The Los Angeles Dodgers twice staved off elimination against the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series, coming away with a thrilling victory in Game 4, and taking Game 5 in improbable fashion.
Their opponent in the NL Championship Series are the Chicago Cubs, who dispatched of the San Francisco Giants in four games in the NLDS. Chicago has been off since eliminating the Giants on Tuesday night.
Conversely, the Dodgers will enter Game 1 of the NLCS not long removed from a taxing contest in the nation’s capital.
Both teams have the option to make adjustments to their postseason roster, and manager Dave Roberts indicated the Dodgers will do so by carrying an extra pitcher in the NLCS.
Chicago and Los Angeles went with 14 position players and 11 pitchers during the NLDS. Rosters must be submitted by 8 a.m. PT on Saturday.
Included below are roster projections from the DodgerBlue.com staff, with the names in each position group listed alphabetically.
Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand):
Starting pitchers (4): Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias
Relief pitchers (9): Brett Anderson, Luis Avilan, Pedro Baez, Joe Blanton, Grant Dayton, Josh Fields, Kenley Jansen, Ross Stripling, Alex Wood
Catchers (2): Yasmani Grandal, Carlos Ruiz
Infielders (4): Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Outfielders (6): Kiké Hernandez, Howie Kendrick, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Josh Reddick, Andrew Toles
Changes I made heading into the NLCS are adding Brett Anderson, Kiké Hernandez and Alex Wood. They’ve replaced Austin Barnes, Charlie Culberson and Andre Ethier.
Wood is the clear option for needed fresh arm in the bullpen as he can get both righties and lefties out. Removing Barnes hurts flexibility with when to use Carlos Ruiz, but Roberts said they’ll carry an extra pitcher, which suggests a third catcher is no longer feasible.
If Hernandez is added, he essentially replaces Culberson as the backup to Corey Seager, while bringing more versatility.
Jeff Spiegel (@JeffSpiegel):
Starting pitchers (4): Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias
Relief pitchers (8): Brett Anderson, Luis Avilan, Pedro Baez, Joe Blanton, Josh Fields, Kenley Jansen, Ross Stripling, Alex Wood
Catchers (2): Yasmani Grandal, Carlos Ruiz
Infielders (5): Adrian Gonzalez, Charlie Culberson, Chase Utley, Corey Seager, Justin Turner
Outfielders (6): Andre Ethier, Andrew Toles, Howie Kendrick, Joc Pederson, Josh Reddick, Yasiel Puig
Two changes for me after the first round, and they’re both in response to pitching. I was shocked that Wood didn’t make the NLDS roster, and while given that information, it may be a long shot for him to make the NLCS roster, I still think it happens.
Both lefties out of the bullpen were shaky at times — so much so that I actually think Grant Dayton loses his spot. Why Dayton and not Avilan?
Dayton was Roberts’ favorite lefty for the past two months — even throughout the NLDS — but it’s impossible to think the 28-year-old rookie wasn’t shaken by the experience.
In four appearances he had zero clean innings — a total of five outs recorded, while allowing seven baserunners (five hits, two walks) and three earned runs. To put it simply: he just didn’t look comfortable out there.
With all that said, Avilan wasn’t perfect himself. The difference was, in three appearances (1.1 IP), Avilan allowed just two hits and walked none. Yes, he was the one that gave up the big hit to Daniel Murphy in Game 4 — but who hasn’t been killed by Murphy so far?
I’m not sure all this makes sense — removing your high-leverage lefty (and not your low-leverage lefty) for someone that didn’t make the NLDS roster (probably for lack of game experience this year), but it’s what I’d go with.
My other change is adding Anderson and removing Barnes, in light of Roberts’ saying the Dodgers will carry an extra pitcher.
Jared Massey (@JarredJMassey):
Starting pitchers (4): Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias
Relief pitchers (8): Luis Avilan, Pedro Baez, Joe Blanton, Grant Dayton, Josh Fields, Kenley Jansen, Ross Stripling, Alex Wood
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Yasmani Grandal, Carlos Ruiz
Infielders (4): Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Outfielders (6): Kiké Hernandez, Howie Kendrick, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Josh Reddick, Andrew Toles
I’m keeping with the same four in the starting rotation. While Julio Urias didn’t start a game in the NLDS, he looked very effective out of the bullpen and would likely only start Game 4 of the NLCS if the Dodgers are up 2-1 or 3-0.
