda, and Andre Ethier. Stripling had a solid season, putting up a 3.75 ERA and striking out 74 batters in 74.1 innings-pitched. In the middle of September he struggled quite a bit, going on a stretch of four consecutive appearances where he gave up eight runs in just 2.3 innings. He did end the year strong in his last two appearances against the Giants and the Rockies giving up just one hit in 1.2 innings. Kenta Maeda also made the roster and will likely be used as a long reliever. Maeda has struggled against Arizona this year in five starts, holding them to a hefty .302 batting average and giving up 19 runs in 22 innings.

Andre Ethier had a pretty good year after being troubled by injuries for so long. He will likely be a left-handed bat off of the bench solely for righties. This year, he is hitting .258/.343/.484 against right-handed pitchers and has two home runs.

Am I missing any surprises? I don’t think so? Oh yeah, Pedro Baez! This is sure to make Dodgers fans go a little crazy. Yes, Pedro Baez made the NLDS roster. Baez put up a 2.95 ERA in 64 innings this year. He struck out 64 batters and gave up nine home runs. Baez struggled in the month of September. In his first seven appearances of the month, Baez gave up ten runs in 3.4 innings. However, he ended the year strong in his last four appearances where he gave up no runs and four hits in 3.4 innings of work.

Also, I’ll just leave this here.

This one’s just to aggravate you:
Paul Goldschmidt vs. Pedro Baez: 1 for 15 (double), two walks (one IBB), seven strikeouts.

— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) October 5, 2017

Before you go attacking Dave Roberts if you do not agree with this roster, just remember that it’s the front office that constructs it. Sure, Roberts’ opinion is taken into consideration, but there is a much larger group of individuals putting the roster together. Game 1 of the NLDS starts at 7:31 p.m. PT on Friday with Clayton Kershaw on the mound. Let’s see what this roster is made of!