The Los Angeles Dodgers have taken care of business in the postseason so far, going a combined 5-0 against the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres to advance to the National League Championship Series for the fourth time in the last five years.
The Dodgers will be taking on a familiar opponent in the Atlanta Braves, who they last faced in the postseason in 2018 when they defeated them in four games in the NL Division Series.
Between the 2020 Wild Card round and NLDS, the Dodgers made a couple of roster changes. One of them was due to injury as Edwin Rios is dealing with a groin issue that came about during a team workout before the NLDS began.
Rios was in the Dodgers’ lineup in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series and is in the team’s plans moving forward if healthy. “We’re going to talk through it. The one thing we have to decide is Eddie Rios,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of potential changes for the NLCS roster.
“He’s getting better every day that groin injury, took some swings [Friday], ran about 75%. I don’t know how he is [Saturday], so we still have time on that.”
Rios brings the Dodgers some power from the left side as either a designated hitter or bat off the bench. He would likely replace either Gavin Lux or Matt Beaty on the NLCS roster if healthy enough to play.
Roberts hints at possible bullpen changes
Another possible change the Dodgers would make is in the bullpen. The Dodgers added Dylan Floro for the NLDS to go from 13 to 14 pitches on the postseason roster.
Considering the NLCS could potentially be seven games in seven days, Roberts added that adding another reliever is a possibility to avoid the pitching staff being too taxed by the end of the series.
“We’re just going to continue to make sure all the matchups make sense for us,” he said.
If the Dodgers were to add another arm to the mix, the obvious name is Alex Wood. He had a poor regular season due to shoulder trouble but has previous postseason experience and can provide some length if needed.
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