It’s uncertain if Kenta Maeda would be capable of going on short rest. The only change from the group of relievers who were active for the NLDS is adding Wood; I like having three lefties.
I left Ruiz off my personal NLDS roster, so I would have lost the series. I like using him as a right-handed bat off the bench but would prefer Barnes to replace Yasmani Grandal late in games when applicable due to his far superior framing ability.
Fairly self-explanatory, though no Culberson in this iteration. I do think Culberson makes the actual roster, at least in part for this simple fact: he’s reached base safely in his three career plate appearances against Aroldis Chapman.
I’d rather give Hernandez a shot than Culberson simply because he has more power, and I also like him as a pinch-runner.
Joc Pederson quietly had an outstanding NLDS with a 1.044 on-base plus slugging percentage, and I hope he continues starting against lefties. Ethier only got two at bats in the NLDS and it easily neutralized by a LOOGY.
Eric Avakian (@AvakEric):
Starting pitchers (4): Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias
Relief Pitchers (8): Luis Avilan, Pedro Baez, Joe Blanton, Louis Coleman, Grant Dayton, J.P. Howell, Kenley Jansen, Ross Stripling,
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Yasmani Grandal, Carlos Ruiz
Infielders (4): Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Outfielders (6): Andre Ethier, Howie Kendrick, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Josh Reddick, Andrew Toles
With Roberts stating the intention to add an extra pitcher to the roster, it means one position player must go. To me, it seems as though Culberson will be the odd man out.
While Culberson was viewed as an alternative bat to Chase Utley, it should be noted Utley’s clutch hit in Game 4 of the NLDS came against a left-handed pitcher. The four infield starters should continue to see consistent action, with Howie Kendrick filling a utility role if necessary.
Since Dayton unraveled on the big stage with a mistake pitch, another lefty may seem fit. While the rookie remains an option in low-leverage situations, a veteran presence in J.P. Howell should be welcomed.
Howell has the ability to ring up left-handed hitters, can be used in high-leverage and multiple-inning situations.
The other change I believe will happen will involve Louis Coleman replacing Josh Fields. Fields is a hard-throwing relief pitcher, who relies on the fastball. The Cubs hit the fastball hard and often, which offers a spot for Coleman.
His nasty breaking ball can produce swing and misses, which could be enough to earn the roster spot.
The move to carry three catchers paid off and should continue into the NLCS. Ethier should be in strong consideration for the NLCS, providing a veteran bat off the bench to counter right-handed pitching.
Matt Borelli (@MattDodgerBlue):
Starting pitchers: Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias
Relief pitchers (8): Brett Anderson, Luis Avilan, Pedro Baez, Joe Blanton Grant Dayton, Josh Fields, Kenley Jansen, Ross Stripling
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Yasmani Grandal, Carlos Ruiz
Infielders (4): Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Outfielders (6): Kiké Hernandez, Howie Kendrick, Joc Pederson, Josh Reddick, Andrew Toles, Yasiel Puig
With the news from Roberts that the Dodgers will carry an extra pitcher, I added Anderson to the roster given that he’s already with the team in Chicago. Other than that, the current group largely remains the same.
Carrying three catchers on the NLDS roster proved to be beneficial as Ruiz had the opportunity to make a huge impact off the bench as a pinch-hitter while Barnes was utilized as a pinch-runner.
I omitted Culberson given the news that Hernandez also is in Chicago and under consideration for a roster spot. It was essentially between Culberson and Barnes, but I gave the edge to the latter given his positional flexibility.
There are two changes in the group of outfielders. For one, Hernandez slots in for Culberson as noted above. Secondly, with the Dodgers carrying 12 pitchers this time around, I removed Ethier from the roster.
It was a tough decision, but he received the least amount of plate appearances among other left-handed hitting outfielders during the NLDS and likely isn’t at full health given his lengthy injury which sidelined him for most of 2016.
