In the final days leading up to Sunday’s 9:00 a.m. PT deadline to submit their 25-man active roster for Opening Day of the 2016 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers still faced multiple questions and decisions.
One was made on Friday, with manager Dave Roberts announcing the club elected to go with Ross Stripling over Carlos Frias as the fifth starter. As a result, Frias was sent to Triple-A Oklahoma City where he’s expected to work as a starting pitcher.
Yasmani Grandal was briefly on track to make a recovery from forearm soreness and open the season with the Dodgers, however the likelihood began to decrease after he came out of a Minor League game not quite 100 percent.
As expected, Howie Kendrick (calf strain) joins Grandal in beginning the year on the disabled list. Both DL stints are retroactive to the earliest date possible — March 25 — by virtue of neither player appearing in a Major League game from that point forward.
In total, the Dodgers open the season with 10 players on the DL, all retroactive to March 25: Brett Anderson (60-day DL), Mike Bolsinger, Andre Ethier, Grandal, Alex Guerrero, Kendrick, Brandon McCarthy (60-day), Frankie Montas (60-day), Josh Ravin and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Below is a complete breakdown of the Dodgers’ active roster, with players listed alphabetically in each position group.
Starting pitchers: Scott Kazmir, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Ross Stripling, Alex Wood
Relief pitchers: Pedro Baez, Joe Blanton, Louis Coleman, Yimi Garcia, Chris Hatcher, J.P. Howell, Kenley Jansen
Outfielders: Carl Crawford, Kiké Hernandez, Trayce Thompson, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Scott Van Slyke
Infielders: Charlie Culberson, Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Catchers: Austin Barnes, A.J. Ellis
The Dodgers announced after Saturday’s Freeway Series finale Coleman was selected for the final spot in the bullpen ahead of Avilan. The left-handed reliever was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Dodgers begin the 2016 season on Monday against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. PT.
