October baseball officially starts Tuesday for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Boys in Blue will host a best-of-three series in the Wild Card round. Tuesday’s opening game will start at 6:08 p.m. PT/9:08 p.m. ET. It’s been determined the Dodgers will play the Cincinnati Reds, who will be making the trek out west as the road underdogs.
However, we do know that Clayton Kershaw will not be a part of the roster. Slated to start Sunday’s final regular season game in Seattle, manager Dave Roberts indicated that the future Hall of Famer will not be included on the initial postseason roster.
With Kershaw out of the fold, the projected 13-man group for the Wild Card round could look something like this:
Starting Pitchers: Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani (3)
Ohtani has the unique distinction not being counted as a pitcher— meaning that the Dodgers technically have the advantage over every other team being able to carry an extra pitcher with Ohtani also being a two-way star.
The three starters for this Wild Card series seem very straightforward. Following LA’s sweep over Seattle, manager Dave Roberts revealed Blake Snell is likely set to start Game 1 of the Wild Card Series with Yoshinobu Yamamoto following in Game 2.
If Game 3 is necessary, Ohtani will likely take the mound for LA.
Relief Pitchers: Tyler Glasnow, Emmet Sheehan, Blake Treinen, Edgardo Henriquez, Roki Sasaki, Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda, Tanner Scott, Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius, Jack Dreyer (11)
Due to those three assuming the role as the starters in the short series, Glasnow will move to the ‘pen. Considering the stuff he brings to the table, Glasnow easily could feature in a a high-leverage situation. There’s also a world where he comes in after one of the starters and presumably closes out a game going 3-4 innings. He also adds quality stuff from the right side — something significant considering hte team’s struggles with its right-handed options.
Speaking of which, the biggest surprise is Casparius in this equation. He has been retooling in Triple-A after sporting a 4.64 ERA in 46 appearances this year. It’ll likely come down to Casparius and Will Klein for that final spot. The edge goes to Casparius based on the experience he brings, and the trust the team has in him. The fact he reportedly is being flown to LA ahead of Tuesday’s contest also could be further confirmation of his placement on the roster.
Treinen and Sheehan are locks. The same can be said for Henriquez and Sasaki at this point. The two youngsters have arguably the best arms coming out of the relief corps. The stuff often “plays” in the postseason, and with each hitting 100-plus mph routinely, one can envision a scenario where Sasaki and Henriquez are relied upon to get tough outs.
The stable of lefties may be altered depending on the matchup. It’s not overly common to see five lefties as available options in the bullpen at any given time. If the Dodgers did want to carry an extra right-handed arm for this Wild Card round, Wrobleski or Dreyer would likely be dropped off.
As it stands, Wrobleski can take down multiple innings and has plus-stuff to utilize. Dreyer has been one of the team’s most consistent performers all year long. Vesia and Banda have long earned the trust of the team’s braintrust. Scott is the biggest wild card (no pun intended) with this group. However, given his contract and the constant opportunities he’s been given, there’s virtually no world where he’s left off this roster. Scott’s status as the locked-in closer remains a major question moving forward.
More news: Clayton Kershaw Inspiring Dodgers Teammates With Move to Bullpen
Photo Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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14 Responses
Replace Kershaw for Treinen. Why would you leave a Hall of Fame player off the playoff roster in his last season? Especially considering how well he pitched this year and he’s willing to come out of the bullpen. Either this is an opinion piece or yet another bad decision by the Dodgers.
Or, it’s easier to understand this is NOT for the entirety of the playoffs, just the Wild Card round. Kershaw pitched 5.1 really solid innings and would not be starting in any of the WC games and may not be in any position to even relieve, so let him rest, hopefully LAD beats the Reds, and then he’d be on the NLDS roster and beyond assuming they continue to advance.
I think the inclusion of Scott and Treinen pretty much terrifies us all. HOPEFULLY, they won’t be used in high leverage situations….but I know that is whistling in the wind. Also hopeful it doesn’t cost the team games!
There has been at least one encouraging sign as Blake Treinen recorded three consecutive strikeouts in his last outing of the regular season. He allowed just one hit in his 15-pitch performance, perhaps this could be a sign he’s finally turning things around for the postseason.
I’m of course not a MLB scout or GM or professional, just some guy who’s been watching and listening almost forever. But Scott? My Gawd, he led the league in blown saves, had an ERA of 7.5 for the second half of the season and it feels like he just throws gasoline on the fire every time he’s come in recently. Treinen’s ERA is even worse for the season but I don’t have quite the gut feeling against him for whatever reason. I know they’ve only got so much ammunition to work with, but jeez, Treinen and especially Scott? Might as well just bring in Kike or Rojas.
Hi Mike, your gut feeling regarding Treinen may in fact be correct as he ended the regular season allowing no earned runs and recording three straight strikeouts in one inning of relief. Seems like he could be heading in the right direction for the playoffs.
W. Klein preferred over Treinin. Use Scott early and pull him if he allows 2 men on. Use Sheehan and Sosaki as closers
Hi Brent, it does look like Sheehan and Sasaki will play vital roles for the Dodgers bullpen in October. Should be exciting to watch them both pitch in relief.
Kershaw has earned the right to be on this roster. He has pitched lights out and much better than some other bullpen wannabes. He should be there just for a morale booster, period.
If the Dodgers don’t make it past Cinci, leaving Kershaw off the roster will be a travesty and a tragedy – it actually may be already. Scott and Treinen – OMG, NOOOO! They haven’t shown almost anything worthwhile the past several weeks yet Roberts continues to put them in the most critical situations. And don’t get me started on Conforto. As we know, anything can happen in the postseason, and mentioning those three names on the roster makes me feel awfully nervous. Thankfully, we have the lineup of Snell, Yamamoto, and Ohthani as starters, with Glasnow and Sheehan to back them up. And let’s hope the bats show up like we’ve seen the past couple of weeks. But if we blow the first game on Tuesday winning the next two really puts the team in the ol’ pressure-cooker.
i dont see how Kersh and Dreyer can be left off the wild card roster. but I’m just a 65 year Dodger fan!
Maybe saving them for the NLDS, but I was a little surprised too. I think the current staff will hold things down for the (hopefully only) 2 games in the Wild Card. Kershaw out of the bullpen in October would be such an incredible sight to see in his final outings as a Dodger.
Kershaw just pitched Sunday, so I understand that decision, but Dreyer has to pitch! The Reds hate left-handed pitchers and he’s been great all season!
Love your insight and agree re: Dreyer (and have to iamagine he’ll make the roster). As for Kershaw he’s not going to be on the roster only because he pitched on Sunday, but he’ll be back for the NLDS assuming they advance